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Intuit’s investments in emerging technology looks to be paying off. In the early stages of AI tool deployment, Intuit is observing positive consumer feedback and significantly higher repeat usage cases, Chief Executive Sasan Goodarzi said during the company’s Aug. 21 earnings call, adding that Intuit will be “doubling down in these key [AI] areas” […]
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Vaidik Trivedi
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in backing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order aimed at halting deceptive advertising practices by Intuit, the maker of TurboTax.
The order targets Intuit’s “misleading promotion” that falsely claims its preparation software is free when, in reality, most consumers end up paying for the service.
In the ongoing case of Intuit v. FTC, the attorneys general have filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the commission’s order and dismiss Intuit’s appeal.
“Too many Americans have suffered unnecessary financial losses as a result of Intuit’s deceptive practices, especially low-income families and veterans who were otherwise eligible for free filing services elsewhere,” Nessel said in a news release Wednesday. “I stand firmly with my colleagues in urging the court to uphold the FTC’s decision. We must hold corporations like Intuit responsible for deceptive and misleading advertisements.”
A few years ago, I was lured into using TurboTax when I saw an advertisement claiming it was free. But after spending more than a half hour filling out the electronic form, TurboTax demanded money for its services.
I felt conned. Since I had already filled out the form, I was on the verge of paying the fee and chalking it up to a lesson learned. But I decided the principle was more important and used another service that acknowledged up front that a fee was involved.
The actions by the attorneys general followed a significant settlement in 2022, when a coalition of 50 states and the District of Columbia settled for $141 million over the company’s deceptive marketing and advertising.
In 2023, the commission issued an order requiring Intuit to stop advertising products as free unless there is no cost to all consumers. The company appealed the decision and is seeking to overturn the FTC’s cease-and-desist order.
As a result of the deceptive advertising, millions of Americans, especially low-income taxpayers and military families, have been harmed, the attorneys general claim. The brief details how Intuit allegedly manipulated search results to entice consumers into paying for tax preparation software, even when they were eligible to file their taxes for free. Many TurboTax customers ended up paying for services they should have received for free.
The other states involved in the legal action are Illinois, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia.
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Steve Neavling
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The comparison game is especially difficult to avoid playing these days. We’ve never had more insights into what other people are doing—and more importantly, buying. Anyone with an iPhone can track movements on Find My Friends, get vacation envy on Instagram, feel FOMO on Snap, and have career envy via LinkedIn.
The combined forces of all that social media is taking its toll, even for successful, established adults: Per a recent Intuit Credit Karma survey, nearly half (45%) of Gen Zers and millennials are obsessed with the idea of being rich. Worse yet, that idea feels perennially out of reach. Forty-eight percent of Gen Zers told Intuit Credit Karma they feel behind financially; 59% of millennials said the same.
This obsession—and resultant feeling of underperformance—has led people to lose sight of the actual state of their finances, culminating in what Intuit Credit Karma dubs “money dysphoria.” This condition, of having “a distorted view of one’s finances that could lead them to make poor decisions,” occurs among people of all levels of financial stability, the survey finds, despite how well off they may actually be. Nearly 40% of the survey respondents who admitted to struggling with money dysmorphia said they had at least $10,000 in savings; 23% of the group had over $30,000—significantly among the median savings account balance, which, as Credit Karma pointed out, is just over $5,000 in the U.S.
It’s having a detrimental effect on mental health, the survey shows. Sixty-nine percent of money-dysphoric respondents said they don’t think they’ll ever be rich, and 95% say their obsession negatively impacts their finances. The preoccupation has held them back from accruing savings, buying a home or investing, and instead has led them to overspend and even take on additional debt.
It’s no wonder money dysmorphia is so prominent: Financial stability has never felt farther out of reach for many millennials and Gen Zers in particular. Building up any amount of wealth has been fraught for under-40 workers who have had to shoulder the burden of historic housing unaffordability, a financial crisis or two, crushing student debt, and a stagnated minimum wage against record-high inflation and ballooning child care costs.
But despite these very real uphill battles, workers’ sense of necessity and values are consistently skewed. According to a 2023 Bankrate survey, the average American feels they need to make $233,000 a year to feel comfortable—310% more than the $75,203 the average full-time worker earned in 2021, per the Census Bureau. For respondents to feel wealthy—more than simply comfortable—they need to earn twice that: $483,000.
Comfort is largely defined by the ability to shell out for occasional luxuries while also keeping up with monthly expenses, Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick wrote in the report. “Typically, people fantasize about the notion of getting ‘rich,’ but most aspire to get by or a bit better than that.”
“Money dysmorphia is kind of like today’s version of keeping up with the Joneses,” Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, wrote in the report. “A lot of people are examining their finances and comparing themselves to their peers, people on social media, and even celebrities, which is bringing up feelings of inadequacy.”
