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Adobe (ADBE) explained: how it makes money, how it's doing, what protects it

A plain-English guide to the company behind Photoshop, Acrobat and PDF. See what it sells, where the money goes, who it competes with and what keeps customers signed up.

โšกWhat does Adobe do, in 30 seconds?

Adobe sells software for making and editing images, video and documents, such as Photoshop, Acrobat and Firefly, plus marketing software for businesses 1 1. It sold $23.8bn โœ“ in FY2025, the year to 28 November 2025 2921. Subscriptions made up 96% of that revenue 13.

Revenue, FY2025
$23.8bnโœ“
Profit, FY2025
$7.1bnโœ“
Sales growth, 4 quarters to 28 Aug 2026
12.0%โœ“
Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted), 28 Aug 2026
$0.9bnโœ“
Headquarters
San Jose, California 30
Founded
1982, by John Warnock and Charles Geschke 25
Employees
31,360 at 28 November 2025 27
CEO
Shantanu Narayen, CEO since December 2007 27; Anil Chakravarthy is named to take over on 1 December 2026 20
Fiscal year ends
The Friday closest to 30 November 2921
Stock exchange
Nasdaq, symbol ADBE 18

๐Ÿ“ฑWhat does Adobe sell?

In fiscal 2025 Adobe reported three business lines, and Digital Media was by far the biggest, at 74% โœ“ of sales. From fiscal 2026 Adobe reports them as one segment, so this split is as of fiscal 2025 22.

๐ŸŽจ

Digital Media

Creative Cloud subscriptions and apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro and After Effects, plus Acrobat, Adobe Express and Firefly 1. Firefly is Adobe's family of AI models that make images, video, vectors and audio 2. Acrobat comes in Studio, Pro and Standard plans, with an AI Assistant that sums up PDFs 2. This line brought in $17.6bn โœ“ in FY2025.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Designers, photographers, video makers and social media creators, as well as office workers, small business owners and consumers 4.

๐Ÿ“ฃ

Digital Experience

Marketing software, including Adobe Experience Platform, Customer Journey Analytics, Experience Manager Sites, Adobe Commerce, Journey Optimizer, Marketo Engage and Workfront 1. This line brought in $5.9bn โœ“ in FY2025.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Marketers, advertisers, brand managers, merchants, data analysts, developers and top executives 4.

๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ

Publishing and Advertising

Older products for eLearning, technical documents, web meetings, forms, web app building, high-end printing through PostScript and PDF, and Adobe Advertising 1. This was the smallest line, at $0.3bn โœ“ in FY2025.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Customers of these older products, which Adobe calls legacy products 1.

How the mix has shifted

Revenue mix by productFY2023Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $14.2bn (73%)Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat) 73%Digital Experience: $4.9bn (25%)Digital Experience 25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (2%)FY2024Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $15.9bn (74%)Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat) 74%Digital Experience: $5.4bn (25%)Digital Experience 25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (1%)FY2025Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $17.6bn (74%)Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat) 74%Digital Experience: $5.9bn (25%)Digital Experience 25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (1%)
Revenue mix by productFY23Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $14.2bn (73%)73%Digital Experience: $4.9bn (25%)25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (2%)FY24Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $15.9bn (74%)74%Digital Experience: $5.4bn (25%)25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (1%)FY25Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $17.6bn (74%)74%Digital Experience: $5.9bn (25%)25%Publishing and Advertising: $0.3bn (1%)Digital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat)Digital ExperiencePublishing and Advertising
Share of revenue by business line, by fiscal year. Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K filed 2026-01-15.

Where the customers are

The United States brings in just over half of Adobe's sales, at 53% โœ“ in FY2025. Europe, the Middle East and Africa added 26% โœ“, Asia Pacific 14% โœ“ and the rest of the Americas 7% โœ“.

