INTU vs ZD: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: ZD is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. INTU and ZD share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined INTU and ZD exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Intuit is a financial technology company built around four platforms: QuickBooks and Mailchimp for small and mid-market businesses, TurboTax for consumer tax filing, Credit Karma for consumer credit and personal finance, and a ProTax line for accountants. The company earns most of its revenue from recurring software subscriptions and services, with QuickBooks Online and TurboTax as the two largest profit engines. It generates high margins, returns cash through a growing dividend and large buybacks, and has been reorganizing its entire product suite around generative AI through its Intuit Assist assistant and a multi-year partnership with Anthropic to build custom AI agents.

Full INTU guide

Ziff Davis descends from j2 Global, which separated its cloud fax business as Consensus Cloud Solutions in October 2021 and renamed the remainder after the Ziff Davis publishing brand it had acquired. Four reportable segments remain after the June 2026 divestiture: Technology and Shopping (PCMag, RetailMeNot), Gaming and Entertainment (IGN, Humble Bundle), Health and Wellness (Everyday Health, Lose It!), and Cybersecurity and Martech (VIPRE, Campaigner, Moz). Mashable and the other consumer titles sit inside the media segments. Revenue arrives in three shapes: display and performance advertising sold against site traffic, subscriptions to software and consumer services, and licensing. In Q2 2026 the four segments produced ~$286.7 million between them, down ~2.7% from a year earlier, with only Gaming and Entertainment and Cybersecurity and Martech growing.

Full ZD guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• INTU drivers: QuickBooks and the small-business platform; AI reinvention and the Anthropic partnership.
• ZD drivers: Redeploying the Connectivity proceeds; The non-advertising half of the business.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The central risk is that AI assistants and free or low-cost automated tools erode the perceived value of paid tax preparation and bookkeeping, pressuring Intuit's pricing power and its historically premium multiple. For ZD, the bear case starts with AI search referral traffic.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick INTU if you believe its drivers more; ZD if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the INTU and ZD guides.

INTU. Intuit posted about 10% revenue growth in fiscal Q3 2026 (the quarter ended April 2026, its seasonally largest tax quarter) and raised full-year guidance to roughly 13% to 14% growth with non-GAAP EPS around $23.80 to $23.85. Despite those results, the shares have fallen roughly 64% over the past year on AI-disruption fears, dropping from a 2025 peak near $800 to the mid-$270s and pushing the trailing P/E near 17, well below Intuit's ten-year median around 48. The result is a stock priced far more cautiously than its reported financials alone would suggest.

ZD. The gap between the market value and the cash pile is what makes ZD screen unusually cheap: back out net cash and the four operating segments are priced at something close to four times their current adjusted EBITDA run rate. Bears would answer that a mid single digit revenue decline compounds, and that a four times multiple on a shrinking base is not the bargain it looks like on a screen. Note also that the trailing revenue figure most data providers still show blends in Connectivity, so year-ahead comparisons will look worse than the underlying trend until the divested period rolls off.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): INTU shows revenue (ttm) ~$20B, q3 fy2026 revenue ~$8.6B (+10% YoY), fy2026 revenue guidance ~$21.3B (+13% to 14%), market cap ~$75B; ZD shows revenue (q2 2026, continuing operations) ~$286.7M, down ~2.7% year over year, revenue (ttm, as reported) ~$1.44B, which still includes the Connectivity division divested in June 2026, adjusted ebitda (q2 2026) ~$76.8M, a ~26.8% margin, versus ~$79.8M a year earlier, adjusted diluted eps (q2 2026) ~$1.03, up ~13.2%, against a GAAP loss from continuing operations of ~$1.43 after a ~$54.8M goodwill impairment.

INTU and ZD are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined INTU and ZD exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.