Q1 2025 H&R Block Inc Earnings Call

Speaker Change: Thank you for standing by and welcome to H&R Block's first quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call.

Speaker Change: At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker presentation, there will be a question and answer session.

Speaker Change: To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. To remove yourself from the queue, you may press star 1-1 again. I would now like to hand the call over to Michaella Gallina, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Michaella Gallina: Thank you, Lateef. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to H&R Block Fiscal 2025 First Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. Joining me today are Jeff Jones, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Tiffany Mason, our Chief Financial Officer.

Michaella Gallina: Earlier today we issued a press release and presentation which can be downloaded or viewed live on our website at investors.hrblock.com. Our calls being broadcast and webcast live and a replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

Michaella Gallina: Before we begin, I'd like to remind listeners that comments made by management may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws.

Michaella Gallina: These statements involve material risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statement due to numerous factors.

Michaella Gallina: For a description of these risks and uncertainties, please see H&R Block's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as updated periodically with our other SEC filings.

Michaella Gallina: Please note, some metrics we'll discuss today are presented on a non-GAAP basis. We've reconciled the comparable GAAP and non-GAAP figures in the appendix of our presentation.

Michaella Gallina: Finally, the content of this call contains time-sensitive information accurate only as of today, November 7, 2024.

Speaker Change: H&R Block undertakes no obligation to revise or otherwise update any statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this call. With that, I will now turn it over to Jess.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us.

Speaker Change: Today, we will start with first quarter results for fiscal year 2025 and provide an update on each of our Block Horizon strategic imperatives.

Speaker Change: Then Tiffany will discuss our financials and the strength of our capital allocation before opening the line for Q&A.

Speaker Change: We had a good start to the year. I'm pleased with our performance in the quarter, and today we are reaffirming our Fiscal 25 outlook.

Speaker Change: We delivered revenue growth of 5% and successfully converted a higher percentage of assisted extensions into filings in Q1.

Speaker Change: Our international business also performed well and we're continuing to make progress across all three of our Block Horizons imperatives which I'll share more about in a moment.

Speaker Change: On the capital allocation front, we repurchased approximately $210 million of shares in Q1.

Speaker Change: Our team is focused on operational and technical enhancements to improve the client experience in office and online and ultimately helping our clients have greater confidence in their financial outcomes.

Let's jump right into Block Horizons for more detail.

I'll begin with small business.

Speaker Change: Entity clients continue to be a focus area and our marketing message highlights that our small business bookkeeping expertise is offered to clients at up to 50% less than the average accountant, which is resonating with small business owners.

Speaker Change: All in all, we feel good about the trajectory of small business and the long runway of opportunity ahead.

Speaker Change: Turning the wave, revenue growth was 10% in Q1. Since launching our subscription products, pro tier and receipts earlier this year, we've seen positive monetization trends with these higher margin products.

Speaker Change: Adoption among new and existing users has exceeded our initial expectations and our key priorities remain the same. Accelerate revenue growth and drive towards profitability and we are seeing progress in both areas.

Speaker Change: Moving on to financial products, our mobile banking platform Spruce was designed to help people be better with money and it is delivering on that objective.

Speaker Change: Sign-ups have continued to increase and Spruce recently surpassed the milestone of 1 billion dollars in customer deposits.

Speaker Change: As we shared in August, nearly 50% of deposits came from non-tax sources in Fiscal 24, and we have been pleased to see strong trends continue in the first quarter.

Speaker Change: We also know there are Spruce clients who are not currently using H&R Block for their tax preparation needs and believe this is an opportunity for conversion.

Speaker Change: Looking forward, our focus remains on efficiently acquiring clients and driving year-round user engagement within the Spruce app.

Speaker Change: Now let's turn to Block Experience, which is all about blending digital tools with human expertise and care.

Speaker Change: We are well positioned to serve clients however they want to be served. Fully virtual to fully in person and every way in between.

We're driving our approach through the lens of our clients.

Speaker Change: how they choose to work with us, the desire they have for price transparency, and ultimately the confidence they are seeking in their tax outcome and financial stability.

