Sasan Goodarzi, president and CEO of Intuit Inc. and Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon has for years counted on millions of third-party sellers to provide the bulk of the inventory that consumers buy daily. But keeping track of their finances has long been a challenge for outside merchants, particularly smaller mom-and-pop shops.
Amazon said on Monday that it’s partnering with Intuit to bring the software company’s online accounting tools to its vast network of sellers in mid-2025. Intuit QuickBooks will be available on Amazon Seller Central, the hub sellers use to manage their Amazon businesses, the companies said. Eligible sellers will also have access to loans through QuickBooks Capital.
“Together with Intuit, we’re working to equip our selling partners with additional financial tools and access to capital to help them scale efficiently,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide selling partner services, said in the joint release.
While the Intuit integration isn’t expected to go live until the middle of next year, the announcement comes as sellers ramp up their businesses for the holiday season, the busiest time of the year for most retailers. The companies said that sellers will see a real-time view of the financial health of their business, getting a clear picture of profitability, cash flow and tax estimates.
Representatives from both companies declined to provide specific terms of the agreement, including how revenue will be shared.
The marketplace is a critical part of Amazon’s retail strategy. In addition to accounting for about 60% of products sold, Amazon generates fees from providing fulfillment and shipping services as well as by offering customer support to sellers and charging them to advertise on the site.
In the third quarter, seller services revenue increased 10% to $37.9 billion, accounting for 24% of total revenue, a number that’s steadily increased in recent years. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on the earnings call that “3P demand is still strong and unit volumes are strong.”
Amazon shares are up almost 50% this year, climbing to a fresh record on Friday, and topping the Nasdaq’s 31% gain for the year. Meanwhile, Intuit has underperformed the broader tech index, with its stock up less than 4% in 2024.
The shares dropped 5% on Nov. 19, after The Washington Post reported that President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency team is considering creating a free tax-filing app. They fell almost 6% three days later after the company issued a revenue forecast for the current quarter that trailed analysts’ estimates due to some sales being delayed.
QuickBooks, which is particularly popular as an all-in-one accounting, expense management and payroll tool for small businesses, has been one of Intuit’s key drivers for growth. The company said last month that its QuickBooks Online Accounting segment expanded by 21% in the latest quarter, while total revenue increased 10% to $3.28 billion.
Intuit has been adding generative artificial intelligence tools into QuickBooks and other small business services, like its Mailchimp email marketing offering, to provide more automated insights for users.
“You can imagine, as we look ahead, our goal is to create a done-for-you experience across the entire platform across Mailchimp and QuickBooks and all of the services,” Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi said on the fiscal first-quarter earnings call.
Goodarzi said in Monday’s release that the company is bringing its “AI-driven expert platform to help sellers boost their revenue and profitability, save time, and grow with confidence.”
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Adobe — The software company tumbled more than 12% after it announced lighter-than-expected revenue estimates for the fiscal first quarter. Adobe guided for revenue between $5.63 billion and $5.68 billion in the fiscal first quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion, according to LSEG. Warner Bros. Discovery — Shares surged 15% after the legacy media company announced plans to restructure and split its business into linear and streaming segments. Constellation Energy — The energy company advanced 3% following an upgrade to buy from Bank of America, with the firm citing rising demand and tightening supply as catalysts for shares moving forward. Celsius Holdings — The energy drink maker surged 5% after JPMorgan initiated coverage at an overweight rating. JPMorgan said lighter inventory and a reacceleration of growth can help the stock rebound. Hershey — Shares rose 2% even after Wells Fargo downgraded the candy company to underweight from equal weight, saying Hershey is at the “precipice of historic EPS pressure in 2025 and (now) into 2026 … and Street EPS needs to come down substantially.” Beverage stocks — Shares of Coca-Cola , PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper all advanced more than 1% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the beverage companies to buy from neutral. Analyst Steve Powers said he expects accelerating trends in restaurant traffic and stronger impulse purchases next year, which he believes should be a boon for the sector. Oxford Industries — Shares pulled back more than 7% after the apparel and footwear company’s fourth-quarter earnings guidance fell short of estimates. Oxford forecast earnings per share, excluding items, in the current quarter of $1.18 to $1.38 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for $1.55 in earnings per share. Riot Platforms — Shares jumped nearly 10% after The Wall Street Journal reported activist investor Starboard Value has taken a “significant position” in the bitcoin miner and is pushing for the company to convert some of its bitcoin mining facilities into space for big data-center users. Pure-play miners such as Riot this year have lagged other miners that pivoted to artificial intelligence. While some caught up in the postelection crypto rally, Riot is still down 16% for 2024. Uber Technologies — The ride-share stock rose about 2% on Thursday, clawing back some of its recent losses. Uber Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said at a Barclays conference late Wednesday that the company feels “very comfortable” with the near-term growth trajectory of its mobility business, according to FactSet. Uber is still down 13% month to date, in part due to concerns about its business as autonomous driving advances. ServiceTitan — Shares of the cloud software company surged more than 40% as ServiceTitan made its debut on the Nasdaq. The initial public offering was priced at $71 per share Wednesday evening, topping the company’s expected range. The stock is trading under the ticker “TTAN.” — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min, Jesse Pound and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting.