Revenue by regionUnited States$12.5bn 53% of salesOther Americas$1.6bn 7% of salesEurope, Middle East and Africa$6.3bn 26% of salesAsia Pacific$3.4bn 14% of sales
Revenue by regionUnited States$12.5bn 53%Other Americas$1.6bn 7%Europe, Middle East and Africa$6.3bn 26%Asia Pacific$3.4bn 14%
Revenue by region, FY2025. Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K filed 2026-01-15.

๐Ÿ’ธHow does Adobe make money?

Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what customers pay for, what it costs to make, and what is left as profit.

Money map FY2025: how revenue turns into profitDigital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat) โ†’ Revenue: $17.6bnDigital Experience โ†’ Revenue: $5.9bnPublishing and Advertising โ†’ Revenue: $0.3bnRevenue โ†’ Gross profit: $21.2bnRevenue โ†’ Cost of sales: $2.6bnGross profit โ†’ Operating profit: $8.7bnGross profit โ†’ R&D: $4.3bnGross profit โ†’ Selling & admin: $8.1bnGross profit โ†’ Other operating costs: $0.2bnOperating profit โ†’ Net income: $7.1bnOperating profit โ†’ Income tax: $1.6bnOther income โ†’ Net income: $0.0bnDigital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat)$17.6bn ยท 74%Digital Experience$5.9bn ยท 25%Publishing and Advertising$0.3bn ยท 1%Revenue$23.8bnGross profit$21.2bn ยท 89%Cost of sales$2.6bn ยท 11%Operating profit$8.7bn ยท 37%R&D$4.3bn ยท 18%Selling & admin$8.1bn ยท 34%Other operating costs$0.2bn ยท 1%Net income$7.1bn ยท 30%Income tax$1.6bn ยท 7%Other income$0.0bn ยท <1%
Money map FY2025: how revenue turns into profitDigital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat): $17.6bnDigital Experience: $5.9bnPublishing and Advertising: $0.3bnDigital Media (Creative Cloud, Acrobat)$17.6bn ยท 74%Digital Experience$5.9bn ยท 25%Publishing and Advertising$0.3bn ยท 1%Revenue: $23.8bnRevenue$23.8bn ยท 100%Gross profit: $21.2bnCost of sales: $2.6bnGross profit$21.2bn ยท 89%Cost of sales$2.6bn ยท 11%Operating profit: $8.7bnR&D: $4.3bnSelling & admin: $8.1bnOther operating costs: $0.2bnOperating profit$8.7bn ยท 37%R&D$4.3bn ยท 18%Selling & admin$8.1bn ยท 34%Other operating costs$0.2bn ยท 1%Net income: $7.1bnIncome tax: $1.6bnNet income$7.1bn ยท 30%Income tax$1.6bn ยท 7%
Money map (a Sankey diagram): band widths are to scale. Hover a band for the amount. Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K filings.

Adobe sold $23.8bn โœ“ of software and services in FY2025. Delivering them cost $2.6bn โœ“. What is left is gross profit, the money kept after paying for what was sold. That came to $21.2bn โœ“.

Next come the costs of running the company. Research and development, the work on new products, took $4.3bn โœ“. Sales, marketing and admin took the most, at $8.1bn โœ“. Other operating costs took $0.2bn โœ“. That left operating profit, the profit from the main business, of $8.7bn โœ“. Other income and costs were close to zero, at $0.0bn โœ“, and tax took $1.6bn โœ“. Net income was $7.1bn โœ“. Put simply, out of every hundred dollars of sales, Adobe kept about $30 โœ“ as profit.

Out of every $100 customers paid in FY2025โ€ฆ

Making the products and services $11Research and development $18Selling and admin $34Income tax $7Profit kept $30
๐Ÿ’ก
Delivering Adobe's software costs little, while selling, inventing and running the company cost far more. Out of every $100 of sales in FY2025, just $11 โœ“ went on delivering it. Research and development took $18 โœ“, and sales, marketing and admin $34 โœ“.

โฑ๏ธ Adobe by the clock

Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 364 days and you get this. Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K [5].

