Intuit Inc. (INTU) vs Phillips 66 (PSX): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-06-19, INTU is undervalued at $267, with a DCF intrinsic value of $536 and a margin of safety of 50%. PSX is fairly valued at $166, with an intrinsic value of $183 and a margin of safety of 9%. Of the two, INTU has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★Gross margin of 80.8% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Intuit Inc. scores 79/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
- ★Free cash flow has grown at a 18.5% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
- ★Share count has been reduced by 14% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
Risks
- ⚠FCF yield of 7.2% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
- ⚠ROIC has declined by 10.2 percentage points over the past 4 years, which may signal competitive erosion.
- ⚠Gross margin of 12.5% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
- ⚠Trailing P/E of 16.4x is 38% above the historical average of 11.9x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
Key Valuation Metrics
Learn more →Historical Fundamentals
Learn more →Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
$1 Retained Earnings Test
Learn more →> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
Learn more →Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth
Learn more →What growth rate is the market pricing in at $267?
The market implies +4.7% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.
Standard FCF implies a more demanding +2.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.
Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Wide moat driven primarily by revenue predictability. ROIC Consistency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.
No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.
Forensic Accounting
Learn more →M-Score Trend
M-Score Trend
Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
Ownership Breakdown
Learn more →High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
Insider Buying Activity
Learn more →Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.
Insider Selling Activity
Learn more →Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.
🎭 Mr. Market's Mood
Learn more →"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"
"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
⚖️ Buffett Signal
Learn more →The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
Frequently Asked Questions: INTU vs PSX
Is Intuit Inc. or Phillips 66 more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, INTU trades at a 50.2% margin of safety (intrinsic value $536 vs. price $267), compared to PSX's 9.0% margin of safety (intrinsic $183 vs. $166).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, Intuit Inc. or Phillips 66?▼
INTU scores 79/100 (Wide moat), while PSX scores 35/100 (None moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Which company has better free cash flow, Intuit Inc. or Phillips 66?▼
Intuit Inc. (INTU) generates a 7.2% free cash flow yield, compared to Phillips 66's -1.7%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.
Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Intuit Inc. or Phillips 66?▼
INTU earns 28.2% ROIC versus PSX's 1.2%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.
Which dividend is safer, Intuit Inc.'s or Phillips 66's?▼
INTU's dividend earns a safety score of 94/100 (Very Safe), compared to PSX's 79/100 (Safe). INTU has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.