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Intuit Fourth Quarter Earnings Preview
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INTU
When Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU) announces its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, it is expected to report a narrower loss than a year ago. Analysts are anticipating a loss of 4 cents per share, up from a loss of 11 cents per share last year.
Investors care about earnings because they drive stock prices. Strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up and vice versa. SEE: Everything Investors Need To Know About Earnings
What to Expect: For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $2.62 per share.
Intuit is expected to beat last year's reported revenue of $593 million and come in at $653.7 million for the quarter. Intuit is expected to report revenue of $4.21 billion for the fiscal year.
Company Performance: Intuit has reported revenue increases for the past four quarters. It increased 5.2% to $1.95 billion in the third quarter. Prior to that, the figure rose 16.1% in the second quarter, 11.7% in the first quarter and 10.4% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
INTU's P/E ratio of 24.4 falls below the industry average of 74.73. Companies with low P/E ratios may find it easier to surprise the market to the upside, even if their financial performance is not as strong as that of companies with high P/E ratios. The price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). High P/E stocks could be "growth" stocks, while low PE stocks may be "value" stocks. SEE: Profit With The Power Of Price-To-Earnings
Over the past quarter, the stock price has increased from $54.51 on May 18, 2012 to $59.20. Intuit's worst recent stretch was when its stock price fell $3.24 per share between July 18, 2012 and July 25, 2012.
The Competition: Intuit provides business and financial management solutions for businesses, consumers, accounting professionals and financial institutions. The majority of analysts (11 of 17) give Intuit a buy rating. This marks a small improvement, as the number of buy ratings has risen slightly over the past three months.
The company's closest competitor in the software and programming industry is Microsoft (MSFT). Analysts are less optimistic about Intuit than about Microsoft. Twenty out of 28 analysts rate the latter a buy.
Investors care about earnings because they drive stock prices. Strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up and vice versa. SEE: Everything Investors Need To Know About Earnings
What to Expect: For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $2.62 per share.
Intuit is expected to beat last year's reported revenue of $593 million and come in at $653.7 million for the quarter. Intuit is expected to report revenue of $4.21 billion for the fiscal year.
Company Performance: Intuit has reported revenue increases for the past four quarters. It increased 5.2% to $1.95 billion in the third quarter. Prior to that, the figure rose 16.1% in the second quarter, 11.7% in the first quarter and 10.4% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
Over the past quarter, the stock price has increased from $54.51 on May 18, 2012 to $59.20. Intuit's worst recent stretch was when its stock price fell $3.24 per share between July 18, 2012 and July 25, 2012.
The Competition: Intuit provides business and financial management solutions for businesses, consumers, accounting professionals and financial institutions. The majority of analysts (11 of 17) give Intuit a buy rating. This marks a small improvement, as the number of buy ratings has risen slightly over the past three months.
The company's closest competitor in the software and programming industry is Microsoft (MSFT). Analysts are less optimistic about Intuit than about Microsoft. Twenty out of 28 analysts rate the latter a buy.
by
Investopedia Staff
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