Speaker Change: We continue to believe that AI is additive to the tax preparation process and are building upon our use cases to enhance the client and tax flow experience and unlock cost savings.

Speaker Change: For example, in our DIY channel last season, we launched our Gen-AI powered AI tax assist tool for clients in all paid SKUs.

Speaker Change: It performed well and clients found it easy to use and helpful in their tax prep process.

Speaker Change: Importantly, we saw greater conversion among new paid clients who use the tool.

Speaker Change: With learnings from its first TACS season, our team has continued to make significant enhancements by expanding the range of topics, deploying hybrid search and semantic ranking, and upgrading to chat GPT 4.0 to improve accuracy and deliver confidence for users.

Speaker Change: AI Tax Assist will be offered free of charge in all DIY online paid SKUs once again this season, giving clients unlimited access to the tool, as well as H&R Block tax pros, in order to receive the expert help they need and want.

Speaker Change: We believe that combination of AI, along with the expertise of our H&R Block tax bros, is a competitive advantage versus other players in the industry.

Speaker Change: Clients also have the option for one of our expert tax professionals to double check their completed return, along with source documents, and file on their behalf with our TaxPro review product, which we have grown double digits for nearly a decade.

as one of our highest converting and highest retention products.

Speaker Change: Tax Probe Review combines the best of both worlds by giving clients control of preparing their own taxes along with the confidence that a tax professional has thoroughly reviewed everything to maximize their outcome.

Speaker Change: We know clients desire help whether they are completing their taxes on their own or turning them over to a tax professional and we are well positioned to serve them however they need in order to ensure they get their maximum refund.

Speaker Change: We've also made meaningful improvements in the core DIY user experience from start to finish.

Speaker Change: We've simplified the flow for new clients and streamlined onboarding to make it even easier for clients to start in the product best suited for their tax situation based on the information they provide, and to have confidence in their outcome before they file.

Speaker Change: We're pleased that our continued commitment to user experience and innovation is recognized in the market.

Speaker Change: We have already won multiple product awards this year, including the most recommended tax software in Kiplinger's Reader's Choice Awards, highlighting our leadership in the industry and the trust our clients place in us.

Speaker Change: In the assisted channel, our market share is about four times the next two largest branded competitors combined.

Speaker Change: and genuine care and advice from our expert tax professionals who on average have been with our brand for 10 years. Thousands of which are CPAs, enrolled agents, senior tax professionals or are small business certified.

Speaker Change: Our H&R Block offices are conveniently located within 5 miles of most Americans, and we will continue to reinforce our strong local value proposition.

Speaker Change: Well, we've been matching clients with tax professionals to align with their needs for many decades.

Speaker Change: This year, we are adding multiple new dimensions to our matching algorithms, which we expect will not only enhance the overall client experience, but also optimize the efficiency of our tax professionals and allow more experienced tax pros to handle more complex situations.

Speaker Change: Another way we're improving the client experience is through MyBlock, which is H&R Block's digital front door.

Speaker Change: Through this authenticated experience, clients can accomplish many things, from uploading and storing their tax documents, to starting a DIY return, or working directly with a tax pro via chat.

Speaker Change: Clients can also review, approve, and pay for their return, track their refund, and manage their Emerald card all in one convenient place year-round.

Speaker Change: We are rolling out several new features to improve nearly every aspect of the user experience and new client flow.

Speaker Change: Returning clients will now have a tailored start screen that will display their assigned tax pro and indicate if they have an upcoming appointment or a DIY service started, building confidence that they will get the help they need.

Speaker Change: Additionally, we heard from clients that they wanted a way to better understand their tax outcome so they have confidence in the size of the refund or balance due.

Speaker Change: With our new outcome reveal screen, clients will be able to see a summary of their tax calculation so they can better understand their outcome before discussing it with their tax pro and completing their return, all of which helps to reinforce our expertise.

Speaker Change: As clients increasingly seek a comprehensive solution that is easy to use, we believe MyBlock will play a crucial role in meeting their needs.

