The year finished above the market’s already-raised bar. After the third-quarter update, fiscal 2026 expectations were roughly $3.91–$3.92 billion of revenue, $1.025–$1.035 billion of EBITDA, and $5.10–$5.20 of adjusted EPS. The filing delivered $3.945 billion, $1.057 billion, and $5.31, respectively—an operating beat rather than merely a favorable comparison with fiscal 2025. The published fourth-quarter adjusted-EPS consensus was approximately $2.22; the company reported $2.38.
| Metric | Fiscal 2026 | Fiscal 2025 / expectation | Read-through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $3.945 billion | $3.761 billion; guidance midpoint $3.915 billion | +4.9% year over year and above target (Financial Results) |
| EBITDA | $1.057 billion | $976.3 million; guidance midpoint $1.030 billion | +8.3% year over year and above target (Non-GAAP Financial Measure — EBITDA) |
| Adjusted EPS | $5.31 | $4.66; guidance midpoint $5.15 | +13.9% year over year and above target (Non-GAAP Financial Measures — Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS) |
| Operating cash flow | $838.7 million | $680.9 million | +23.2% year over year (Cash Flow statement) |
| Quarterly dividend | $0.46 per share | $0.42 previously | Increased 10% (Dividend announcement) |
The underlying operating result was better than the headline GAAP increase suggests. GAAP earnings benefited from an $84.1 million non-cash tax benefit tied to an IRS examination settlement, worth $0.65 per share. That item was excluded from adjusted results, yet adjusted EPS still rose to $5.31 and adjusted EBITDA reached $1.057 billion. This makes the beat more meaningful than simply comparing GAAP EPS, which rose to $5.69 from $4.42 (Financial Results; Non-GAAP Financial Measures — Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS).
Growth was concentrated in the core assisted business, while some adjacent products weakened. Assisted tax-preparation revenue increased 6.1% to $2.561 billion, and international and Wave revenue also grew. Offsetting pressure came from lower royalties, DIY preparation, financial-services revenue, and Peace of Mind service-plan revenue. The mix still produced total revenue growth of 4.9%, ahead of the company’s prior target (Financial Results).
Capital returns strengthened, but leverage remains part of the picture. Operating cash flow increased to $838.7 million, while the company repurchased $512.9 million of stock and paid $211.0 million of dividends. The 10% dividend increase and continued buybacks reinforce the shareholder-return strategy, but long-term debt rose to $1.491 billion from $1.143 billion as the company issued roughly $347 million of new debt after repaying $350 million of existing debt (Cash Flow statement; Consolidated Balance Sheets).
Net read: a genuine, moderate positive surprise. The filing beat the raised full-year targets and the available quarterly EPS expectation, with the adjusted figures showing that the result was not dependent on the one-time tax benefit. The main qualification is that the incremental upside came alongside higher debt and uneven performance outside assisted tax preparation, but the whole filing lands better than what the market had been prepared for.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