Intuit Inc. Q1 Beats Analyst Estimates, But Still Reports a Loss

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Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), is a software company based in Mountain View, CA. Intuit is best known for TurboTax; a software that helps individuals file their own taxes. On November 20th, Intuit released financial results for the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. The report posted losses, however the losses were less than analyst predictions.

In its Q1 2015 report, Intuit posted total company revenue of $672 million; an 8% year-over-year increase from $622 million. This posted revenue beat the analyst consensus of $620.8 million. The software giant posted diluted losses per share of $-0.29; a year-over-year increase from $0.04 and ahead of the analyst consensus of $-0.34. Looking forward, Intuit expects revenue for the fiscal year of 2015 to be $4.275 billion to $4.375 billion; a 3% to 5% decrease. Earnings per share on a GAAP diluted basis for fiscal year 2015 are expected to be $1.70 to $1.75.

Brad Smith, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s president and CEO was pleased with the report and continued to look ahead. He stated “We began fiscal 2015 on a strong note. Our shift to the cloud continues to accelerate customer growth, led by QuickBooks Online.” The software highlighted by Smith is an accounting tool for small businesses. In this past quarter, subscribers to QuickBooks Online grew by 43% to 739,000 and total paying customers grew by 22%. Smith continued, “We’re also gearing up for tax season and are looking forward to our lineup of innovative solutions coming to market. While it is early in our fiscal year, I’m energized by our results as we continue to drive momentum in our online ecosystems.”

Shares of Intuit opened at $95.34 on November 21st. The software company has a 1-year high of $95.42 and a 1-year low of $69.02. The daily moving average is $93.57 and the 50-day moving average is $85.95. The market cap for Intuit is 26.23 billion and its P/E ratio is 31.87.

Mihir Mehta, a contributor on Seeking Alpha, rated Intuit a Buy on November 21st but did not announce a price target. He says Intuit is an attractive company because there is a sustainable demand for software that “manages the nuances of small businesses,” and there is “immense potential to expand overall operations.” Mehta claims this notion has been proven “with a steady growth of 5 percent in its small business segment with new customer acquisition driving dedicated growth.” Aside from the software, Mehta is also encouraged by Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s finances. He notes that Intuit “ended the first quarter with approximately $1.6 billion in cash and investments even after it completed two acquisitions totaling around $10 million, in the first quarter.” Additionally, the board “has already approved a dividend of $0.25 per share for the fiscal second quarter, payable on Jan. 20. This represents a 32 percent increase versus last year.” For all of the reasons above, Mehta states that Intuit is “an ideal buy for your portfolio.” Mehta’s current overall success rate recommending stocks is 71% with an average return of +8.8% per recommendation.

Intuit Inc.

Separately on November 21st, Sterling Auty of J.P. Morgan assigned a Hold rating to Intuit with a price target of $97. He has rated Intuit five times, each time rating Hold. Auty currently has a 63% success rate recommending stocks with an average return of +9.3% per recommendation.

Will Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s latest report and new software popularity make you want to Buy, Sell, or Hold? Find out what other financial experts are saying at TipRanks today!

Sarah Roden writes about stock market news. She can be reached at [email protected]

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