By Jon Swartz
Intuit Inc.’s stock dipped 3% in after-hours trading Thursday despite the company posting quarterly revenue that met analysts’ estimates and earnings that surpassed them.
“It was an excellent quarter despite the IRS shifting its [tax-filing] season later by one week,” Intuit (INTU) Chief Executive Sasan Goodarzi said in an interview. “We overperformed in what is typically our biggest quarter of the year.”
Part of Intuit’s strategy this tax season is closely tied to artificial intelligence and to how its products Credit Karma, TurboTax Live and Intuit Assist use the technology to empower customers, Goodarzi said. “The next leg of growth is [generative] AI,” he said.
The maker of tax-preparation software reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $353 million, or $1.25 a share, compared with net income of $168 million, or 60 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $2.63 a share.
Revenue climbed 11% to $3.39 billion from $3.04 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected on average net income of $2.30 a share on revenue of $3.39 billion.
Intuit offered fiscal-year sales guidance of $15.9 billion to $16.1 billion, while FactSet analysts are forecasting $16.05 billion.
Shares of Intuit have shot up 60% this year, while the broader S&P 500 index SPX is up 27%.
Analysts have been bullish on Intuit. Earlier this week, Wells Fargo raised its price target on Intuit shares to $710 from $615 and maintained its overweight rating.