Acxiom Announces New U.S. Organizational Structure, Confirms Previous Fourth Quarter Estimates; The Company Also Expects Stronger Fiscal 2005 Performance.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2004

Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today announced a new organizational structure that will capitalize on its new technologies which improve service delivery to its clients. These new technologies and the new organizational structure will significantly increase Acxiom's operational efficiency. The Company also announced that it has completed a workforce reduction of approximately 230 associates, which represents 5.4 percent of its U.S. workforce, related to the new structure. Acxiom also expects a stronger financial performance in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, due to increased efficiencies and improving business conditions. Acxiom will hold a conference call at 8:00 a.m. CST today to discuss this information further. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call, which will be broadcast via the Internet at www.acxiom.com.

"The new technologies we have been implementing over the past few years increase the speed at which we can do our work and reduce the number of people required," Company Leader Charles D. Morgan said. "AbiliTec(R) and our new Customer Information Infrastructure grid-enabled solutions are dramatically changing our business, and our new functional organization is designed to help us better leverage standard tools, best practices and training. Reducing the size of our workforce was a difficult decision, but it was necessary to leverage our technological advances into more value for our clients."

Acxiom also announced that it:

-- Expects revenue to exceed the range previously estimated of

$265 million to $270 million and operating and free cash flow

to exceed our previous expectation for the fourth quarter

ending March 31, 2004.

-- Expects to be in line with previous diluted earnings per share 

estimates for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2004.

-- Anticipates recording a non-recurring charge of approximately

$3 million associated with severance costs related to the

workforce reduction in the fourth quarter.

-- Expects that in the fourth quarter it will record other

one-time non-cash charges associated with the write-down of an

investment and a third-party software package, which will be

substantially offset by a one-time benefit in income tax

expense, as previously discussed in the Company's October 22,

2003 earnings release.

-- Is changing its approach to projecting future financial

results and for fiscal 2005 will begin providing a strategic

financial road map that defines the trends expected for the

one-year and long-term horizons.

-- Is proceeding with the integration of Claritas Europe and

Consodata Europe into Acxiom European operations now that the

acquisition of Consodata, S.A. has been completed.

Outlook

The financial projections stated today are based on the Company's current expectations. These projections are forward looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections include the recently completed acquisitions of the Claritas and Consodata European operations (including the Consodata German operation, formerly known as pan-adress, which is pending formal approval by German merger authorities and is expected to close by mid-April). These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions, divestitures or other business combinations that may be announced and completed in the future.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 and thereafter, the Company's expectations will be communicated in a new format. Please refer to the attached exhibit titled "Financial Road Map" which includes a chart summarizing the one-year and long-term goals as well as an explanation of the assumptions and definitions which accompany these goals. This financial road map supercedes all previous guidance issued by the Company.

"We are confident that Acxiom is well positioned for an outstanding fiscal 2005, and that is reflected in the attached Financial Road Map," Morgan said. "We think our shareholders are better served by understanding our strategic financial direction as opposed to us trying to predict with great precision our results on a quarter-to-quarter basis. This approach better communicates our long-term strategic planning and will help our shareholders and the investment community better understand the financial results and trends we expect as a result."

This release and the scheduled conference call include a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. Whenever the Company reports non-GAAP financial measures, there is a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measure attached to the press release.

About Acxiom

Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) integrates data, services and technology to create and deliver customer and information management solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in Australia and Japan.

This release and today's conference call contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements include but are not necessarily limited to the following: that the projected revenue and diluted earnings per share, operating cash flow and free cash flow for the 2004 fiscal year referred to above will meet or exceed the estimated amounts; that the non-recurring cash and non-cash charges and write-offs for the 2004 fiscal year referred to above will be in the anticipated amounts; and that Acxiom is well-positioned for an outstanding 2005 fiscal year. The attached Financial Road Map consists primarily of forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, with regard to management's projections of one-year and fiscal year 2008 expectations, as well as an explanation of the assumptions and definitions which accompany these expectations.

