By Bill Peters
Artificial intelligence is ‘delivering significant benefits to our customers and strong results across the company,’ CEO says
Intuit Inc., the tech company behind TurboTax filing software and the personal-finance site Credit Karma, raised its full-fiscal-year profit and sales outlook on Thursday, following third-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s expectations.
Management attributed those results in part to its adoption of artificial intelligence, as it tries to use that technology and other data to help people file taxes – with the aid of human experts – and deal with other business matters. The quarter also covered much of the tax season, when Intuit tends to get a boost in sales.
Intuit (INTU) said it expects fiscal-year sales of $16.16 billion to $16.2 billion, or growth of around 13%. That’s up from a prior forecast for gains of 11% to 12%.
The company also raised its full-year adjusted per-share profit forecast to $16.79 to $16.84, representing a roughly 17% increase, better than a previous call for growth of 12% to 14%.
“The era of AI is one of the most significant technology shifts in our lifetime, and our strategy to be the global AI-driven expert platform is delivering significant benefits to our customers and strong results across the company,” Chief Executive Sasan Goodarzi said in a statement.
“I’m proud of our innovation and performance, and because of our momentum, we are raising Intuit’s revenue, operating income, and earnings per share guidance for the fiscal year,” he continued.
The stock fell 1.2% during the regular session, but it’s up 58.9% over the past 12 months.
Intuit reported the results as higher interest rates and tighter credit standards crimp borrowing, while higher prices make it harder for people to pay their bills on time. Tax-preparation costs, via software or an accountant, have risen, as the industry tries use higher pay to attract new accountants.
For its fiscal third quarter, Intuit reported net income of $2.39 billion, or $8.42 a share, compared with $2.09 billion, or $7.38 a share, in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted for amortization and share-based compensation, Intuit earned $9.88 a share. Revenue rose 12% to $6.74 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected Intuit to report adjusted earnings per share of $9.38, on revenue of $6.65 billion.
Intuit on Thursday also said that Joe Kauffman would become the chief executive of Credit Karma on Aug. 1. He is currently Credit Karma’s president.
Intuit bought Credit Karma, known for offering information related to credit scores, in 2020, and has taken steps to integrate Credit Karma’s services with TurboTax.