Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., February 20, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Adobe shares tumbled as much as 11% in extended trading on Thursday after the design software maker issued strong fiscal first-quarter results but came up slightly short on quarterly revenue guidance.
Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $4.48 adjusted vs. $4.38 expected
- Revenue: $5.18 billion vs. $5.14 billion expected
Adobe’s revenue grew 11% year over year in the quarter, which ended on March 1, according to a statement. Net income decreased to $620 million, or $1.36 per share, from $1.25 billion, or $2.71 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
During the quarter, Adobe abandoned its $20 billion acquisition of design software startup Figma after United Kingdom regulators found competitive concerns. The company paid Figma a $1 billion termination fee. And Adobe announced an early version of an artificial intelligence assistant for its Reader and Acrobat apps.
Adobe sees fiscal second-quarter earnings of 4.35 to $4.40 per share on an adjusted basis, with $5.25 billion to $5.30 billion in revenue. The middle of the range implies 9% growth. Analysts polled by LSEG had been looking for $4.38 per share and $5.31 billion in revenue.
David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s digital media business, will say on the company’s earnings call that product enhancements in the Adobe Express app, the Firefly Services AI offering and the new Acrobat assistant should lead to acceleration in digital media annualized recurring revenue in the second half of the year.
The company said it was setting aside $25 billion for share buybacks.
Leaving out the after-hours movement, Adobe shares have fallen 4% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index has gained 8% over the same time period.
Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.
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