The following are important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements: The possibility that certain contracts may not be closed, or may not be closed within the anticipated time frames; the possibility that certain contracts may not generate the anticipated revenue or profitability; the possibility that negative changes in economic or other conditions might lead to a reduction in demand for our products and services; the possibility that the recovery from the previous three years' economic slowdown may take longer than expected or that economic conditions in general will not be as expected; the possibility that significant customers may experience extreme, severe economic difficulty; the possibility that the fair value of certain of our assets may not be equal to the carrying value of those assets now or in future time periods; the possibility that sales cycles may lengthen; the possibility that we may not be able to attract and retain qualified technical and leadership associates, or that we may lose key associates to other organizations; the possibility that we won't be able to properly motivate our sales force or other associates; the possibility that we won't be able to achieve cost reductions and avoid unanticipated costs; the possibility that we won't be able to continue to receive credit upon satisfactory terms and conditions; the possibility that competent, competitive products, technologies or services will be introduced into the marketplace by other companies; the possibility that we may be subjected to pricing pressure due to market conditions and/or competitive products and services; the possibility that there will be changes in consumer or business information industries and markets; the possibility that we won't be able to protect proprietary information and technology or to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; the possibility that we may encounter difficulties when entering new markets or industries; the possibility that there will be changes in the legislative, accounting, regulatory and consumer environments affecting our business, including but not limited to litigation, legislation, regulations and customs relating to our ability to collect, manage, aggregate and use data; the possibility that data suppliers might withdraw data from us, leading to our inability to provide certain products and services; the possibility that we may enter into short-term contracts which would affect the predictability of our revenues; the possibility that the amount of ad hoc, volume-based and project work will not be as expected; the possibility that we may experience a loss of data center capacity or interruption of telecommunication links or power sources; the possibility that postal rates may increase, thereby leading to reduced volumes of business; the possibility that our clients may cancel or modify their agreements with us; the possibility that the services of the United States Postal Service, their global counterparts and other delivery systems may be disrupted; the possibility that the integration of our recently acquired businesses may not be successful; the possibility of currency exchange rate fluctuations having a negative impact on the financial results of the company; and the possibility that we may be affected by other competitive factors.

With respect to the attached Financial Road Map exhibit, all of the above factors apply, along with the following which were assumptions made in creating the Financial Road Map: that the U.S. and global economies will continue to improve at a moderate pace, that global growth will continue to be strong and that globalization trends will continue to grow at an increasing pace; relating to Operating Margin, that 1) Acxiom's computer and communications related expenses will continue to fall as a percentage of revenue, 2) that the Customer Information Infrastructure (CII) grid-based environment Acxiom has begun to implement will continue to be implemented successfully over the next 3-4 years and that the new CII infrastructure will continue to provide increasing operational efficiencies, 3) that the recent acquisitions of Claritas Europe and Consodata Europe will be successfully integrated and that significant efficiencies will be realized from this integration; relating to Free Cash Flow, that sufficient operating and capital lease arrangements will continue to be available to the Company to provide for the financing of most of its computer equipment and that software suppliers will continue to provide financing arrangements for most of the software purchases; relating to Revolving Credit Line Balance, that free cash flow will meet expectations and that the Company will continue to use free cash flow to pay down bank debt, buy back stock and fund dividends; relating to Annual Dividends, that the Board of Directors will continue to approve quarterly dividends and will vote to increase dividends over time; relating to Diluted Shares, that the Company will meet its cash flow expectations and that potential dilution created through the issuance of stock options and warrants will be mitigated by continued stock repurchases in accordance with the Company's stock repurchase program.

With respect to the provision of products or services outside our primary base of operations in the U.S., all of the above factors apply, along with the difficulty of doing business in numerous sovereign jurisdictions due to differences in culture, laws and regulations. Other factors are detailed from time to time in our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that we have the product and technology offerings, facilities, associates and competitive and financial resources for continued business success, but future revenues, costs, margins and profits are all influenced by a number of factors, including those discussed above, all of which are inherently difficult to forecast. We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statement.

Acxiom and AbiliTec are registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation.

                          ACXIOM CORPORATION
                          Financial Road Map*

Introduction

Acxiom is well positioned to grow top-line revenue and improve margins
as we better leverage our new technologies and associates to deliver
more value to our clients. Over the past several years, we have made a
number of investments in the Company, the most significant of which
are AbiliTec and our grid-based Customer Information Infrastructure
technologies. Effective April 1, 2004, we will have completed the
reorganization of the Company to deliver our services more effectively
to our clients, increasing their speed to market and ability to access
and analyze more data to make better business decisions. This
reorganization includes establishing a delivery center through which
we will deliver all standard services and custom services. This
"functional" organization will allow us to better utilize our
resources and establish more consistent and repeatable solutions and
delivery methodologies. Segregating the primary delivery functions
will allow our client services teams to focus on growing the
relationships with our clients.

