Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Debt to Equity and Related Measures

Over the observed periods, the debt to equity ratio fluctuates moderately, initially decreasing from 0.45 to around 0.20 by April 2021, followed by an increase peaking near 0.45 again around October 2022. Subsequently, a gradual declining trend is noted towards 0.32 by mid-2025, indicating a reduction in financial leverage relative to equity over the longer term. When incorporating operating lease liabilities, the pattern is similar but with slightly higher values, reflecting the inclusion of additional obligations. This suggests a cautious approach to managing leverage with acknowledgment of off-balance sheet commitments.

Debt to Capital and Inclusion of Operating Leases

The debt to capital ratio maintains a relatively stable range between approximately 0.17 and 0.31. Initial values are lower in early 2021, followed by an uptick in early 2022, then a slow but steady decline through mid-2025. Including operating lease liabilities results in a consistently higher ratio by a small margin, generally around 0.02 to 0.04 higher, emphasizing the incremental impact of lease obligations on total capital structure. This stability suggests controlled use of debt financing relative to total capital.

Debt to Assets

The debt to assets ratio exhibits a slight downward trend across the timeline, beginning at about 0.24 in late 2020, falling to a low near 0.18 by April 2024, and remaining around that level into 2025. Consideration of operating leases again raises the ratio slightly but follows a similar downward trajectory. The trend indicates an improving asset base relative to debt or potentially a reduction in debt levels, leading to stronger asset coverage and financial stability.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage ratios display less stable movement with some volatility around 1.6 to 1.9 over the period. After a decline within 2021 to approximately 1.53, a gradual but inconsistent rise is observed through 2024 and into 2025, reaching as high as 1.88 before moderating slightly. This pattern suggests fluctuating reliance on debt versus equity financing, with a tendency toward modestly increased leverage in the more recent periods.

Interest Coverage

The interest coverage ratio shows a pronounced declining trend from an exceptionally high 120.3 in late 2020 down to around 13-14 during 2023, indicating reduced earnings relative to interest expense. However, from 2023 onwards, a recovery phase is apparent, with the ratio improving steadily to above 22 by mid-2025. This suggests an initial erosion in ability to cover interest expenses, followed by strengthened earnings or reduced interest costs, enhancing financial flexibility and risk profile over time.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibited a notable increase starting from early 2022, rising sharply from approximately $2.0 billion to values exceeding $6.9 billion during the first half of 2022. Following this peak, total debt began a gradual decline through mid to late 2023, reaching around $5.9 billion. After this period, debt levels showed mild fluctuations, generally stabilizing in the $6.0 billion to $6.4 billion range through mid-2025, with a slight decline observed toward the latest quarter.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity experienced a consistent upward trend across the entire timeframe, starting near $5.2 billion and growing steadily to surpass $19 billion by mid-2025. A significant acceleration took place in early 2022, aligning with the increase in total debt, with equity growing from about $15.6 billion to a high exceeding $20 billion over the next several quarters. Though minor decreases were present in some quarters, the overall trajectory remained strongly positive, reflecting ongoing growth in shareholder value.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio initially decreased from 0.45 in late 2020 to a low near 0.20 by mid-2021, indicative of a strengthening equity base relative to debt. However, beginning in early 2022, this ratio increased sharply to above 0.40, reflecting the substantial rise in total debt. Subsequently, the ratio steadily declined through 2023 and 2024, moving back down to approximately 0.30. This decline suggests improved leverage management and a rebalancing between debt and equity financing after the earlier surge in borrowing.