๐Ÿ›’
$65m
in sales every day
โฑ๏ธ
$227
of profit every second
๐Ÿ”ฌ
$12m
on research every day
๐ŸŽ
$31m
handed to shareholders every day

๐Ÿ“ˆHow is Adobe doing?

Adobe has grown every year for a decade, and it keeps more of each sale than it used to. From FY2015 to FY2025, sales grew 17.4% โœ“ a year on average. They rose in 10 โœ“ of those 10 โœ“ years. Growth has slowed, from 24.7% โœ“ in FY2017 to 10.5% โœ“ in FY2025. Operating margin climbed from 18.8% โœ“ in FY2015 to 36.6% โœ“ in FY2025.

The four quarters to 28 August 2026 show a small pickup. Sales reached $26.0bn โœ“, up 12.0% โœ“ on the four quarters before. Operating margin was 35.7% โœ“, and free cash flow was $10.6bn โœ“. In the quarter to 28 August 2026, revenue was a record $6.76 billion, up 13% on a year earlier 18. ARR is Adobe's own measure of the yearly value of its subscription contracts 4. It was $27.50 billion at 28 August 2026, up 11.2% including Semrush, with the year-earlier figure restated at fiscal 2026 currency rates 14.

๐Ÿ“ The report card

Adobe earns top marks for profit and cash, good marks for growth and steadiness, and a middling mark for its balance sheet. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where Adobe (orange) and its 2 peers land; further right is better.

B

Growth

Sales growth per year, last 3 fiscal years
10.5% ยท peer median 13.0%
#2 of 3 in the peer group
A โ‰ฅ 15.0%B โ‰ฅ 10.0%C โ‰ฅ 5.0%D โ‰ฅ 0.0%F below 0.0%

Adobe's sales grew 10.5% โœ“ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns a B โœ“ on the fixed scale. That ranks it 2 โœ“ of 3 โœ“ in this group. Microsoft grew 16.1% โœ“ a year over its own latest three years, good for an A โœ“. Salesforce grew 9.8% โœ“, a C โœ“.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Growing sales is the engine of a business. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.

A

Profitability

Operating margin, last 3 years combined
34.2% ยท peer median 31.9%
#2 of 3 in the peer group
A โ‰ฅ 30.0%B โ‰ฅ 20.0%C โ‰ฅ 10.0%D โ‰ฅ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, Adobe kept 34.2% โœ“ of sales as operating profit, which earns an A โœ“. Microsoft keeps even more, at 45.8% โœ“. Salesforce keeps 18.0% โœ“, a C โœ“.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Operating margin is the share of each sales dollar left after running the business. Software and platforms often clear 30%; hardware makers usually sit below 10%.

A

Cash generation

Free cash flow as a share of sales, last 3 years combined
38.1% ยท peer median 28.3%
#1 of 3 in the peer group
A โ‰ฅ 20.0%B โ‰ฅ 15.0%C โ‰ฅ 10.0%D โ‰ฅ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, Adobe turned 38.1% โœ“ of sales into free cash flow, comfortably an A โœ“. That ranks it 1 โœ“ of 3 โœ“ in this group. Salesforce came next at 31.8% โœ“, then Microsoft at 24.8% โœ“.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Free cash flow is the cash left after paying for factories, data centres and equipment. It funds dividends, buybacks and new bets.

C

Balance sheet

Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted) as a share of a year's sales
1.6% ยท peer median -0.4%
#2 of 3 in the peer group
A โ‰ฅ 20.0%B โ‰ฅ 5.0%C โ‰ฅ -10.0%D โ‰ฅ -30.0%F below -30.0%

At the end of FY2025, Adobe's cash and investments minus its borrowings (leases and stakes in other companies not counted) equalled 1.6% โœ“ of a year's sales. That earns a C โœ“. Net cash was $2.1bn โœ“ at the end of FY2015 and $0.4bn โœ“ at the end of FY2025. At 28 August 2026 it was $0.9bn โœ“.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

More cash than debt gives a company room to ride out bad years. Some debt is normal; a lot of it makes a company fragile.