Acxiom going forward will be able to better leverage the existing
technology infrastructure through more modest workforce growth over
the periods referenced, and continued modest capital investments
(which will yield lower depreciation and amortization expense over the
next several years). It is important to note that our IT outsourcing
segment's business model is different than the Services and Data
segments in that new outsourcing business is often accompanied by
higher incremental operating expenses, which means incremental margins
are lower on new revenues than in other operating segments.

This returns-driven strategy will also deliver significant cash flows,
which will allow us to continue to improve the balance sheet and give
us significant operating flexibility. These cash flows will allow us
to pay down debt, fund all financial obligations as due, fund the
recently announced dividend, buy back stock as opportunities arise and
have cash available should a strategic acquisition arise. At this
time, we do not anticipate a significant acquisition that would
require the Company to raise additional capital.

We have recently acquired Claritas and Consodata, two primary data and
services providers, and are in the process of integrating them into
our ongoing UK-headquartered European services business. These new
additions should be a significant catalyst to grow our business in
Europe. We believe that combining these three businesses will create
increasing returns that over the next several years should exceed the
returns in the US. Additionally, European margins should also be
higher because of the large percentage of data revenue, which is a
fixed-cost business.

Finally, we believe we have significant top-line growth opportunities
in many areas. Our clients are increasingly calling on Acxiom to
support existing and new applications, including prospecting,
portfolio management, fraud and risk management, privacy and security.
We are increasing our penetration in traditional and emerging
industries, including pharmaceutical and automotive, and we continue
to roll out new products, including our recently announced fraud
management product delivered jointly with TransUnion. We also are
optimistic about the results we'll generate through our developing
alliance strategy, highlighted by our strategic partnership with
Accenture, and our European opportunities.

In summary, we believe the Company has never been better positioned to
deliver consistently improving results.

                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                                                           Long-Term
                         Actual     Estimated    Target       Goals
Years Ending March 31, Fiscal 2003 Fiscal 2004 Fiscal 2005 Fiscal 2008
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

U.S. Revenue Growth                 2.1% to     7% to 11%  7% to 10%
                          10.1%       2.7%                   (CAGR)
U.S. Revenue              $903      $922 to     $987 to
                         million      $927       $1,029
                                     million     million       -

Non-U.S. Revenue Growth             45% to      175% to    14% to 18%
                          19.3%       50%         215%       (CAGR)
Non-U.S. Revenue       $55 million $80 to $83 $220 to $261
                                     million    million        -

U.S. Operating Margin               10.0% to    11.5% to   15% to 16%
                          5.5%        10.2%        12%

Non-U.S. Operating                  8.8% to      8% to      18% to
 Margin                   9.0%        10.0%        11%        20%

Return on Invested                               11% to      16% to
 Capital                   6%          10%        13%         20%

Free Cash Flow            $199      $155 to     $150 to     $160 to
                         million      $160        $170        $180
                                     million     million     million

Revolving Credit Line  $29 million $30 to $40  Less than   Less than
 Balance                             million      $150        $200
                                                 million     million

Annual Dividends Per                                        $0.20 to
 Share                   $0.00       $0.04       $0.16        $0.24


-----------------------
*Assumptions and definitions defined on the following schedule:
 "Financial Road Map assumptions and definitions"



                          ACXIOM CORPORATION

            Financial Road Map Assumptions and Definitions
            ----------------------------------------------

Assumptions
-----------

1.  The effective tax rate is 37% to 38% over each of the years
    presented.
2.  Investing activities (including capital expenditures, deferred
    costs and capitalized software) will be $60 million to $80 million
    for each of the years presented.
3.  Interest rates will remain at approximately the current levels.
4.  The Company will utilize all of its tax loss carry forwards and
    begin to pay U.S. federal and state income taxes during FY06.
5.  The Company will pay incentives under its bonus plan of
    approximately $15 million to $25 million for each of the years
    beginning in fiscal 2005.
6.  The Company will maintain a relatively constant mix of business
    for each of our three business segments (Services, Data and IT
    outsourcing).
7.  Foreign exchange rates will remain at approximately the current
    levels.
8.  Stock repurchases will be in amounts that yield the highest
    shareholder return considering all other uses for the available
    cash.
9.  Diluted outstanding shares will increase slightly to reflect the
    impact of in-the-money options as the stock price increases.
10. Long-term goals are based on the Company's current assessment of
    opportunities and are subject to change. There are risks
    associated with obtaining these goals which are explained under
    forward looking statements in the press release.