The only way out of money dysphoria, Alev went on, is relying on the hard data: Keeping a close eye on your own finances, assessing your goals, and making a realistic plan to work towards them. Also useful would be minimizing your time comparing your situation to others—who are often in mountains of hidden debt themselves.
“Social media and celebrity culture can exacerbate money dysmorphia, because we’re seeing images of people living glamorous lives spending money,” Scott Lieberman, founder of Touchdown Money, told GoBankingRates. “But then again, we don’t know the truth as to how they got that money and how much debt they’ve accumulated.”
Luckily, respondents aren’t too precious about cutting friends off in order to prioritize their own finances; a Credit Karma survey from last summer found that a third of people said they’ve ended friendships with people whose financial decisions don’t align with theirs.
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Jane Thier
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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 622 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Intuit by 99,673.1% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 157,291,233 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $72,069,270,000 after buying an additional 157,133,584 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Intuit by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,298,299 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,176,768,000 after buying an additional 198,646 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intuit by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,314,664 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,428,078,000 after buying an additional 131,586 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Intuit by 3.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,536,542 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,620,408,000 after buying an additional 101,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Intuit by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,444,913 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,340,830,000 after buying an additional 1,027,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.63% of the company’s stock.
INTU opened at $608.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $370.62 and a 52-week high of $617.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.35 billion, a PE ratio of 66.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $542.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $508.58.
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 28th. The software maker reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.49. Intuit had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 17.53%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.
In related news, CEO Sasan K. Goodarzi sold 93,641 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.02, for a total transaction of $53,283,601.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,324 shares in the company, valued at $37,170,662.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Intuit news, CEO Sasan K. Goodarzi sold 93,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.02, for a total value of $53,283,601.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,170,662.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.29, for a total value of $183,041.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $444,311.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,940 shares of company stock worth $56,031,416 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on INTU. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Intuit from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Argus lifted their price target on Intuit from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $642.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Intuit from $505.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Intuit from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.67.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on INTU
Intuit Inc provides financial management and compliance products and services for consumers, small businesses, self-employed, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Small Business & Self-Employed, Consumer, Credit Karma, and ProTax.
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ABMN Staff
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Some consumers who used Intuit’s TurboTax could get up to $85 each as part of a 50-state settlement over the software maker’s tactics that allegedly tricked consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free.
Under the settlement, Intuit must suspend its “free, free, free” ad campaign that promised free tax prep, but actually charged many consumers for the service, according to a Thursday statement by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The $141 million settlement, which also includes residents in Washington, D.C., stems from a 2019 ProPublica report that found Intuit relied on deceptive tactics to steer low-income tax filers away from federally supported free services for which they qualified and into a product that charged a fee to file tax returns.
“Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers, and we’re putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of impacted Americans,” James said in the Thursday statement.
In an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Intuit said, “Intuit is pleased to have reached a resolution with the state attorneys general that will ensure the company can return our focus to providing vital services to American taxpayers today and in the future.”
Here’s what to know about the settlement.
About 4.4 million consumers across the U.S. are eligible for the payment, according to the statement.
People who qualify to receive a payment are TurboTax customers who used the product in the 2016, 2017 or 2018 tax years and were also eligible to use an Intuit IRS Free File Product.
Eligible customers also must have begun their tax returns using a TurboTax Free Edition Product but then have been informed that they were ineligible to use that product, and thus paid for a TurboTax product. Consumers must also have not used the IRS Free File Product in a previous tax year.
For the 2016 tax year, IRS Free File was available for taxpayers who made $64,000 or less.
You don’t need to do anything, according to the settlement website.
If you are eligible, you should receive an email from the settlement fund administrator that informs you of the approximate amount of your payment.
Payments will be mailed throughout May, the site says.
The payment is based on the number of years a consumer used the TurboTax product and whether they qualify.
Most consumers will receive between $29 and $30, the site says, although some individuals who filed for all three of the years covered by the settlement could get about $85, the New York attorney general said.
A multi-state investigation found that Intuit used “several deceptive and unfair trade practices that limited consumers’ participation in the IRS Free File Program,” according to the New York AG’s statement.
For instance, Intuit used similar names for its commercial “freemium” product and the IRS Free File service, and it also blocked its IRS Free File landing page from search engine results in the 2019 tax filing season, the investigation found. That effectively shut out people who were eligible for the free file program from using the service, the statement said.
Free File, a partnership between the IRS and commercial tax-preparation companies, should allow about 70% of U.S. taxpayers to file their tax returns for free, but less than 3% of taxpayers used Free File in the 2020 tax year, IRS figures show.
Intuit stopped participating in the IRS Free File program in July 2021.
The settlement website notes that while payments are being mailed in May, some people may not receive their checks until June. If you haven’t received your check by mid-June, you can visit the settlement site and ask for a payment to be reissued. To do that, you’ll need the claimant ID number from the email that you received.
“Please check back in mid-June if you need to request a reissue, after all checks have been mailed,” the site says.
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