B

Steadiness

How much yearly sales growth swings (standard deviation, up to 10 years)
6.4% ยท peer median 6.0%
#2 of 3 in the peer group
A โ‰ค 5.0%B โ‰ค 8.0%C โ‰ค 12.0%D โ‰ค 18.0%F above 18.0%

Adobe's yearly growth swings only a little, with a swing score (standard deviation) of 6.4% โœ“. That earns a B โœ“. Microsoft's figure is just 4.2% โœ“, an A โœ“.

Why this measure? (lower is better)

Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean sales depend on product cycles, the economy or one-off events.

๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿซ How the grades work
  1. Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
  2. Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
  3. Peers for context. The rank shows how Adobe compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
  4. Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
  5. Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.

11 years at a glance

Revenue
$23.8bn
FY2025
Revenue by fiscal yearFY2015: $4.8bnFY2016: $5.9bnFY2017: $7.3bnFY2018: $9.0bnFY2019: $11.2bnFY2020: $12.9bnFY2021: $15.8bnFY2022: $17.6bnFY2023: $19.4bnFY2024: $21.5bnFY2025: $23.8bnFY2015FY2025
Operating margin
36.6%
FY2025
Operating marginFY2015FY2025
Free cash flow
$9.9bn
FY2025
Free cash flow by fiscal yearFY2015: $1.3bnFY2016: $2.0bnFY2017: $2.7bnFY2018: $3.8bnFY2019: $4.0bnFY2020: $5.3bnFY2021: $6.9bnFY2022: $7.4bnFY2023: $6.9bnFY2024: $7.9bnFY2025: $9.9bnFY2015FY2025
Net cash
$0.4bn
end of FY2025
Net cash by fiscal yearFY2015: $2.1bnFY2016: $2.9bnFY2017: $3.9bnFY2018: -$0.9bnFY2019: $0.0bnFY2020: $1.9bnFY2021: $1.7bnFY2022: $1.9bnFY2023: $4.2bnFY2024: $2.2bnFY2025: $0.4bnFY2015FY2025

Where the cash goes

Over the years from FY2015 to FY2025, Adobe made $58.1bn โœ“ of free cash flow and spent $46.3bn โœ“ buying back its own shares. Lately, buybacks have run ahead of free cash flow. In FY2025 alone they came to $11.3bn โœ“, or 115% โœ“ of free cash flow. In April 2026 Adobe's board approved a new $25 billion buyback authority that runs to 30 April 2030 22.

Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bn$10bnFY2016 free cash flow $2.0bnFY2016 buybacks + dividends $1.1bnFY16FY2017 free cash flow $2.7bnFY2017 buybacks + dividends $1.1bnFY17FY2018 free cash flow $3.8bnFY2018 buybacks + dividends $2.1bnFY18FY2019 free cash flow $4.0bnFY2019 buybacks + dividends $2.8bnFY19FY2020 free cash flow $5.3bnFY2020 buybacks + dividends $3.1bnFY20FY2021 free cash flow $6.9bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $4.0bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $7.4bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $6.6bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $6.9bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $4.4bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $7.9bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $9.5bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $9.9bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $11.3bnFY25
Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bn$10bnFY2020 free cash flow $5.3bnFY2020 buybacks + dividends $3.1bnFY20FY2021 free cash flow $6.9bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $4.0bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $7.4bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $6.6bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $6.9bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $4.4bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $7.9bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $9.5bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $9.9bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $11.3bnFY25
โ–  Free cash flow   โ–  Buybacks + dividends. Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K filings.

๐ŸงฎRatios 101: what are Adobe's key financial ratios?

Ratios shrink Adobe's big numbers into easy comparisons, and they show a business that costs little to deliver and spends heavily on buybacks. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with Adobe's real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.

๐Ÿ’ฐ Profitability: how much of each sale is kept?

Higher is better

Gross margin

89.3%
Gross profit$21.2bn$23.8bnSales=89.3%

What is left from each sale after paying to make the product or deliver the service.