Speaker Change: Now, joining me today for her first earnings call at H&R Block is our CFO, Tiffany Mason.

Speaker Change: I've been thrilled to have her on board for the last three months, and I will now pass it over to her to share more about our financial results.

Tiffany Mason: Thank you Jeff and good afternoon everyone. Since joining H&R Block in August, I have been impressed by the company's vision, culture, and commitment to innovation and excellence.

Tiffany Mason: I've enjoyed partnering with Jeff and our entire team to continue driving long-term value for stakeholders.

With that, let me share our Q1 financial results.

Tiffany Mason: We delivered 194 million dollars of revenue, an increase of 10 million dollars or 5% over the prior year. The increase was primarily due to higher company owned volumes and a higher net average charge in the assisted category combined with higher international tax preparation revenues.

Tiffany Mason: Total operating expenses were $422 million, an increase of $32 million, or 8%.

Tiffany Mason: higher corporate wages, and an increase in legal fees and settlements in the current year.

Tiffany Mason: Without the increase in legal costs, operating expenses would have grown in line with the increase in revenue.

Tiffany Mason: Interest expense was $16 million in the quarter, flat to last year.

Tiffany Mason: Given the seasonality of our business, we typically operated a loss in the first two quarters of our fiscal year.

Tiffany Mason: Our pre-tax loss in the first quarter of this year was $232 million compared to $212 million in the prior year. And our effective tax rate was 26.2% compared to 23.3% last year.

Tiffany Mason: The EBITDA loss for the first quarter was $188 million compared to an EBITDA loss of $166 million last year.

Tiffany Mason: And the loss per share from continuing operations was $1.23 compared to $1.11 last year. While adjusted loss per share from continuing operations was $1.17 compared to $1.05 last year due to a higher pre-tax loss and fewer shares outstanding.

Tiffany Mason: As a reminder, in quarters with a loss, fewer shares outstanding increase the loss per share but are accretive as we generate earnings for the full year.

Tiffany Mason: Our first quarter results were on track relative to our expectations and we believe we are well positioned to deliver results for the full year.

Speaker Change: So as Jeff shared, we are reiterating our fiscal year 2025 outlook, which was provided in today's earnings release.

Speaker Change: We continue to expect our full-year effective tax rate to be approximately 13%, which is lower than historical levels due to the closure of various matters under examination and the expiration of certain statutes of limitation.

Speaker Change: We expect this to provide a one-time benefit of approximately 50 cents to EPS this fiscal year.

Speaker Change: Beyond this year, we continue to expect the effective tax rate to return to the low 20s.

Turning now to capital allocation, our practices remain strong.

Last month we paid our regular quarterly dividend.

Speaker Change: But you'll recall reflected the 17% increase we announced in August.

Since 2016, we have increased the dividend by 88 percent.

Speaker Change: In the first quarter, we also repurchased a total of 3.3 million shares of stock for $210 million at an average price of $63.51 per share.

This retired another 2.4% of our shares outstanding.

Speaker Change: With that, I will now turn things back over to Jeff for closing remarks.

Jeff Jones: Thanks Tiffany. Before opening it up for Q&A, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the communities, associates, and franchisees that have been impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. My thoughts are with those facing unfathomable challenges.

Jeff Jones: As a company, we have donated to a number of organizations leading disaster relief efforts, bolstered our Associate Relief Fund, and will continue to evaluate the best ways to support these impacted communities.

With that, Operator, we will open the line for questions.

Speaker Change: Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. To remove yourself from the queue, you may press star 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster.

our first question.

Speaker Change: comes from the line of Karthik Mehta of North Coast Research. Please go ahead, Karthik.

Hi.

Speaker Change: Good afternoon, Jeff and Tiffany. Jeff, just as you look at the upcoming tag season, and I know it's a little early, but any thoughts on what you think from a competition standpoint? Are you anticipating any different competitive maneuvers this time?

Hey Kordick, thanks for the question.

I mean, I guess starting with

Speaker Change: As we sit here today, we don't see any major tax law changes, employment remains strong, you know, and all that kind of nets into what we expect to be more of a normal season again, which is about 1% growth.