Overall Analysis

The data reveals a period of heightened borrowing commencing in early 2022, likely associated with new strategic initiatives or capital expenditures. Despite this increase in debt, stockholders’ equity continued to grow robustly, supporting stable leverage ratios over the medium term. The reduction in the debt to equity ratio following the peak borrowing period points to deliberate efforts to moderate financial risk and improve capital structure efficiency. The company's financial position shows strengthening shareholder value and controlled debt levels in the later quarters of the period analyzed.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt exhibited an initial increase from approximately $2.6 billion to a peak near $7.6 billion between late 2020 and early 2023. Following this peak, a gradual decline occurred, with debt levels decreasing to around $6.4 billion by late 2024. A slight increase was observed thereafter, reaching close to $6.8 billion by mid-2025. Overall, the debt level more than doubled in the early part of the timeframe and then stabilized with moderate fluctuations toward the latter periods.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders' equity showed a significant upward trend from roughly $5.2 billion at the start to almost $20.1 billion by the October 2025 quarter. The growth was steady, with some fluctuations but generally increasing with time. Notable jumps were recorded early in the period and around mid-2023 through early 2024. Despite minor declines at certain points, equity remained consistently elevated after the initial rise, indicating strong capitalization and potential retained earnings growth.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio initially declined sharply from 0.49 to approximately 0.24 in early 2021, indicating a relatively stronger equity base compared to debt. Subsequently, this ratio increased and fluctuated between 0.33 and 0.48 over the following years, showing some variability in leverage. The ratio's movement suggests that while the company leveraged more debt following the initial period, it maintained a balanced capital structure with equity generally outweighing debt. The ratio did not exhibit extreme volatility, but rather a moderate leverage position through the observed quarters.

Overall Analysis

The financial data reveals a period of significant balance sheet expansion, with both debt and equity increasing substantially. While total debt rose sharply in the initial years, the concurrent increase in stockholders' equity outpaced debt growth, improving the company's leverage profile temporarily. Later periods reflect a strategic reduction or stabilization of debt alongside continued equity growth, resulting in a controlled and moderate debt to equity ratio. This pattern indicates a possible focus on strengthening the company’s financial position through equity injections or retained earnings, while managing debt levels prudently to maintain financial stability.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibits a notable increase beginning in the first quarter of 2022, rising sharply from approximately $2.04 billion to a peak around $7.08 billion in early 2023. Following this peak, there is a gradual decline and stabilization, with debt levels fluctuating between roughly $5.9 billion and $6.4 billion from mid-2023 through late 2025. This suggests a period of significant borrowing or debt accumulation initially, followed by measured repayment or restructuring activities.

Total Capital

Total capital shows a substantial upward movement starting in early 2021, nearly doubling from about $7.6 billion in late 2020 to exceed $22 billion by early 2022. After this sharp increase, total capital remains relatively stable with minor fluctuations, generally staying within the $22 billion to $26.5 billion range through to late 2025. This pattern indicates strong capital growth followed by a period of consolidation.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The debt to capital ratio decreased steadily from 0.31 in late 2020 to a low of approximately 0.17 by mid-2021, reflecting either a reduction in debt or growth in capital. However, starting from early 2022, this ratio increases again to around 0.3, aligning with the earlier noted spike in total debt and capital. After reaching this higher level, the ratio gradually declines modestly to levels near 0.23-0.26 through to late 2025. Overall, the ratio shows an initial improvement in leverage followed by a temporary rise and stabilization, indicating changing capital structure dynamics over the period.

Summary Insights

The data suggests a period characterized by significant financial activity beginning in early 2021 and peaking around early 2023. The marked rise in both total capital and total debt implies possible large-scale financing or investment initiatives. Following this, the company appears to focus on managing its leverage effectively, as seen in the gradual reduction and stabilization of the debt to capital ratio. The trends reflect active financial management with phases of expansion and consolidation within the given timeframe.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several noteworthy trends and fluctuations with respect to the company's debt, capital structure, and leverage ratios over the observed periods.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt exhibits significant variability throughout the analyzed quarters. Initially, debt levels were relatively moderate, fluctuating slightly around the 2,400 million mark in the earlier quarters of 2020 and 2021. A marked increase in total debt is observed starting in January 2022, where debt levels surged substantially to above 7,000 million and maintained elevated values around 6,000 to 7,000 million across subsequent quarters. However, from mid-2023 onward, a gradual downward adjustment is evident, with some quarters showing minor rebounds but generally stabilizing below the peaks observed in early 2022.

Total Capital (Including Operating Lease Liability)

Total capital shows a notable upward trend during the early periods, rising sharply from approximately 7,830 million in late 2020 to over 24,000 million by early 2022. Post this increase, capital figures fluctuate within a range generally between 23,000 million and 27,000 million, with some quarters demonstrating moderate growth and others minor declines. The overall trend indicates an expansion in capital base relative to the initial quarters, suggesting increased financing or asset growth during the mid-period, followed by a phase of relative stability.

