New York, February 26, 2026, 05:26 EST — Premarket
- Intuit finished Wednesday with shares up roughly 6.3%, rebounding to $381.23.
- Anthropic’s partnership brought fresh attention to AI strategy, just as results are set to land after the bell.
- Investors want to see guidance, get a read on product demand, and spot any tangible AI payoff.
Intuit Inc (INTU.O) popped roughly 6.3% in the previous session, finishing at $381.23 and drawing new attention in Thursday’s U.S. premarket action. Shares moved in a $353.53-to-$381.59 range for the day, with volume reaching around 5.3 million trades.
Timing’s key here. Software shares have swung sharply, as worries mount that generative AI might threaten subscription models—even as the broader market fights for stability. “Investors are trying to grapple with what could potentially be existential risk,” said Zach Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments. A tech-driven Wall Street rally on Wednesday, highlighted by Reuters, is setting up a tough spotlight for upcoming results from names such as Intuit. Reuters
Software stocks attracted bargain hunters earlier this week, following a flurry of new enterprise products and partnerships from AI shop Anthropic. “We feel positive to see companies partnering with Anthropic,” North Star Investment Management Corp’s chief investment officer Eric Kuby remarked, as attention moved from talk of disruption to the question of monetizing AI. Reuters
Intuit said Tuesday it’s teaming up with Anthropic in a multi-year deal to develop AI “agents”—software designed to automate tasks for mid-market clients—on Intuit’s platform, leveraging Anthropic’s Claude technology. The company added it plans to integrate features from TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp directly into Anthropic’s products. Intuit CTO Alex Balazs called it “a groundbreaking partnership,” according to the statement. Intuit Inc.
Anthropic, which counts Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.com among its backers, has been rolling out a string of new “plug-ins” that link its Claude AI with widely used business apps. According to the company, its latest batch brought on board FactSet, Salesforce’s Slack, and DocuSign. Shares in several of those firms ticked higher after the announcement, Reuters noted. “It’s not a product that’s trying to own every workflow,” said Scott White, Anthropic’s head of product for enterprise. Reuters
Despite Wednesday’s rally, Intuit’s shares are still deep in the red. Reuters Breakingviews notes the stock has fallen 46% so far this year, tracking the broader swoon that’s dragged the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index down 25% in 2024.
Price targets in the sector keep slipping. Wells Fargo trimmed its call on Intuit, slashing the target to $425 from $700 while sticking with an equal-weight rating, according to MT Newswires.
Thursday’s report puts Intuit on the spot: investors want to see hard numbers. Focus points? Small-business accounting, tax filing, Credit Karma’s marketplace activity. Management’s comments on AI spending—and whether that’s driving revenue or customer retention—will be scrutinized closely.
The risk remains. Any hint of caution or vague optimism can erase gains in a hurry, as traders recently hammered software names touting AI without proof it shields pricing, margins, or growth. When financial data gets pulled in, privacy and compliance concerns start breathing down the necks of these products.
Intuit will release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after Thursday’s closing bell, with a conference call set for 1:30 p.m. Pacific. Where the stock heads next will probably hinge on updated guidance and concrete details about the company’s latest AI initiatives.