๐Ÿ‘‰ At 89.3% โœ“, up from 84.5% โœ“ in FY2015, Adobe sits well above the 72.8% โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 40% usually signals pricing power or a big software or services mix.

Peer median 72.8% (2 peers)FY2015 84.5%
Gross margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Operating margin

36.6%
Operating profit$8.7bn$23.8bnSales=36.6%

What is left after also paying for research, marketing and running the company.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe's 36.6% โœ“ is almost double its 18.8% โœ“ of FY2015 and above the 33.4% โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 20% is strong for a large company.

Peer median 33.4% (2 peers)FY2015 18.8%
Operating margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Net margin

30.0%
Net income$7.1bn$23.8bnSales=30.0%

The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of sales.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe keeps 30.0% โœ“ of sales as final profit, against 13.1% โœ“ in FY2015 and a 29.1% โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.

Peer median 29.1% (2 peers)FY2015 13.1%
Net margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
It depends

Return on equity (ROE)

61.3%
Net income$7.1bn$11.6bnShareholders' equity=61.3%

Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.

๐Ÿ‘‰ ROE of 61.3% โœ“ is nearly three times the 21.4% โœ“ peer median, partly because shareholders' equity is only $11.6bn โœ“.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.

Peer median 21.4% (2 peers)FY2015 9.0%
Return on equity (ROE) by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

โš™๏ธ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?

Higher is better

Return on assets (ROA)

24.2%
Net income$7.1bn$29.5bnTotal assets=24.2%

Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.

๐Ÿ‘‰ ROA of 24.2% โœ“ is about double the 12.1% โœ“ peer median, and far above 5.4% โœ“ in FY2015.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 10% is strong; banks and factories usually earn less.

Peer median 12.1% (2 peers)FY2015 5.4%
Return on assets (ROA) by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Asset turnover

0.8x
Sales$23.8bn$29.5bnTotal assets=0.8x

Dollars of sales squeezed out of each dollar of assets.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe's sales are 0.8x โœ“ the value of what it owns, up from 0.4x โœ“ in FY2015 and double the 0.4x โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Retailers often top 2x; asset-heavy businesses can sit below 0.5x.

Peer median 0.4x (2 peers)FY2015 0.4x
Asset turnover by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

๐Ÿ›Ÿ Safety: could it survive a bad year?

It depends

Current ratio

1.0x
Current assets$10.2bn$10.2bnCurrent liabilities=1.0x

Can short-term assets (cash, money owed by customers, stock) pay the bills due within a year?

๐Ÿ‘‰ At 1.0x โœ“, Adobe's $10.2bn โœ“ of short-term assets just matched its $10.2bn โœ“ of bills due within a year. In FY2015 the ratio was 2.2x โœ“.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 1.0x is the classic comfort line, but cash-rich giants can run below it on purpose.

Peer median 1.0x (2 peers)FY2015 2.2x
Current ratio by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Lower is better

Debt to equity

0.5x
Total debt$6.2bn$11.6bnShareholders' equity=0.5x

How much the company has borrowed for each dollar shareholders have in it.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Debt was 0.5x โœ“ equity at the end of FY2025, up from 0.3x โœ“ in FY2015 and above the 0.2x โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Below 1.0x is conservative. Like ROE, it can rise when buybacks shrink equity, even if debt has not changed.

Peer median 0.2x (2 peers)FY2015 0.3x
Debt to equity by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Interest cover

33.1x
Operating profit$8.7bn$0.3bnInterest expense=33.1x

How many times over operating profit could pay the year's interest bill.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Operating profit covered interest 33.1x โœ“ in FY2025, up from 14.1x โœ“ in FY2015 but below the 38.3x โœ“ peer median.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 5x is comfortable; below 2x is a warning sign.

Peer median 38.3x (2 peers)FY2015 14.1x
Interest cover by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

๐Ÿ’ต Cash and owners: where does the money end up?