Debt to Capital Ratio (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The leverage ratio, represented by the debt to capital ratio, reflects the proportional relationship between debt and total capital. Early in the timeline, this ratio declined steadily from 0.33 to around 0.19 by mid-2021, indicating a deleveraging trend or growth in capital faster than debt. However, starting early 2022, the ratio increases again, stabilizing around 0.3 and showing minor fluctuations between 0.25 and 0.32 in subsequent quarters. This pattern suggests that while total debt increased significantly during this period, capital also rose, but with debt maintaining around 25-32% of the capital structure. Towards the end of the observed period, a slight trend toward reduced leverage is suggested by ratios generally below 0.28.

In summary, the financial data indicates a period of significant debt accumulation beginning in early 2022, concurrent with an increased capital base. The leverage ratio's initial decline followed by stabilization suggests strategic financing adjustments to balance growth and risk. The latest quarters point to some moderation in debt levels and a cautious approach to leverage management.

The financial data reveals several notable trends in the company’s balance sheet metrics over the observed quarters.

Total Debt

Total debt showed relative stability from late 2020 through late 2021, fluctuating slightly around the 2,000 million USD mark. A significant increase occurred at the beginning of 2022, with debt nearly tripling to above 6,700 million USD. Following this jump, total debt maintained a level between approximately 5,800 million and 7,000 million USD, showing a mild downward trend throughout 2023 and into mid-2025, with occasional minor rebounds. Overall, the company appears to have taken on substantial debt in early 2022, then gradually reduced or managed this liability in subsequent periods.

Total Assets

Total assets increased markedly from about 9,700 million USD in late 2020 to over 14,800 million by October 2021. This was followed by a sharp surge at the start of 2022, jumping to above 26,000 million USD, similar to the debt increase pattern. Post-surge, total assets fluctuated around the 27,000 to 33,000 million USD range with a general upward trajectory, peaking near 36,600 million USD in early 2025 before declining slightly towards mid-2025. This suggests active asset acquisition or growth concurrent with increased leverage, with overall asset base expansion over the analyzed period.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt to assets ratio decreased from 0.24 in late 2020 to about 0.13 during early quarters of 2021, reflecting an improved leverage position likely due to the rapid asset growth relative to stable debt levels. However, by early 2022, this ratio nearly doubled to above 0.25, coinciding with the sharp increases in both debt and assets. Subsequently, the ratio gradually declined, reaching approximately 0.16 by mid-2025, indicating a moderate reduction in leverage risk over time. The ratio’s movement mirrors the trends in debt and asset amounts, underscoring periods of increased borrowing followed by deleveraging efforts.

In summary, the company significantly expanded both its assets and liabilities beginning in early 2022, reflecting perhaps strategic investments financed through increased borrowing. Post-expansion, there is evidence of a concerted effort to control leverage, as seen in the gradual reduction of the debt to assets ratio and the modest decrease in total debt, despite total assets continuing to grow overall. These patterns suggest active financial management aimed at balancing growth initiatives with leverage containment.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt exhibited variability over the periods analyzed. Initially, debt ranged between approximately $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion up to early 2021, followed by a significant increase starting January 2022, reaching a peak above $7.5 billion in late 2022. Subsequently, there was a gradual decline in total debt through mid-2023, with values moving from about $7.1 billion down to $6.3 billion by late 2023. From early 2024 onward, debt figures stabilized somewhat within a band from roughly $6.4 billion to $6.8 billion but showed some upward volatility approaching mid-2025.

Total Assets

Total assets revealed a generally upward trend throughout the period, beginning at approximately $9.7 billion and increasing steadily to above $26 billion by early 2022. This growth continued, albeit with some fluctuations, reaching a maximum near $36.5 billion in early 2025. Despite periodic dips, total assets consistently remained elevated relative to the start of the timeframe, underscoring ongoing asset accumulation or investment.

Debt to Assets Ratio (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The debt to assets ratio demonstrated fluctuations that broadly tracked changes in total debt and total assets. Initially, the ratio declined from 0.27 to a low around 0.15 by early 2021, reflecting faster asset growth relative to debt. However, from early 2022 there was a marked increase in the ratio to approximately 0.28 by late 2022, coinciding with the peak in debt levels. After this peak, the ratio declined steadily, reaching near 0.2 by mid-2024, indicating an improved balance between debt and asset growth. Towards mid-2025, the ratio showed minor increases and decreases, suggesting some short-term variability but generally maintaining a moderate leverage level around 0.2.

