While the rest of the software sector gets its teeth kicked in, Intuit quietly dropped a Q2 earnings report that made Wall Street’s AI skeptics look foolish.
The TurboTax and QuickBooks parent posted $4.62 billion in revenue for fiscal Q2 2026 — a 15.5% jump year-over-year that beat analyst estimates by over $180 million. Non-GAAP earnings came in at $3.84 per share, demolishing the $3.58 consensus. Gross margins? Still hovering around 80%. Operating margins expanded to 27%. And management sweetened the deal with a 15% dividend hike and a fresh $3 billion share repurchase authorization.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a beat-and-raise story. It’s proof that Intuit’s massive AI pivot is actually working. The company’s proprietary Generative AI Operating System — GenOS — now powers “Intuit Assist,” an AI financial assistant that lives across the entire ecosystem. In TurboTax, it handles the grunt work of tax categorization. In QuickBooks, it surfaces cash flow gaps before they become emergencies. In Credit Karma, it delivers personalized financial health scores with actionable steps.
CEO Sasan Goodarzi has been preaching the “AI-driven expert platform” gospel since 2019, and the numbers are finally proving he wasn’t just generating PowerPoint slides. Revenue has nearly tripled under his tenure. The stock is up 22% over the past year, comfortably outpacing the S&P 500 — and this in a climate where software names like Salesforce and The Trade Desk are getting absolutely torched.
The IRS Direct File threat that spooked investors in 2024? Non-factor. Turns out, a free government tax filing tool can’t compete with an AI that essentially does your taxes for you while you drink coffee. Intuit’s moat isn’t just brand recognition anymore — it’s an intelligent ecosystem that gets smarter with every transaction.
With the solopreneur and creator economies exploding, Intuit’s addressable market keeps expanding. Millions of people now run businesses from their phones. They need payroll, invoicing, marketing (via Mailchimp integration), and tax prep — all in one place. That’s exactly what Intuit built.
Is the stock cheap? Not exactly — but quality rarely is. For investors who’ve been burned by the AI hype cycle in software, Intuit is the rare company where the AI investment is already showing up in the P&L. That’s not a narrative. That’s math.