Who Owns Intuit Inc?: 13 Mindblowing Discoveries
Exploring the Ownership Structure Behind Global Fintech Leader Intuit
From its early days as a small startup to its current status as a Fortune 500 industry giant, Intuit has come a long way in its nearly 40-year journey. A key driver of the company’s tremendous growth and success has been its public ownership structure.
Intuit has been a publicly traded company since 1993 when it conducted an initial public offering (IPO). Having a broad base of public shareholders has given Intuit access to growth capital while also keeping the company accountable.
Let’s take a deeper look at who exactly owns shares of Intuit today, the company’s shareholder base, and how its public ownership has empowered growth.
Founders Retain Significant Stakes
Despite no longer running day-to-day operations, Intuit’s founders Scott Cook and Tom Proulx remain major shareholders. This ensures the founders’ interests stay aligned with the company’s long-term success.
Cook currently owns 11.3 million shares representing about 4% of total shares outstanding. The company’s largest individual shareholder, Cook has a net worth over $3 billion largely thanks to his Intuit holdings.
Meanwhile, founding programmer Tom Proulx also retains a sizable stake of over 1.5 million shares. Intuit’s creators maintain significant skin in the game.
Institutional Investors Dominate Ownership
While founders and insiders hold meaningful stakes, the vast majority of Intuit shares are owned by institutional investment funds. This includes mutual funds, hedge funds, pensions, endowments, and other large professional investors.
Some of the biggest institutional owners of Intuit stock include:
– Vanguard Group – 25 million shares (8.8% of total)
– BlackRock Inc. – 19.8 million shares (7%)
– Price T. Rowe Associates – 17.8 million shares (6.3%)
– State Street Corp. – 14.1 million shares (5%)
– Capital World Investors – 11.6 million shares (4.1%)
– Morgan Stanley Investment Management – 11.1 million shares (3.9%)
– Neuberger Berman Group – 7.8 million shares (2.8%)
– Geode Capital Management – 7.5 million shares (2.6%)
These and 400+ other investment firms and hedge funds own around 75% of all shares. Their huge stakes signal strong institutional confidence.
Millions of Individual Shareholders
In addition to founders and institutions, Intuit has a broad base of individual shareholders large and small. More than 19 million individual investors hold shares directly or through mutual funds and ETFs.
Many long-tenured Intuit employees accumulate sizable holdings through stock grants and the employee stock purchase program. Former CEOs and executives also retain meaningful stakes. This further aligns their interests with regular shareholders.
For example, former Intuit CEO Brad Smith owns over $80 million of Intuit stock. Other notable individual holders include current/former leaders like CEO Sasan Goodarzi, Michelle Clatterbuck, Laura Fennell, and Kiran Patel.
Intuit’s thousands of individual shareholders range from early investors to everyday retail investors. This diverse base believes in Intuit’s long-term vision.
Surging Share Price Attracts Owners
One of the biggest attractions drawing in shareholders has been Intuit’s outstanding stock market performance. Since its IPO, Intuit shares have delivered a 16,000%+ return.
The stock has surged from a split-adjusted IPO price of just $0.39 per share in 1993 to over $600 per share today. That works out to a compounded annual growth rate exceeding 20% over nearly 30 years.
This remarkable track record has made Intuit a darling of growth investors and fund managers seeking market-beating returns. With shares continuing to reach new all-time highs, Intuit has created tremendous wealth for long-term shareholders.
$160 Billion Market Value
Driven by surging shares, Intuit’s entire company is currently valued by the stock market at over $160 billion. This places Intuit firmly among the 100 most valuable publicly traded U.S. companies.
Intuit’s market capitalization reflects the stock market’s belief in the company’s brands and financial software leadership. Shareholders are eager to tap into Intuit’s future in fintech.
This huge market cap is supported by strong fundamentals like 25+ million global customers, $9 billion in annual revenue, and over $2 billion in operating cash flows. Intuit has scale and profits to match its stature.
Who Owns Intuit Inc?
Share Repurchases Reward Owners
Intuit deploys billions of dollars to repurchase its own shares through buyback programs. This benefits existing shareholders by reducing the share count to spread ownership across.
In fiscal 2022 alone, Intuit spent $2.2 billion buying back 3.5 million shares. Over the past decade, the company has reduced total shares outstanding by nearly 25% through repurchases.
When fewer shares are available, each shareholder owns a bigger portion of the company. Buybacks also support EPS growth by shrinking the denominator. Intuit frequently allocates excess capital to share repurchases given their return benefits.
Public Ownership Drives Accountability
Becoming publicly traded instilled financial discipline in Intuit and accountability to a broad base of outside shareholders. Quarterly earnings reports and transparency requirements motivated strong execution.
The scrutiny of being a public company incentivizes management to optimize operations and intelligently allocate capital. It also subjected Intuit to external oversight from regulators and auditors.
Public shareholders demand excellence from leadership. The wisdom of public markets ultimately pushed Intuit to sharpen strategy and performance, creating immense value along the way.
Access to Growth Capital
Tapping into public markets gave Intuit ample capital to fund ambitious expansion plans and execute transformative acquisitions. This fueled growth globally across new segments.
Notable acquisitions enabled by public equity capital include:
– Rock Financial Corporation – $170 million (2007)
– Mint.com – $170 million (2009)
– Demandforce – $425 million (2012)
– MailChimp – $12 billion (2021)
Issuing stock, convertible debt, and drawing on credit facilities allowed Intuit to pay substantial acquisition prices. Public ownership opened up growth avenues.
