Intuit anticipates earnings to fall short of projections due to increased marketing expenses throughout the US tax season

Intuit Projects Lower Q3 Profit Due to Increased Marketing Efforts

By Jaspreet Singh

On February 26, Reuters reported that Intuit anticipates its third-quarter profit will fall short of Wall Street expectations, as the company plans to boost marketing expenditures to attract more users during the U.S. tax season.

The third quarter is traditionally Intuit’s most robust period, driven by heightened demand for its financial products like TurboTax, Credit Karma, and QuickBooks during tax filing season.

This year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began accepting federal tax returns on January 26, with the submission deadline set for April 15.

Intuit’s Chief Financial Officer, Sandeep Aujla, explained to Reuters that the company is ramping up investments in marketing and customer support during the third quarter to take advantage of the tax season and stimulate growth in its assisted tax and QuickBooks divisions.

For the quarter ending April 30, Intuit expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $12.45 to $12.51, which is below the average analyst forecast of $12.95, according to LSEG data.

The company anticipates revenue will increase by approximately 10% for the quarter, closely matching analysts’ consensus of 9.9% growth.

AI Competition and Strategic Partnerships

These projections come as the market expresses concern that the rise of artificial intelligence tools could reduce demand for traditional software, with more customers seeking tailored financial advice and automated bookkeeping solutions.

To strengthen its position against competitors like H&R Block, Oracle’s NetSuite, and Microsoft’s Dynamics 365, Intuit has entered into multi-year agreements with AI innovators Anthropic and OpenAI to incorporate advanced AI models into its offerings.

“We’re paying OpenAI and Anthropic for their technology capabilities, not through revenue sharing,” Aujla noted, adding that over 3 million customers are already interacting with Intuit’s AI-powered agents.

Financial Performance Update

Intuit reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook and reported that second-quarter revenue climbed 17% to $4.65 billion, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $4.53 billion.

Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Edited by Shinjini Ganguli