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INTU vs. UPST: Which AI-Driven Fintech Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
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Key Takeaways
Intuit posted 16% revenue growth in fiscal 2025 and guides 12-13% growth for fiscal 2026.
Upstart's AI Model 22 boosted underwriting accuracy, driving efficiency and borrower conversion.
Consensus sees INTU sales rising 11.90% in 2026, while UPST sales jump 51.36% in 2025.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the fintech industry, unlocking opportunities for firms that harness data, automation and predictive models to enhance customer outcomes. Intuit Inc. (INTU - Free Report) and Upstart Holdings (UPST - Free Report) exemplify this shift, though with very different strategies.
Intuit leverages its broad ecosystem — QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma and Mailchimp — to build a comprehensive platform for consumers, small businesses and professionals. Meanwhile, Upstart is transforming consumer lending with AI-driven credit underwriting, moving beyond personal loans into auto and home equity products.
Both companies are expanding rapidly, but their growth paths diverge: Intuit focuses on diversification and scale across multiple financial services, while Upstart concentrates on disrupting credit markets. For investors, the choice lies between Intuit’s established breadth and Upstart’s disruptive momentum.
Let’s weigh the pros and cons of each to find out which deserves a spot in your portfolio.
The Case for Intuit
Intuit’s AI strategy is built on scale and integration. Its fiscal 2025 showcased the benefits of years of investment in AI, data and expert-assisted services, with total revenue growth of 16% and operating margin expansion. Management has outlined fiscal 2026 guidance of 12-13% growth, reinforcing confidence in durable double-digit expansion.
The company is unifying its offerings into an all-in-one financial operating system. Intuit Enterprise Suite and QuickBooks Online Advanced are gaining traction with larger, more complex mid-market clients, a segment with an $89 billion total addressable market. Recent product launches introduced AI-driven agents that automate accounting, payments and project management tasks, cutting manual work by up to 60%.
On the consumer side, TurboTax Live adoption surged 47% in 2025, highlighting how AI-enabled tax preparation is reshaping a category historically reliant on manual work. Credit Karma, which grew 32% last fiscal year, continues to deepen integration across Intuit’s ecosystem, creating a scope of year-round engagement.
However, Intuit has its share of challenges as its performance is partly tied to the health of small businesses, lending conditions and consumer tax dynamics. A slowdown in consumer spending or credit demand could pressure growth. Nevertheless, by consolidating customer data and technology spend, Intuit is positioning itself as a financial hub. With recurring revenue, profitability, and strong brand recognition, Intuit’s AI strategy emphasizes resilience and consistent compounding growth.
The Case for Upstart
Upstart’s AI-driven model centers on an ambitious aim to become the “always-on everything store for credit,” underwriting 100% of Americans with superior loan products. Its proprietary AI models, particularly “Model 22,” have materially improved underwriting accuracy, lifting conversion rates and enabling more efficient borrower acquisition. Unlike traditional credit scoring, Upstart’s neural-network-powered system draws on more than 91 million repayment events, giving it a unique dataset advantage.
The company is rapidly expanding beyond personal loans. Auto refinancing and retail lending are scaling quickly, with dealerships increasingly adopting its software to streamline financing. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) represent another massive category, where Upstart’s instant property verification technology can compress a traditionally month-long process into minutes. Small-dollar loans are also growing, broadening customer reach and creating pathways for cross-selling. Collectively, these emerging products are expanding Upstart’s total addressable market by more than tenfold.
Importantly, Upstart is extending AI beyond origination into servicing. Machine learning–driven improvements have reduced delinquency rates by up to 32%, strengthening loan performance. At the same time, generative AI tools are enhancing borrower experiences, from model explainability to customer service. With durable funding partnerships across banks, credit unions and ABS markets, Upstart is positioned to scale these innovations without over-reliance on its balance sheet.
By combining cutting-edge AI with an expanding product suite, Upstart is building a disruptive credit platform that could reshape how lending is done across industries.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for INTU & UPST?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intuit’s fiscal 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 11.90% and 14.39%, respectively. EPS estimates have been trending northward over the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, the consensus estimate for Upstart’s 2025 sales indicates a year-over-year rise of 51.36%. While EPS estimates have been trending southward over the past month, the projections are up from what was expected two months ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation: INTU vs. UPST
From a valuation perspective, we note that Intuit shares are trading at a premium to Upstart.
In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S), INTU stock is trading at 8.49X, ahead of Upstart, which is currently trading at 5.37X. However, both INTU and UPST stocks are currently trading below their one-year median of 9.21X and 5.86X, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance: INTU vs. UPST
Over the past six months, shares of UPST have outperformed INTU and the S&P 500 composite.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
INTU or UPST: Which Stock Is the Better Buy?
Intuit and Upstart both showcase the transformative potential of AI in fintech. Intuit’s strength lies in scale, ecosystem synergies and dependable growth, making it a steady leader in financial software. However, for investors seeking greater upside, Upstart offers the more compelling opportunity. Its rapid product diversification, breakthroughs in AI-driven underwriting and servicing and drive to capture vast lending markets point to far greater disruptive potential. While Intuit will continue to compound steadily, Upstart’s momentum makes it the better stock to buy now.
