J.M. Smucker experienced a rise in its stock after announcing robust fiscal year 2026 fourth-quarter results and providing an optimistic outlook for fiscal year 2027. For the fourth quarter, net sales increased by 6% to $2.3 billion, and adjusted earnings per share rose 20% to $2.77. For the full fiscal year 2026, net sales increased by 4% to $9.1 billion, though adjusted earnings per share decreased by 10% to $9.15. The company's fiscal 2027 outlook projects net sales to decrease by 3% to 4%, but adjusted earnings per share are expected to range from $9.75 to $10.25, an increase of 7% to 12% from the prior year. Free cash flow is anticipated to be around $1.0 billion.
Conversely, Intuit's shares dropped significantly after the company provided a fiscal 2027 revenue forecast that fell below Wall Street expectations. Intuit projects fiscal 2027 revenue to be between $23.28 billion and $23.51 billion, representing 9% to 10% growth, which is a deceleration from 14% growth in fiscal 2026 and below analysts' estimate of $23.72 billion. The company attributes this slowdown to weaker sales from its Mailchimp platform, a continued decline in desktop product sales, and lower average revenue per TurboTax customer due to strategic pricing changes aimed at attracting more users. Intuit forecasts TurboTax revenue growth of 2% to 3% in 2027, down from 7% in 2026, acknowledging that price is a primary reason customers are leaving TurboTax for lower-cost providers.
Despite the conservative full-year outlook, Intuit did report strong fourth-quarter results, with revenue growing 13.6% to $4.35 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. However, the company's forecast for adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2027, ranging from $22.88 to $23.12, also fell short of analysts' expectations of $27.32. Analysts noted that while the strong fourth quarter suggests AI is expanding Intuit's business, the slower growth guidance indicates the company does not expect the current pace of acceleration to continue.
