Just a Dude Who Invests
Retail Investor, Economics & Technology Commentary
Intuit's tax-software moat is eroding as AI does taxes cheaply. Perplexity launched an AI tax agent that reads W-2s for a chatbot subscription price, ChatGPT explains 1099s better than TurboTax's $209 Deluxe tier, and an accountant with Claude can do a return in 15 minutes for $50. Intuit's responses, a physical TurboTax store, letting DIY customers leave, usage-based QuickBooks pricing and $1.75B of new bonds, look weak; the stock fell 20% during its earnings call to a five-year low. x.com
Intuit will survive AI, but its products are among the most vulnerable to it, and AI should take a massive chunk of its business. It relied heavily on customers staying for convenience, and it has already admitted customer spending is tightening. Revenue growth has slowed to 10%, and the 17% staff layoff looks like an effort to offset lost future business. It may not be a terrible buy here, but it won't return near historic valuations, and better SaaS options exist. x.com
Intuit's AI risk is overstated, and at roughly 17x FY27 GAAP EPS the stock doesn't match its results. FY26 revenue rose 14% and GAAP EPS 20%; TurboTax units fell 2%, yet revenue grew 7% as AI-plus-expert TurboTax Live grew 37% to 53% of it. QuickBooks' moat is the accountant channel trained on it, plus payroll and payments compliance. The FY27 guide has EPS up 22–24% without unit growth. Risks: banks bundling AI bookkeepers, or tax-code simplification. x.com x.com
Intuit's core TurboTax pricing is collapsing as AI turns tax filing into a commodity. Goldman estimates AI can process a standard return for about $0.12, against TurboTax's blended revenue of roughly $162 per return. Intuit sold confidence, and plain explanations are now free and instant; it said last quarter that it lost on price, then cut 17% of staff. Filing, compliance, audit support and trust still matter, and it has partnered with Anthropic, but the question is what it is worth afterward. … Show more
Intuit is likely to be slightly disrupted by Claude and other AI tools that prepare and file taxes, and is not a great contrarian buy-the-dip opportunity. Cheaper or even free open-source QuickBooks rivals that startups can spin up by vibe coding with Claude add possible disruption from multiple fronts. An accountant replying argues QuickBooks with AI features has pricing power. Disruption is real but has a few winners, such as Reddit and Snap, likely more profitable from AI opex cuts. x.com … Show more
Intuit is a high-quality compounding software business worth owning while sentiment is weak, thanks to ecosystem advantages across TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp and AI layered into products with deep customer relationships. It reported strong Q2 FY2026 results and reiterated full-year revenue guidance of $20.997B-$21.186B, about 12-13% growth, with 14-15% non-GAAP EPS growth. x.com
Intuit risks becoming the example of AI commoditizing software, as AI and agents increasingly answer tax and bookkeeping questions instantly, cheaply or for free, removing the need for a costly middle layer. Its large paying base means AI probably won't crush it immediately, but pricing power and users could get squeezed. Its lofty multiples are likely over; it won't go to zero and could still be decent, but it is down 54% this year in a nasty stage-4 downtrend below its 200-day average. x.com … Show more
Intuit is a casualty of AI replacing SaaS, because TurboTax and QuickBooks exist to navigate complexity that AI can now handle in a conversation. When Claude or ChatGPT can do taxes and manage books, the $180 annual subscription loses its reason to exist. The stock is down 50% over the past year and Intuit is laying off 17% of its workforce, following Duolingo, Chegg and Dropbox. x.com
Intuit's dominant market positions, recurring revenue, high switching costs and exceptional cash generation make it a world-class compounder, and the market's AI fears may be offering it at a discount. x.com
Intuit's fundamentals will disappoint buyers, with its tax business set to grow only 2-3% and GBS 13-14%. Had Intuit not gotten analysts to lower their projections beforehand, the stock would have fallen about 20% after the close. x.com