Speaker Change: I think, you know, the most common questions we get asked about competition has been assistance, the Intuit's move into the assistant category.

Speaker Change: We've not seen any material impact to our business whatsoever from that move, but obviously, we're always paying attention to what they may be planning to do, and I think most importantly, focused on what we can do better and better.

Speaker Change: to both convert the clients that are choosing H&R Block and making appointments and coming to our offices and then continuing to get smarter and smarter about how we market and communicate our value proposition to prospective clients.

Speaker Change: Jeff, just to follow up. Jeff, in the past you've talked about the DIY product and now the DIY product has a lot of parity with your competitors and you know so far you've priced it lower than TurboTax. I'm wondering maybe your thoughts as we go into this tax season if you think you'll change that strategy at all?

Speaker Change: Yeah, I think as you indicated, our strategy absolutely starts with the product, and as you heard in the prepared remarks, you know, from top to bottom in the user flow this year, we've continued to make experiences.

Speaker Change: and that will be included for free in the paid SKUs this year.

Speaker Change: So I think that product, along with our pros, really helps to position us at a competitive advantage.

Speaker Change: will aggressively market. That value proposition will continue to help consumers understand how easy it is to switch to H&R Block.

Speaker Change: and we'll always pay attention to pricing. You know, as our product gets better and better, we pay attention to those gaps of us versus competition. And clearly in the DIY space, we have a lot more dynamic nature to pricing to think about moves we need to make as the season plays out.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you. Our next question.

Speaker Change: comes on the line of Scott Schneeberger of Oppenheimer & Company. Please go ahead, Scott.

Speaker Change: Thanks, good afternoon all. I'm gonna start off asking about OPEX in the quarter. It's elevated year over year, mainly in comp and benefit, other which I think is predominantly tech spend, and then you're higher on marketing year over year. So Jeff or Tiffany, if you could elaborate on what's occurring

Speaker Change: There and how we might want to think about that on a go-forward basis, and then I'll have a follow-up on that topic. Thanks

Speaker Change: Sure, Scott, thanks and hi. It's nice to hear from you. So, with regard to OPEX, I mean, first and foremost, obviously, our largest expense is field labor, and field labor is variable. So, you know, with an increase in volume this quarter, we saw a corresponding increase in field labor.

Speaker Change: We did see slightly elevated corporate wages, but nothing that we didn't expect. And we did see marketing expense higher year over year because we are pushing heavier into online marketing. But again, all expected and planned for in the current year.

Speaker Change: The one elevated expense that I called out in prepared remarks is higher legal fees and settlements.

Speaker Change: They were hired this year as a result of the FTC matter and proposed settlement that we described in our 10-Q that's getting filed today. We also had higher outside legal counsel spend as well as other costs related to ongoing legal matters.

Speaker Change: So, as I said in prepared remarks, if you were to look through those increased legal costs, operating expenses would have grown in line with our revenue increase. And probably the most important thing to note is those higher costs have been included in our outlook. So, no concerns with the outlook that we reaffirmed today.

Speaker Change: Understood. Thanks, Tiffany. And on the follow-up, it's kind of a two-parter. I guess, Jeff, for you, could you please address, there's a lot of technology advances that the company is doing.

Speaker Change: and I'm just curious if we will see elevated tech spend and if not, why? And then also, following up on the marketing topic,

Speaker Change: we've seen earlier advertising from your your large DIY competitor and it appears that that's that's been been subdued for for now but you also have spoken to earlier season marketing spend DIY Tiffany just mentioned it could you speak to the to the logic and the strategy of the earlier marketing approach this year thanks I appreciate the two-parter

Speaker Change: Yeah, absolutely, Scott. I mean, the first one on technology spend, I mean, obviously over many years now we've been doing different things to modernize the company and our ability to compete and deliver better digital capabilities for the consumer, and currently that's showing up in, you know, things like AI tax assist.

Speaker Change: All of that's contemplated in our outlook, and I think we've done a very good job in general of managing expenses, finding productivity, and being able to think about how we reinvest those dollars in these capabilities.

