Intuit's INTU strong cash generation is enabling it to aggressively invest in growth while returning substantial capital to shareholders. In third-quarter fiscal 2026, the company repurchased $1.6 billion of stock, more than double the prior-year quarter. During the first nine months, it bought back 6.6 million shares for $3.37 billion, up more than 60% year over year.
The board also approved a new $8 billion repurchase authorization, underscoring confidence in the company's long-term prospects. Repurchases reduced shares outstanding to about 273.5 million by May 14, despite 1.7 million shares issued under employee stock plans, resulting in a meaningful net decline in the share count.
Intuit returned roughly $4.4 billion to its shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the first nine months of fiscal 2026, while operating cash flow climbed 29% year over year to $7.51 billion, comfortably funding these returns. The company ended the quarter with about $6.8 billion in cash and investments, and $6.2 billion of debt.
At the same time, Intuit continued investing heavily in AI, TurboTax Live, QuickBooks Online, Intuit Enterprise Suite, payments, payroll, business lending, Credit Karma and mid-market expansion. Research and development spending rose 18% to $2.52 billion, while selling and marketing expenses increased 13% to $4.27 billion.
The company also expanded its lending business, with loan originations and purchases reaching $4.93 billion. Although credit-loss provisions increased, Intuit sold about $1.4 billion of business loans to institutional investors, helping manage balance-sheet risk while supporting continued growth.
How Are INTU’s Competitors Returning Capital
H&R Block HRB raised its quarterly dividend 12% to 42 cents per share and maintains a $1.5 billion share repurchase authorization. Over the past eight years, HRB has reduced its share count by more than 40% through aggressive buybacks, highlighting HRB's strong focus on shareholder returns.
Automatic Data Processing ADP is an active dividend payer. It has increased its dividend annually for roughly 50 consecutive years. ADP's current annualized dividend is approximately $6.80 per share, based on a quarterly payout of $1.70. ADP also conducts share repurchases, complementing dividends with buybacks while continuing to invest in cloud payroll, HR software and AI-enabled services.
INTU’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Intuit have fallen 0.4% over the past month, outperforming the broader industry and underperforming the S&P 500 Index.
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In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S), Intuit is currently trading at 3.15X, which is at a discount to the industry average of 5.21X.
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Intuit’s estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 EPS has been revised upward by a cent to $23.86 over the past 30 days. The consensus estimate for 2026 calls for 18.4% growth year over year.
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Currently, Intuit carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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