Intuit stock slips after Wells Fargo downgrade as IRS sets Jan. 26 start for tax season
10 January 2026

Intuit stock slips after Wells Fargo downgrade as IRS sets Jan. 26 start for tax season

NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2026, 17:32 EST — Market closed

  • After Wells Fargo downgraded it ahead of tax season, Intuit slipped 0.9% on Friday.
  • The IRS announced the 2026 filing season will kick off on Jan. 26, a crucial date for TurboTax demand.
  • CEO Sasan Goodarzi revealed plans to sell 41,000 shares in recent SEC filings

Intuit Inc (INTU.O) saw its shares slip 0.9% to end Friday at $646.90, following a Wells Fargo downgrade. The bank cut its price target to $700 from $840 for the TurboTax owner. Shares fluctuated between $636.46 and $653.00, with roughly 1.3 million changing hands.

The timing’s tricky for the stock as the IRS announced this week that the 2026 filing season kicks off Jan. 26—the first day it’ll accept 2025 tax returns. Taxpayers have until April 15, 2026, to file, with the IRS expecting roughly 164 million individual returns, most submitted electronically.

Intuit hit its ex-dividend date Friday for a $1.20-per-share dividend due January 16. According to a company filing, only shareholders on record by the close of business January 9 will receive the payout. Anyone buying shares after that date won’t qualify.

Wells Fargo’s note leaned heavily on comparisons. Analyst Michael Turrin said last year’s “robust rebound in tax” would be a “tough act to follow,” flagging what he described as elevated expectations for the stock. TipRanks

A Form 4 filing revealed that CEO Sasan Goodarzi sold 41,000 shares on Jan. 7 at roughly $650 each, following a Rule 10b5-1 plan set up on Oct. 6. Meanwhile, a Form 144 filing flagged a planned sale of 41,000 shares valued near $26.7 million. Founder and director Scott Cook also disclosed gifting 30,750 shares to a nonprofit. (For reference, a 10b5-1 plan is a prearranged trading program; Form 144 signals an intended sale.

Intuit’s QuickBooks Small Business Index reported that U.S. small businesses employed roughly 12.92 million people in December 2025, gaining around 5,500 jobs from November. The index also revealed a 1.27% rise in average real monthly revenue per business, reaching $48,270. Intuit clarifies this data doesn’t reflect its own performance.

The company rolled out product updates just before filing season. This week’s QuickBooks Online update focused on inventory features like automated quantity adjustments, moving average cost tracking, and tweaks to item receipts and sales orders.

Competitive signals are all over the place. On Thursday, tax-prep rival H&R Block boosted its full-year forecast, sending its shares up more than 3%. That move is drawing extra focus to how the early filing season unfolds across the industry.

Intuit has scheduled its annual stockholder meeting for Jan. 22, as listed on its investor calendar.

When Intuit last reported, it projected second-quarter revenue growth around 14% to 15%, yet its adjusted profit guidance fell short of Wall Street’s forecast. “We are confident in delivering double-digit revenue growth and expanding margin this year,” finance chief Sandeep Aujla said during the call. Reuters

A quiet calendar doesn’t mean the tape will stay calm. If early filers hold back, refunds slow down, or new tax-law tweaks create hurdles, the season can kick off sluggishly — and this stock often moves based on weekly sentiment, not only quarterly results.

The next big milestone is earnings. According to Zacks’ calendar, Intuit is set to report on Feb. 24. Traders will be watching closely for clues from those initial weeks of the filing season.

Khadija Saeed

Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech, specializing in stocks, technology and emerging industries. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and previously worked in market research before moving into financial journalism. Her coverage focuses on the companies, innovations and economic trends influencing global investors. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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