Image: Bigstock
INTU vs. UPST: Which AI-Driven Fintech Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
Key Takeaways
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the fintech industry, unlocking opportunities for firms that harness data, automation and predictive models to enhance customer outcomes. Intuit Inc. (INTU - Free Report) and Upstart Holdings (UPST - Free Report) exemplify this shift, though with very different strategies.
Intuit leverages its broad ecosystem — QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma and Mailchimp — to build a comprehensive platform for consumers, small businesses and professionals. Meanwhile, Upstart is transforming consumer lending with AI-driven credit underwriting, moving beyond personal loans into auto and home equity products.
Both companies are expanding rapidly, but their growth paths diverge: Intuit focuses on diversification and scale across multiple financial services, while Upstart concentrates on disrupting credit markets. For investors, the choice lies between Intuit’s established breadth and Upstart’s disruptive momentum.
Let’s weigh the pros and cons of each to find out which deserves a spot in your portfolio.
The Case for Intuit
Intuit’s AI strategy is built on scale and integration. Its fiscal 2025 showcased the benefits of years of investment in AI, data and expert-assisted services, with total revenue growth of 16% and operating margin expansion. Management has outlined fiscal 2026 guidance of 12-13% growth, reinforcing confidence in durable double-digit expansion.
The company is unifying its offerings into an all-in-one financial operating system. Intuit Enterprise Suite and QuickBooks Online Advanced are gaining traction with larger, more complex mid-market clients, a segment with an $89 billion total addressable market. Recent product launches introduced AI-driven agents that automate accounting, payments and project management tasks, cutting manual work by up to 60%.
On the consumer side, TurboTax Live adoption surged 47% in 2025, highlighting how AI-enabled tax preparation is reshaping a category historically reliant on manual work. Credit Karma, which grew 32% last fiscal year, continues to deepen integration across Intuit’s ecosystem, creating a scope of year-round engagement.
However, Intuit has its share of challenges as its performance is partly tied to the health of small businesses, lending conditions and consumer tax dynamics. A slowdown in consumer spending or credit demand could pressure growth. Nevertheless, by consolidating customer data and technology spend, Intuit is positioning itself as a financial hub. With recurring revenue, profitability, and strong brand recognition, Intuit’s AI strategy emphasizes resilience and consistent compounding growth.
The Case for Upstart
Upstart’s AI-driven model centers on an ambitious aim to become the “always-on everything store for credit,” underwriting 100% of Americans with superior loan products. Its proprietary AI models, particularly “Model 22,” have materially improved underwriting accuracy, lifting conversion rates and enabling more efficient borrower acquisition. Unlike traditional credit scoring, Upstart’s neural-network-powered system draws on more than 91 million repayment events, giving it a unique dataset advantage.
The company is rapidly expanding beyond personal loans. Auto refinancing and retail lending are scaling quickly, with dealerships increasingly adopting its software to streamline financing. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) represent another massive category, where Upstart’s instant property verification technology can compress a traditionally month-long process into minutes. Small-dollar loans are also growing, broadening customer reach and creating pathways for cross-selling. Collectively, these emerging products are expanding Upstart’s total addressable market by more than tenfold.
Importantly, Upstart is extending AI beyond origination into servicing. Machine learning–driven improvements have reduced delinquency rates by up to 32%, strengthening loan performance. At the same time, generative AI tools are enhancing borrower experiences, from model explainability to customer service. With durable funding partnerships across banks, credit unions and ABS markets, Upstart is positioned to scale these innovations without over-reliance on its balance sheet.
By combining cutting-edge AI with an expanding product suite, Upstart is building a disruptive credit platform that could reshape how lending is done across industries.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for INTU & UPST?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intuit’s fiscal 2026 sales and EPS implies a year-over-year increase of 11.90% and 14.39%, respectively. EPS estimates have been trending northward over the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, the consensus estimate for Upstart’s 2025 sales indicates a year-over-year rise of 51.36%. While EPS estimates have been trending southward over the past month, the projections are up from what was expected two months ago.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation: INTU vs. UPST
From a valuation perspective, we note that Intuit shares are trading at a premium to Upstart.
In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S), INTU stock is trading at 8.49X, ahead of Upstart, which is currently trading at 5.37X. However, both INTU and UPST stocks are currently trading below their one-year median of 9.21X and 5.86X, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance: INTU vs. UPST
Over the past six months, shares of UPST have outperformed INTU and the S&P 500 composite.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
INTU or UPST: Which Stock Is the Better Buy?
Intuit and Upstart both showcase the transformative potential of AI in fintech. Intuit’s strength lies in scale, ecosystem synergies and dependable growth, making it a steady leader in financial software. However, for investors seeking greater upside, Upstart offers the more compelling opportunity. Its rapid product diversification, breakthroughs in AI-driven underwriting and servicing and drive to capture vast lending markets point to far greater disruptive potential. While Intuit will continue to compound steadily, Upstart’s momentum makes it the better stock to buy now.
Currently, INTU has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while UPST carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.