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Intuit Lifts Forecasts on Strong Tax Season and AI Momentum

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Intuit raised its fourth-quarter and full-year guidance after strong demand during the U.S. tax season and growing interest in its AI-powered financial tools, sending shares up over 8% in extended trading.

The company, known for TurboTax, Credit Karma, and QuickBooks, saw a 15% year-over-year increase in third-quarter revenue to $7.75 billion, beating analysts’ estimates. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose to $11.65, also topping consensus expectations of $10.91.

AI Push and Product Revamp

Intuit is preparing to launch a suite of AI agents designed to act on behalf of users, with deployment in the QuickBooks portfolio planned in the coming weeks. CFO Sandeep Aujla confirmed a revamped product lineup featuring AI agents such as “accounting” or “finance” specialists, which users will be able to purchase as add-ons to their standard plans.

“There’s going to be a new lineup, and as part of that, we will have price changes,” Aujla told Reuters.

Q4 and Annual Outlook Raised

  • Q4 Revenue Forecast: $3.72B–$3.76B (vs. $3.51B estimate)

  • Q4 Adjusted EPS: $2.63–$2.68 (vs. $2.59 estimate)

  • Full-Year Revenue Growth: ~15% (up from 12–13%)

Intuit now expects stronger growth driven by product innovation and the expansion of AI-driven tools across its offerings.

TurboTax Trends

TurboTax performance saw a strategic shift this year:

  • Paying TurboTax Online Units: Expected to rise 6%

  • Free Filings: Expected to fall by 2 million to 8 million users, as Intuit shifted focus to paid and assisted options

This reflects Intuit’s strategy to monetize more of its user base while maintaining leadership in the tax prep market.

Airwallex Hits $6.2 Billion Valuation in New $300 Million Funding Round

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Airwallex, the global fintech firm specializing in cross-border payments, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $300 million in fresh capital, lifting its valuation to $6.2 billion — an 11% increase from its previous valuation in 2022.

The raise comes at a time when the broader private funding market remains tepid. According to PitchBook, over 26% of completed deals in Q1 2025 were either flat or down rounds, reflecting ongoing investor caution amid persistent high interest rates, recession fears, and geopolitical uncertainty, particularly around U.S. trade policy under Donald Trump.

Growth Despite Market Headwinds

Founded in Melbourne in 2015, Airwallex has grown into a leading payments platform offering international invoicing, cross-border payments, and spend management tools. The company moved its U.S. headquarters to San Francisco in 2023 and now has its global headquarters in Singapore.

“Just a few years ago, most of our business came from our cross-border infrastructure. Today, online payment processing and spend management account for over 70% of net revenue,” said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex.

The firm’s client roster includes global names such as Shein, Qantas, and Xero.

Investor Support and Strategic Focus

The latest round included backing from well-known venture firms such as Square Peg, DST Global, Lone Pine Capital, and Blackbird, bringing Airwallex’s total funding to over $1.2 billion.

Zhang emphasized that Airwallex is targeting Japan, Korea, and Latin America for its next wave of geographic expansion, further challenging incumbents like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup in the global payments arena.

Industry Context

While the fintech sector enjoyed explosive growth during the post-COVID digital transformation wave, funding has since slowed dramatically. Airwallex’s successful raise — and upward valuation — positions it as a standout performer in a cautious investment climate, signaling investor confidence in its business model and global strategy.

Tencent Says AI Chip Stockpiles Shield It from U.S. Curbs as Q1 Revenue Beats Forecasts

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Tencent Holdings reported a strong 13% year-on-year revenue increase in the first quarter of 2024, reaching 180 billion yuan ($24.97 billion) and beating analysts’ expectations. The gains were largely fueled by growth in domestic and international gaming, AI-powered advertising, and financial technology services.

Despite ongoing U.S. restrictions on advanced chip exports, Tencent President Martin Lau downplayed the impact, stating that the company had previously stockpiled AI chips, enabling it to maintain momentum in its artificial intelligence development plans.

“The good thing is that we have a strong stockpile of chips… useful for executing our AI strategy,” Lau said during the earnings call.

While Nvidia’s H20 chip and other high-end processors have been barred from sale to Chinese firms under U.S. export restrictions, Tencent noted that alternative chips are available domestically, and its software advancements would help optimize chip usage.

Key Financial Highlights (Q1 2024):

  • Revenue: 180 billion yuan (vs. 174.6B expected, LSEG)

  • Net profit: 47.8 billion yuan (below 52.2B analyst estimate)

  • Domestic gaming revenue: Up 24% to 42.9B yuan

  • International gaming revenue: Up 23% to 16.6B yuan

  • Marketing services revenue: Up 22% to 17.7B yuan

  • FinTech & Business Services revenue: Up 16% to 27.6B yuan

AI and Strategic Investments

Tencent reaffirmed its commitment to AI development, planning to allocate a low double-digit percentage of 2025 revenue to capital expenditure, primarily targeting AI infrastructure. The company continues to evolve its proprietary large language model Hunyuan, and recently released a public-facing version named T1.

Tencent has also emerged as a collaborative leader among Chinese tech giants, integrating AI models from DeepSeek, an emerging firm known for developing competitive, cost-efficient alternatives to Western AI systems.

Broader Implications

The company’s performance illustrates Tencent’s resilience in the face of geopolitical tech tensions, while demonstrating the commercial viability of China’s AI ecosystem—even under hardware constraints. Its diverse revenue base, spanning gaming, advertising, and financial services, is increasingly supported by AI innovation, keeping Tencent at the forefront of China’s digital economy.