“I don’t want to get into a situation where they do and we have a dip or something, because that can always happen,” Trump told CNBC’s Jim Cramer during “Squawk on the Street.”
Trump repeatedly used the stock market as a performance barometer during his first term. In that time, the S&P 500 scaled nearly 68% — reaching all-time highs. Part of that was due to corporate tax cuts passed by the administration at the time. The Federal Reserve also maintained interest rates close to historical lows back then as it tried to spur inflation — also boosting stock prices.
President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by traders, as he walks the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York.
Alex Brandon | AP
He touted at the exchange on Thursday the possibility of lowering taxes again. “We’re gonna do things that haven’t really been done before. We’re gonna cut taxes still further,” he said. “You pay 21% if you don’t build here. If you do, we’re going to try and get it to 15%, but you have to build your product, make your product in the USA.”
Wall Street CEOs and investors such as Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman came to the NYSE for Trump’s bell-ringing ceremony. Ackman told CNBC later that “most of the country understands that the more successful businesses are, the more the stock market goes up, the more that their wages rise, the more job growth, the more opportunity, the more businesses who come to this country, it lifts all boats.”
To be sure, while Trump refrained from telling investors to buy stocks now, he maintained a bullish outlook longer term.
“I think long term this is going to be a country like no other. We had the three best years ever until Covid came,” he said after being named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Constellation Energy — The energy stock added 2% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Bank of America. Analyst Ross Fowler said that the company was in the best position to benefit from upcoming regulatory clarity coupled with increasing demand and tightening supply. This potential is not currently baked into the company’s price, making shares undervalued, he added. Celsius Holdings — Shares of the energy drink manufacturer rose nearly 4% after JPMorgan initiated coverage of the company with an overweight rating, citing lighter inventory and a reacceleration in U.S. energy drink category growth as catalysts. Uber — Shares of the ridesharing company climbed more than 3%, rebounding from losses earlier in the week. The stock has declined for three straight days, including a 5.8% drop on Wednesday after General Motors halted funding of Cruise. The autonomous driving division had a partnership with Uber. Beverage companies — Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers upgraded Coca-Cola , PepsiCo and Keurig Dr Pepper to buy from neutral. Each of the stocks moved up around 1% in premarket trading. The analyst anticipates accelerating trends in restaurant traffic and more impulse purchasing next year, which he believes should benefit the beverage and snacks industry. Adobe — The software giant tumbled 11% after issuing weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for its fiscal first quarter. Adobe anticipates revenues between $5.63 billion and $5.68 billion, versus the LSEG consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Oxford Industries — Shares of the apparel and footwear retailer declined about 4% after posting third-quarter results that fell short of expectations. The owner of retail brands such as Tommy Bahama reported adjusted losses of 11 cents per share on revenue of $308 million for the period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected it to earn 9 cents per share on $316.8 million in revenue. Chewy — The pet goods retailer’s shares fell about 3% in premarket trading after it announced a public offering of $500 million shares, which are being sold by Buddy Chester Sub. The retailer plans to concurrently purchase $50 million in shares from Buddy Chester. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Jesse Pound, Yun Li and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.