Definitions
-----------

1.  Revenue Growth is defined as the percentage growth compared to the
    previous corresponding fiscal year or quarter.
2.  Operating Margin is defined as the income from operations as a
    percentage of revenue.
3.  Return on Capital is defined as operating profit adjusted for the
    implied interest expense included in operating leases (the average
    present value of operating leases times an 8% annual interest
    rate) divided by the trailing four quarters average invested
    capital. Invested capital is defined as working capital (current
    assets excluding cash less current liabilities excluding interest
    bearing obligations) plus all other assets plus the present value
    of operating leases.
4.  Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities
    less cash flow from investing activities excluding net cash paid
    or received for acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures and
    investments.
5.  Revolving Credit Line Balance is defined as actual funds borrowed
    under the Company's revolving line of credit facility at the end
    of the fiscal year. This debt is shown on the balance sheet under
    long-term debt. This measure specifically excludes the $175
    million convertible debenture and debt associated with capital
    leases for hardware and software and data licenses.
6.  Annual Dividends Per Share is defined as the sum of the four
    quarterly dividends for that fiscal year.




                          ACXIOM CORPORATION

               Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measurements
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                        (Dollars in thousands)


                                    ----------- ----------------------
                                      Actual          Estimated
Years Ending March 31,              Fiscal 2003      Fiscal 2004
                                    ----------- ----------------------

Free Cash Flow
--------------

Net cash provided by operating
 activities                            253,793    220,000     225,000

Proceeds received from disposition
 of assets                                 293          0           0
Capitalized software                   (34,573)   (28,000)    (28,000)
Capital expenditures                   (13,212)   (17,000)    (17,000)
Deferral of costs                      (15,027)   (20,000)    (20,000)
Proceeds from sale and leaseback
 transaction                             7,729          0           0
                                    ----------- ----------  ----------

Free cash flow                         199,003    155,000 to  160,000
                                    =========== ==========  ==========



Return on Invested Capital
--------------------------

Numerator:
     Income from operations             55,073     99,000     102,000
     Assumed interest on operating
      leases                            15,170     14,000      14,000
                                    ----------- ----------  ----------
          Return                        70,243    113,000     116,000
                                    ----------- ----------  ----------

Denominator:
     Average current assets
      excluding cash                   312,636    276,000     276,000
     Average current liabilities
      excluding interest bearing
      obligations                     (139,226)  (145,000)   (145,000)
     Average net working capital       173,410    131,000     131,000

     Average other assets              801,191    860,000     860,000
     Average present value of
      operating leases                 185,222    172,000     172,000
                                    ----------- ----------  ----------
          Average invested capital   1,159,823  1,163,000   1,163,000
                                    ----------- ----------  ----------

Return on invested capital                6.1%       9.7% to    10.0%
                                    =========== ==========  ==========

                         ---------------------- ----------------------
                                 Target            Long-Term Goals
Years Ending March 31,        Fiscal 2005            Fiscal 2008
                         ---------------------- ----------------------

Free Cash Flow
--------------

Net cash provided by
 operating activities      210,000     250,000    220,000     260,000

Proceeds received from
 disposition of assets           0           0          0           0
Capitalized software       (26,000)    (28,000)   (26,000)    (28,000)
Capital expenditures       (16,000)    (25,000)   (16,000)    (25,000)
Deferral of costs          (18,000)    (27,000)   (18,000)    (27,000)
Proceeds from sale and
 leaseback transaction           0           0          0           0
                         ----------  ---------- ----------  ----------

Free cash flow             150,000 to  170,000    160,000 to  180,000
                         ==========  ========== ==========  ==========

Return on Invested Capital
--------------------------

Numerator:
     Income from
      operations           131,000     152,000    221,000     272,000
     Assumed interest on
      operating leases      16,000      16,000     21,000      21,000
                         ----------  ---------- ----------  ----------
          Return           147,000     168,000    242,000     293,000
                         ----------  ---------- ----------  ----------

Denominator:
     Average current
      assets excluding
      cash                 311,000     318,000    370,000     393,000
     Average current
      liabilities
      excluding interest
      bearing obligations (145,000)   (145,000)  (145,000)   (145,000)
     Average net working
      capital              166,000     173,000    225,000     248,000

     Average other assets  940,000     938,000    993,000     991,000
     Average present
      value of operating
      leases               201,000     201,000    258,000     258,000
                         ----------  ---------- ----------  ----------
          Average
           invested
           capital       1,307,000   1,312,000  1,476,000   1,497,000
                         ----------  ---------- ----------  ----------

Return on invested
 capital                     11.2% to    12.8%      16.4% to    19.6%
                         ==========  ========== ==========  ==========