Summary

The overall analysis points to a firm that expanded its asset base substantially over the observed timeframe, particularly from 2020 through early 2025. Concurrently, the company experienced a period of increased leverage beginning in early 2022, with total debt rising significantly and the debt-to-assets ratio peaking as a result. In the latter part of the period, the company appears to have moderated its debt levels and improved its leverage position, reducing the debt-to-assets ratio closer to earlier, more conservative levels. The data suggest a strategic utilization of debt to fund asset growth, followed by efforts to strengthen the balance sheet by managing and reducing leverage.

The analysis of the financial data reveals several notable trends in the company's balance sheet elements over the covered periods.

Total Assets

Total assets show a general upward trend from October 2020 through the mid-2024 periods, increasing significantly from approximately $9.7 billion to over $33 billion. This growth, however, is not entirely smooth; there are intervals of slight decline or stabilization, such as from mid-2022 to early 2023, and again from early 2025 onward where total assets dip from nearly $37 billion to around $33 billion. Overall, the increase in total assets suggests continued expansion or investment in asset growth throughout most of the timeframe.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity also demonstrates a strong and consistent rise from about $5.2 billion in late 2020 to peaks above $20 billion by early 2025. While this growth trend shows occasional small declines or plateaus—particularly visible after the peak around early 2025—its general trajectory supports sustained value generation for shareholders. The periods of modest decline in equity generally correspond with similar fluctuations in total assets.

Financial Leverage

The financial leverage ratio fluctuates within a relatively narrow range, averaging near 1.6 to 1.8, indicating the company predominantly maintains a moderate level of debt relative to equity. Notably, this ratio decreases from 1.85 in late 2020 to a low near 1.53 by the end of 2021, implying a reduction in reliance on debt or increase in equity during that period. Afterwards, the ratio exhibits cyclical increases and decreases but generally trends upward again toward approximately 1.88 by mid-2025, signaling a gradual increase in leverage over the longer term.

In summary, the company exhibits steady growth in both total assets and shareholders’ equity with some periods of deceleration or slight reduction. Financial leverage remains moderate throughout but shows a tendency toward increased leverage in the later periods, possibly reflecting strategic decisions about capital structure or market conditions. These patterns suggest a focus on expanding the asset base and shareholder value while carefully managing debt levels.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)

EBIT demonstrates significant volatility over the periods analyzed. There are pronounced spikes observed in April 2021 (1928 million US$), April 2022 (2394 million US$), April 2023 (2800 million US$), April 2024 (3132 million US$), and October 2025 (3752 million US$). These peaks suggest strong seasonal or cyclical influences, possibly linked to specific business cycles or fiscal quarters. Conversely, several quarters reveal notably low or even negative EBIT values, such as January 2021 (29 million US$), July 2022 (-67 million US$), July 2024 (-80 million US$), indicating periods of operational challenges or high costs impacting profitability during those times.

Interest expense

Interest expense shows a rising trend over the timeline. Starting at 8 million US$ in October 2020, it increases substantially, reaching peaks around 65-68 million US$ in the 2022-2023 periods. The data reveals sustained higher interest expenses after early 2022, maintaining elevated levels in subsequent quarters with some fluctuation between 57 and 68 million US$. This increase may reflect higher debt levels or increased interest rates influencing financing costs.

Interest coverage ratio

The interest coverage ratio exhibits a clear downward trend from very high levels above 80x in early 2021 toward more modest levels by mid-2023, stabilizing around 13x to 16x. This decline aligns with rising interest expenses and more variable EBIT figures. However, from 2023 onward, the ratio gradually improves to exceed 20x by October 2025, indicating strengthening operational earnings relative to interest obligations. Despite this improvement, the ratio in later periods remains lower than the initial peak levels, suggesting that while the company maintains strong ability to cover interest, the margin has tightened compared to earlier periods.

Summary of trends and insights

Overall, the company’s EBIT performance signals significant cyclical volatility with strong periodic earnings punctuated by episodes of weakness or losses. The increasing interest expense reflects higher financing costs, which exert pressure on net profitability. Correspondingly, the interest coverage ratio’s substantial decline post-2020 highlights this pressure, though the recent recovery suggests improved operational efficiency or earnings growth relative to debt service costs. The fluctuations in EBIT combined with rising interest expenses underscore the importance of managing operational risks and financial leverage. The data indicates that despite challenges during some quarters, the company maintains a robust capacity to meet interest obligations over the full timeline.