Speaker Change: you know for a call in the future we can look ahead and talk about how we see the future playing out but for this year you know I feel good about how we're investing and I feel good about how we're managing cost inside the company.

Speaker Change: On the marketing side, I guess there was a two-parter there. Yes, we did see Intuit start earlier than we can remember them starting before, and as you mentioned, had to pull that advertising due to some complaints by some industry groups.

Speaker Change: You know, we don't think that's going to change their strategy. It might just change their timing.

Speaker Change: And for us, you know, our marketing really begins now. It's emerald advance season and doing what we can to deliver a strong emerald advance season that leads into tax appointments for next year.

Speaker Change: And then as we move into January, you should see us really begin our marketing efforts in earnest. And, you know, those will be about telling our value proposition and assisted and continuing to lean in on, you know, the choices that we think the consumer has to pick H&R Block Online as well.

Speaker Change: Thanks, appreciate that. I'm going to sneak one more, just one more housekeeping in here if I could.

Speaker Change: Thanks. It's on your recent filing with regard to Emerald Financial Services and your partnership, extended the partnership with the bank partner. There was a mention in there, though, a slightly lower overall share of the participation in the portfolio.

Speaker Change: Is that going to be, it sounds like everything's considered in guidance, but is that, maybe longer term, something that could change materially, or not so much? Just want to know if that's something we should keep an eye on. Thanks.

Speaker Change: Yeah, Scott, thanks for the question. So we have a great relationship with Pathward, otherwise we wouldn't have extended the contract by two years, so nothing to be concerned about there. We continue to feel good about those economics and, you know, look forward to continuing the relationship and continuing to grow those businesses.

Great, thanks for fielding all my questions.

Thanks, guys.

Thank you.

Speaker Change: Our next question comes from the line of George Tong of Goldman Sachs. Your question please, George.

George Tong: Hi, thanks. Good afternoon. Now that you're closer to the next tax season, can you discuss how your strategy around the customer experience and retention and marketing this year will be different than last year to drive improved performance in the assisted category?

For more information visit www.FEMA.gov

Speaker Change: Thanks, George, very much. You know, I think, you know, as I alluded to over the last couple calls, the opportunity we saw in the assisted business in particular with those clients that are choosing block and making an appointment but not converting at a high enough level.

Speaker Change: And I would say there have been, you know, six or seven or eight different kind of experience changes put in place for this year.

We know that the consumer, especially for new clients...

Speaker Change: When they come to H&R Block for the first time, they don't know what to expect. And so, how we welcome them to the brand, how we talk about how the process works with us.

Speaker Change: how we introduce upfront transparent pricing, how we ensure the tax professional.

Speaker Change: is appropriately spending time to understand their situation, the kind of questions they ask.

Speaker Change: ultimately doing a great job of explaining their outcome, how the tax calculation worked, and what their ultimate outcome balance due or refund is. And so there are a number of operational and technical changes that have been put in place to facilitate that experience better.

Speaker Change: I think when you zoom out from there, we feel strong about our value proposition. We're excited about some ideas about how we want to introduce pricing this year. We've made some decisions about increasing our refund advance loan.

Speaker Change: while at the same time keeping it a 100% free product for the consumer. We'll continue to lean in to the localness and the local expertise that we deliver. So there are really a number of different things.

Speaker Change: inside the experience and how it translates into marketing that you know we've seen starting to get getting started as we've you know the early seasons gotten underway and I'm excited to see how it translates you know once January comes.

Speaker Change: Got it. That's helpful. And you mentioned earlier that paid products next year will include AI tax assist for free. Can you discuss how much of a risk there could be from consumers downshifting from assisted to DIY if DIY is going to include this AI functionality that can help answer their tax questions?

Speaker Change: That's a great question. Obviously we're very, very early days with this product and AI in general. This will be the second year that we've included it for free.

Speaker Change: We did not see any of that kind of behavior last year. In fact, what we saw was new clients that engaged with AI Tax Assist converted at a higher level.

