Intuit forecasts slower fiscal 2027 growth, shares drop 14%

CFO frames year as reset to reaccelerate with possible free TurboTax push

Intuit on Monday forecast revenue growth of 9% to 10% for fiscal 2027, a deceleration from the 14% growth recorded in the just-completed year and below the roughly 11% analysts had projected, according to FactSet. The Mountain View, California-based software company, known for its TurboTax and QuickBooks products, saw its shares fall about 14% in after-hours trading following the announcement. The stock had already declined roughly 46% so far in 2026 heading into the report.

Chief Financial Officer Sandeep Aujla described the coming period as a deliberate trade-off, telling the Wall Street Journal that “I look at the period we’re entering as a reset to reaccelerate.” The fiscal 2027 outlook incorporates expected declines in Intuit’s desktop business and softer performance from its Mailchimp unit, Aujla said.

The strategy for the year centers on acquiring new TurboTax customers, particularly those with adjusted gross incomes around $50,000. Aujla said the company is weighing free offerings as part of that push, with the expectation of eventually selling those customers additional services.

“We are going to look at opening up the aperture on how we acquire those customers, including possibly free offerings,” Aujla said. “We’re going to deliberately take a hit on our tax DIY, do-it-yourself tax offering.”

For the fiscal first quarter, Intuit projected earnings per share of $1.71 to $1.75 on revenue of $4.29 billion to $4.31 billion, implying roughly 11% growth. Analysts had projected earnings per share of $2.03 and revenue growth of approximately 12%, according to FactSet.

For the full fiscal 2027, the company forecast earnings per share of $20.12 to $20.36 and adjusted earnings per share of $22.88 to $23.12. The adjusted figure includes a $5.81-per-share headwind from share-based compensation expense. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings per share of $27.34 when excluding that impact.

Intuit’s fourth-quarter results, released alongside the outlook, showed a profit of $363 million, or $1.34 per share, down from $381 million, or $1.35 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.03 exceeded analyst estimates of $3.58. Revenue rose 14% to $4.35 billion, ahead of the $4.27 billion analysts had projected.

By segment, the global business solutions unit, which includes QuickBooks online accounting, posted revenue growth of 14% to $3.4 billion, supported by higher prices and customer growth. Consumer revenue also rose 14%, to $930 million, with particularly strong growth at Credit Karma, Aujla said.

The forecast lands against the backdrop of a workforce restructuring Intuit disclosed in May, when it announced plans to lay off 17% of its employees and reinvest the resulting savings into what the company calls its “big bets” — efforts to remake itself into an artificial-intelligence-first platform.