Acxiom Initiates Quarterly Cash Dividend.

Business Editors

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2004

The Board of Directors of Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today declared its first quarterly cash dividend. The dividend of four cents per share is payable on March 8, 2004 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 16, 2004.

Charles D. Morgan, Acxiom's Chairman and Company Leader, commented: "In light of our outstanding cash flow over the past 2 1/2 years and our confidence in the Company's expectation for continued strong cash flow, the Board of Directors initiated a quarterly cash dividend. The Board of Directors determined that paying a cash dividend is appropriate for managing capital and building shareholder value. We are pleased to provide our shareholders with an immediate cash return that will add to the total return realized by our shareholders."

On January 21, 2004 Acxiom announced its third-quarter results, which included record cash flow performance. Operating cash flow of $79.3 million and free cash flow of $59.9 million both set quarterly records for the Company and mark the 10th consecutive quarter of strong cash flow. The Company estimates that the four-cent per share cash dividend payable on March 8, 2004, will use approximately $3.4 million.

Over the past 10 quarters, the Company has generated $621 million in operating cash flow and $462 million in free cash flow, an average of $62 million and $46 million per quarter, respectively. The Company plans to continue to make strong cash flow a major financial objective and to use a portion of cash flow to fund quarterly dividend payments to shareholders.

While Acxiom intends to pay regular quarterly dividends for the foreseeable future, all subsequent dividends will be reviewed quarterly and declared by the Board at its discretion. Acxiom also plans to continue to use cash flow to pay off debt, to fund potential future acquisitions and to fund its previously announced stock repurchase program depending on prevailing market conditions and other factors. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure, and reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measure, operating cash flow, is attached to this 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. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com.

This release contains 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: 1) that the Company plans to continue to make strong cash flow a major financial objective; 2) that the Company plans to use a portion of cash flow to fund quarterly dividend payments to shareholders; 3) that Acxiom intends to pay regular quarterly dividends for the foreseeable future; and 4) that Acxiom plans to continue to use cash flow to pay off debt, to fund potential future acquisitions and to fund its previously announced stock repurchase program. 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; and the possibility that we may be affected by other competitive factors.

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 is a registered trademark of Acxiom Corporation.

                  ACXIOM CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
        RECONCILIATION OF FREE CASH FLOW TO OPERATING CASH FLOW
                              (Unaudited)
                        (Dollars in thousands)


               Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Yr ended
               6/30/2001  9/30/2001  12/31/2001  3/31/2002  3/31/2002

Net cash
 provided by
 operating
 activities      (39,280)    69,300      60,493     60,092    150,605

Proceeds
 received from
 disposition
 of assets           127          -           -         46        173
Capitalized
 software         (5,935)    (5,464)     (5,832)    (6,890)   (24,121)
Capital
 expenditures     (8,789)         -      (2,612)    (3,474)   (14,875)
Deferral of
 costs            (8,690)   (18,012)    (14,077)    (7,352)   (48,131)
Proceeds from
 sale and
 leaseback
 transaction           -      1,964       4,035          -      5,999
               -------------------------------------------------------

Free cash
 flow            (62,567)    47,788      42,007     42,422     69,650
               =======================================================

               Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Yr ended
               6/30/2002  9/30/2002  12/31/2002  3/31/2003  3/31/2003

Net cash
 provided by
 operating
 activities       60,243     53,446      76,992     63,112    253,793

Proceeds
 received from
 disposition
 of assets            45        155           -         93        293
Capitalized
 software         (8,652)    (8,958)     (8,726)    (8,237)   (34,573)
Capital
 expenditures     (1,916)    (3,000)     (5,893)    (2,403)   (13,212)
Deferral of
 costs            (3,240)    (4,108)     (3,796)    (3,883)   (15,027)
Proceeds from
 sale and
 leaseback
 transaction           -      7,729           -          -      7,729
               -------------------------------------------------------

Free cash
 flow             46,480     45,264      58,577     48,682    199,003
               ========== ========== =========== ========== ==========

                                                  Forecast   Forecast
               Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Qtr ended  Qtr ended   Yr ended
               6/30/2003  9/30/2003  12/31/2003  3/31/2004  3/31/2004

Net cash
 provided by
 operating
 activities       48,125     49,909      79,282     43,000    220,316

Proceeds
 received from
 disposition
 of assets           506        192          39          -        737
Capitalized
 software         (6,335)    (7,296)     (6,510)    (7,000)   (27,141)
Capital
 expenditures     (1,588)    (3,036)     (7,637)    (6,000)   (18,261)
Deferral of
 costs            (6,026)    (4,006)     (5,312)    (5,000)   (20,344)
               -------------------------------------------------------

Free cash
 flow             34,682     35,763      59,862     25,000    155,307
               =======================================================

                                                             Forecast
                                                             Yr ended
                                                            3/31/2005

Net cash
 provided by
 operating
 activities                                                   200,000

Capitalized
 software                                                     (28,000)
Capital
 expenditures                                                 (18,000)
Deferral of
 costs                                                        (19,000)
                                                            ----------

Free cash
 flow                                                         135,000
                                                            ==========