Options and Equity Compensation
Being publicly traded allows Intuit to reward employees through stock-based compensation. Employees at all levels are also able to purchase discounted shares through the employee stock purchase plan.
These equity programs attract talent and incentivize employees by tying their wealth to Intuit’s stock performance. Equity plans help retain and motivate staff critical to Intuit’s customer-focused mission.
Between options, restricted stock units, and employee purchases, Intuit distributes 5-8 million shares annually to workers. Employees think and act like owners thanks to their stakes.
A Model for Long-Term Thinking
Unlike most startups chasing quick returns, Intuit adopted a long-term perspective from the outset. Founder Scott Cook sought to build an iconic company that would enhance lives for decades to come.
Intuit’s public ownership structure enabled this durable, customer-focused approach. The company was not beholden to the short-term interests of private equity or venture capital firms.
Shareholders empowered leaders to make bold bets like transitioning products to the cloud and evolving into an AI-driven expert platform. Public markets allowed patience for Intuit’s big ideas to bear fruit.
When companies build for longevity instead of chasing near-term profits, everyone wins. Intuit set an example that the best businesses take decades to create.
A Powerful Flywheel
Intuit’s public ownership flywheel has proven powerful. Customers gain financial benefits, which attracts more users. Happy users buy more products driving revenue growth. Rising profits and cash flows reward long-term shareholders.
This self-reinforcing cycle continues attracting investors who then fund further innovation. Intuit keeps more people prospering through cutting-edge products that simplify financial expertise.
Without supportive public shareholders, this virtuous cycle could not persist. Being publicly owned gave Intuit the runway to perfect this flywheel over nearly 40 years.
Intuit’s Blueprint for Success
Intuit’s journey demonstrates how a public ownership structure enabled by an IPO can accelerate growth for the right companies. The transparency, oversight, capital access, and incentives of public markets drove Intuit’s incredible progress.
Other notable benefits included getting objective valuations, using stock for acquisitions, establishing credible stock plans, and assuaging competition concerns. Intuit strategically tapped into public markets at the optimal time.
For founder-led companies with ambitious long-term visions, following Intuit’s blueprint can be highly rewarding. Intuit exemplifies how public ownership can align stakeholders to achieve exponential growth when executed deliberately.
The chances of building a generational company increase tremendously when public investors provide patience, wisdom and resources. Intuit’s ownership history offers the ultimate case study for founders aiming high.
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Conclusion
Intuit’s public ownership structure has been integral to its rise as a fintech leader. Tapping into public markets through its 1993 IPO gave Intuit the capital, oversight, and incentives to rapidly scale its business over decades.
Despite no longer being involved operationally, Intuit’s founders still retain meaningful stakes, keeping their interests tied to the company’s success. They’ve been joined by a diverse base of institutional investors, employees, and millions of individual shareholders who believe in Intuit’s long-term potential.
Access to growth funding combined with public market transparency and discipline motivated strong execution from leaders over the years. Intuit’s public markets flywheel continues spinning, attracting owners who fund innovation through surging share prices.
For ambitious companies, Intuit sets the blueprint for how public ownership can accelerate growth when pursued strategically. Its journey shows how public shareholders can align to enable great companies to compound value for generations to come. Intuit stands out as a model steward of public equity markets.
Key Takeaways on Who Owns Intuit:
– Intuit has been publicly traded since its 1993 IPO, which fueled growth.
– The founders Scott Cook and Tom Proulx remain major individual shareholders.
– Institutional investors own around 75% of Intuit shares, led by Vanguard, BlackRock and others.
– Over 19 million individuals own shares directly or through investment funds.
– Many employees accumulate sizable stakes through stock grants and the employee purchase plan.
– Surging share prices have delivered over 16,000% returns since the IPO, attracting shareholders.
– Intuit’s market valuation exceeds $160 billion, reflecting its leadership position.
– Share repurchases reward owners by reducing the share count over time.
– Public ownership drove financial discipline, accountability, and access to capital.
– Stock compensation helps attract and retain talent by aligning incentives.
– Patient public shareholders empowered Intuit’s long-term customer focus.
– The public markets flywheel continues fueling Intuit’s future innovation and growth.
Frequently asked questions and answers about who owns Intuit Inc:
Q: When did Intuit go public?
A: Intuit held its initial public offering (IPO) in 1993 and has been publicly traded since then.
Q: Who are the largest individual shareholders?
A: Founders Scott Cook and Tom Proulx remain major individual shareholders along with former CEOs and executives.
Q: What percentage of Intuit do the founders own?
A: Scott Cook owns about 4% of shares outstanding while Tom Proulx owns around 1%.
Q: Which institutional investors hold the most Intuit shares?
A: Vanguard, BlackRock, Price T. Rowe Associates, State Street, and Capital World Investors are the top institutional holders.
Q: How many individual investors own Intuit stock?
A: Over 19 million individuals own shares directly or through mutual funds and ETFs.
Q: How much is Intuit worth as a public company?
A: Its market capitalization is over $160 billion, making it one of America’s 100 most valuable public companies.
Q: How has Intuit’s stock price performed since its IPO?
A: Shares are up over 16,000% since the IPO when adjusting for stock splits.
Q: How does being public help Intuit?
A: It provides growth capital, transparency, accountability, liquidity, valuations and incentives.
Q: Does Intuit pay dividends to shareholders?
A: No, Intuit does not currently pay a cash dividend and focuses excess capital on growth and buybacks.
Q: How much stock do Intuit employees receive?
A: Intuit distributes 5-8 million shares annually to employees through compensation programs.
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