Speaker Change: And so, we think it's important to continue to offer that kind of value to the consumer, to give them multiple ways to achieve help. AI Tax Assist is one of those ways. Obviously, they can, you know, hit the proverbial button and connect with a tax expert as well.

Speaker Change: So, I guess the thing that we see overall is consumers' desire for help.

Speaker Change: Whether that's a product like AI Tax Assist, or starting in DIY and moving to TaxPro Review, or ultimately choosing a fully-assisted experience, I feel good about our positioning to deliver all of those different ways.

Got it. Very helpful. Thank you. Thanks, George.

Speaker Change: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alex Paris of Barington Research. Please go ahead, Alex.

Alex Paris: Thank you, and thank you all for taking my questions. I have a couple.

Alex Paris: First off, Tiffany, you mentioned the tax rate for the year. I kind of had a little interruption in my technology here. I wonder if you could go over that again. And then what quarter is that going to hit? I was assuming it's going to hit in the fourth quarter, that $0.50, that one-time benefit.

Tiffany Mason: Sure, so unchanged from when we guided initially at the start of the fiscal year, so our expectation for the effective tax rate for the full year is 13%.

Tiffany Mason: That includes a one-time benefit of about 50 cents. It will hit in a single quarter. We haven't...

Tiffany Mason: predicted the quarter that will hit because frankly we don't know. It depends on when those matters are settled through the process with the IRS.

Tiffany Mason: but it is a one-time 50-cent benefit. We do expect it to be this fiscal year and so, you know, we'll let you know as we get more information and as the process plays out. We do expect as we get beyond fiscal 25 that our rate will go back into the low 20s.

and the

Speaker Change: Great and then just a little bit of additional color on the legal expense since you called it out. I know it'll be in the 10-Q but 10-Q is not out yet. I wonder what you can say about that now. How big was it this year versus last year?

Speaker Change: Yeah, so, you know, certainly more disclosure coming out in the 10-Q. I would say just simply, you know, again, I mentioned the FTC matter. It did enter into a proposed settlement with the FTC. It's subject to final approval by the Commission.

Speaker Change: The terms and the amount of the settlement are not yet public, but the settlement amount is fully reflected in our loss contingency accrual. So again, no concerns about guidance for the full year.

Great, thank you.

Speaker Change: A lot of good questions about the upcoming tax season. I know we can't say a lot about it right now. So.

Speaker Change: I just wanted to ask one other question that I get so often, especially with investors new to the H&R Block story, and that's the matter of the direct file program. And I know you've spoken to this, Jeff, on previous calls, but now that it's moving from pilot to a bigger program, I wonder if you have any updated thoughts to share.

Jeff Jones: Yeah, absolutely, Alex. I mean, you know, as we go from kind of the first year to the second year, they've made a number of announcements, obviously, about the expansion in states and form coverage. The fact is, you know, we have not seen any material impact to our business.

Jeff Jones: I'm not anticipating seeing any material impact to our business this year.

Jeff Jones: And, you know, obviously we're going to pay close attention as the administration changes and perhaps priority shift in Washington, you know, what the future really holds for direct file. But it will be in place for this season, but we don't expect to see any material impact to the business.

Jeff Jones: You know again it's a free product and you offer a free competitive product as there's 30 other providers out there so I wouldn't think that you'd see a lot of impact except on the unpaid filings.

Jeff Jones: That's exactly right, and you're also right. We track over 30 competitors that offer free. We're very proud of our free offering. It's a strong offering. Lots of Americans can qualify to file for free.

Jeff Jones: and so we feel good about that product and you know the degree to which there is any impact I guess could show up in market share if there were a shift to free clients but again we haven't seen any of that impact today.

Speaker Change: Good deal. Thanks for the additional color. I'll get back in the queue. All right. Thanks, Alex.

and Jeffrey Jones. Thank you.

Speaker Change: Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Michaella Gallina for closing remarks. Madam.

Michaella Gallina: Thanks Lateef and thanks everyone for joining us today. This concludes the first quarter 2025 earnings conference call.

Speaker Change: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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