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The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Intuit with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.
See our latest analysis for Intuit
How Quickly Is Intuit Increasing Earnings Per Share?
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Intuit grew its EPS by 11% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. EBIT margins for Intuit remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 12% to US$17b. That's a real positive.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Intuit.
Are Intuit Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Owing to the size of Intuit, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$4.4b. Investors will appreciate management having this amount of skin in the game as it shows their commitment to the company's future.
Does Intuit Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
One important encouraging feature of Intuit is that it is growing profits. To add an extra spark to the fire, significant insider ownership in the company is another highlight. These two factors are a huge highlight for the company which should be a strong contender your watchlists. We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for Intuit that you should be aware of before investing here.