Why Intuit Stock Popped Today

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) stock jumped 4.4% through Friday, 11:25 a.m. ET, after beating forecasts for fiscal Q1 2026 earnings last night.

Heading into the report, analysts predicted Intuit would earn $3.09 on under $3.8 billion in sales. In fact, Intuit earned $3.34 per share, and sales approached $3.9 billion.

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Intuit Q1 earnings

CEO Susan Goodarzi hailed "an exceptional first quarter." She said Intuit is continuing "to execute on our AI-driven expert platform strategy." (Yes, you read that right. Intuit is now an AI stock).

Sales grew 18%, and profits improved even further. Operating income nearly doubled (up 97%), and net earnings, as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), more than doubled, up 127%.

Those GAAP earnings weren't as good as the "$3.34" earned pro forma, but Intuit's $1.59 per share in GAAP profit was more than enough to give the stock a big lift this morning.

Is Intuit stock a buy?

Guidance was also great. Near-term, management forecasts revenue growth of 14% to 15% in fiscal Q2, along with GAAP earnings of between $1.76 and $1.81 per share.

Intuit says by the end of fiscal 2026 it should have racked up revenue of more than $21 billion -- maybe as much as $21.2 billion -- for 12% to 13% growth. Operating profit should grow about 18%, and GAAP net profit will rise 13% to 15% -- $15.49 to $15.69 per share.

But here's the thing: Even if Intuit hits the high mark on its earnings forecast, at nearly $670 per share, this values the stock at more than 42 times earnings. That's a lot to pay for a tax software company with mid-teens EPS growth. To me, it's so much... that it makes Intuit stock a sell.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuit. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.