NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. NiCE had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The business had revenue of $786.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.02 EPS. NiCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NiCE updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.850-11.050 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 2.450-2.550 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from NiCE’s conference call:

• NICE closed 2025 on a strong note, meeting guidance with total revenue of $2.945B (+8%), cloud revenue up 13%, and AI ARR up 66% to $328 million, alongside record AI logo wins and seven-figure cloud ACV bookings that grew cloud backlog ~25%.
• The cash-funded acquisition of Cognigy makes NICE the only vendor claiming a fully AI-native CX platform; management plans full integration into CXone, new features (Cognigy Simulator, Copilot task assist), and expects Cognigy to be accretive within ~18 months.
• Financial flexibility improved—NICE fully repaid $460M of debt, ended the year debt-free, repurchased $489M of shares in 2025, and authorized a new $600M buyback (≈$1B of remaining repurchase capacity), supporting capital returns.
• Management will make deliberate, front-loaded investments in 2026 (COGS, R&D, and S&M) that will weigh on near-term margins and cash generation; FY 2026 non-GAAP EPS guide of $10.85–$11.05 is below 2025’s $12.30, signaling near-term earnings pressure.
• International momentum accelerated (international revenue +16% FY, +29% Q4) aided by partner channels and an earlier-than-expected large go‑live, offering a sizable growth runway that depends on continued execution and conversions.

NiCE Stock Up 13.2%

Shares of NICE stock traded up $13.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $111.54. 1,283,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 942,624. NiCE has a 52-week low of $94.65 and a 52-week high of $180.61. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.16 and a 200 day moving average of $125.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their target price on NiCE from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on NiCE from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on NiCE from $154.00 to $133.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of NiCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of NiCE in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.42.

Institutional Trading of NiCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of NiCE by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,732,137 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,801,000 after buying an additional 11,433 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in NiCE by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 961,146 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,648,000 after acquiring an additional 115,526 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiCE by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 897,445 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,447,000 after purchasing an additional 217,673 shares in the last quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,154,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of NiCE by 6.6% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 819,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $138,361,000 after purchasing an additional 50,403 shares in the last quarter. 63.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiCE Company Profile

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.