Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ACIW scored 69.3, CPAY scored 78.2 — CPAY leads.
Compare another set
ACIW
ACI Worldwide, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
69.3
$50.87 · $5.1B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
8.9
CPAY leads
CPAY
Corpay, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
78.2
$397.92 · $26.1B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestACIW23.2x
Fastest growthCPAY+13.9%
Strongest balance sheetACIW0.58
Highest qualityCPAY88 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueCPAY-21%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ACIW
stronger →← stronger
CPAY
71
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
88
77
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
87
61
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
62
CPAY is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ACIW
CPAY
$285mC
FCF
$1.6bC+
+10.4%B
Rev
+13.9%B+
0.58C+
D/E
2.75D
23.2xB+
P/E
24.2xB+
1.78C+
PEG
0.77A-
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ACIW
CPAY
7% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
21% below
~8%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~3%/yr
-13%
1-yr DCF upside
+11%
-7%
5-yr DCF upside
+27%
+2%
10-yr DCF upside
+53%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ACIW
Why this score
Buying back stock
CPAY
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
ACIWACI Worldwide, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $50.87 · beta 0.99
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $5.1b. 17% off the 52-week high of $61.08. Revenue growing +10%, comfortably above the S&P median. 3 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $67.33 (implying +32% upside).
Moat
Net margin 12% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 16% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 126% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Software — competitive moat is durable until it isn't; watch net revenue retention, gross margin trends, and any new market entrant with a fundamentally lower price point.
CPAYCorpay, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $397.92 · beta 0.89
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $26.1b. 7% off the 52-week high of $427.46. Revenue growing +14%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.77 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 15 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $461.00 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
Net margin 23% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 29% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 145% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
D/E 2.75 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Software — competitive moat is durable until it isn't; watch net revenue retention, gross margin trends, and any new market entrant with a fundamentally lower price point.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ACIW and CPAY diverge
On the headline score the gap is 8.9 points in favor of CPAY. The widest single difference is Quality, where CPAY leads by 16.8 points.
QualityACIW 71.1 · CPAY 87.9CPAY +16.8
GrowthACIW 76.7 · CPAY 87.3CPAY +10.6
ValueACIW 61.2 · CPAY 62.4level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is CPAY or ACIW the better stock?
CPAY scores higher: CPAY 78.2, ACIW 69.3 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do CPAY and ACIW differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where CPAY leads by 17 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. CPAY also leads growth, while value is effectively level between them.
How are CPAY and ACIW scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.