Higher is better

Cash conversion

1.4x
Free cash flow$9.9bn$7.1bnNet income=1.4x

Does reported profit turn into real cash? Free cash flow is operating cash minus capital spending.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe turns profit into cash at 1.4x โœ“, above the 1.2x โœ“ peer median. Part of the gap between profit and cash is $1.9bn โœ“ of stock pay, which uses no cash. In FY2015 the figure was 2.0x โœ“.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Near or above 1.0x means profits are backed by cash.

Peer median 1.2x (2 peers)FY2015 2.0x
Cash conversion by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
It depends

R&D intensity

18.1%
R&D$4.3bn$23.8bnSales=18.1%

How much of each sales dollar goes into inventing future products.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe spends 18.1% โœ“ of sales on R&D, above the 12.6% โœ“ peer median and about the same as 18.0% โœ“ in FY2015.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Tech companies often spend 10% to 20%; more is not always better if it does not pay off.

Peer median 12.6% (2 peers)FY2015 18.0%
R&D intensity by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Lower is better

Stock pay

8.2%
Share-based pay$1.9bn$23.8bnSales=8.2%

Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Stock pay is 8.2% โœ“ of sales, above the 6.1% โœ“ peer median and up from 7.0% โœ“ in FY2015.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Under 5% of sales is modest for a tech company.

Peer median 6.1% (2 peers)FY2015 7.0%
Stock pay by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
It depends

Shareholder payout

158.2%
Dividends + buybacks$11.3bn$7.1bnNet income=158.2%

How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Adobe returned 158.2% โœ“ of FY2025 profit to shareholders through buybacks, above the 113.3% โœ“ peer median. Measured against free cash flow, the payout was 115% โœ“.

๐Ÿ“ Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.

Peer median 113.3% (2 peers)FY2015 99.3%
Shareholder payout by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.

๐ŸฅŠWho are Adobe's competitors?

Adobe meets Salesforce in marketing software and Microsoft in productivity software with built-in AI 910 211. Its 10-K also names AI-first creative and productivity tools among its rivals 2.

Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue0%5%10%15%20%0%10%20%30%40%50%Sales growth per year, 3 years โ†’Operating margin โ†’Microsoft: revenue $331.8bn, growth 16.1%/yr, operating margin 46.8%MSFTSalesforce: revenue $41.5bn, growth 9.8%/yr, operating margin 20.1%CRMAdobe: revenue $23.8bn, growth 10.5%/yr, operating margin 36.6%ADBE
Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue0%5%10%15%20%0%10%20%30%40%50%Sales growth per year, 3 years โ†’Operating margin โ†’Microsoft: revenue $331.8bn, growth 16.1%/yr, operating margin 46.8%MSFTSalesforce: revenue $41.5bn, growth 9.8%/yr, operating margin 20.1%CRMAdobe: revenue $23.8bn, growth 10.5%/yr, operating margin 36.6%ADBE
Peer map from each company's latest 10-K. Bubble size = revenue. Source: SEC filings [5] [6] [7].
CompanyWhere they competeRevenueGrowth/yr (3y)Op. marginFCF margin
Adobe (ADBE, FY2025)Creative apps, PDF and document tools, AI models and marketing software 1 1$23.8bn10.5%36.6%41.4%
Salesforce (CRM, FY2026)Software that unifies customer data and runs personal marketing journeys 910$41.5bn9.8%20.1%34.7%
Microsoft (MSFT, FY2026)Subscription productivity software with built-in AI: Acrobat and Adobe Express against Microsoft 365 and Copilot 211$331.8bn16.1%46.8%20.2%

Adobe says its markets have limited barriers to entry, short product life cycles and frequent new entrants 2. Its 10-K warns of growing competition from AI tools that create and edit from a prompt, read documents and make ads 23.

๐ŸงญAdobe SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

๐Ÿ’ช Strengths

  • Subscriptions brought in $22.90 billion in fiscal 2025, 96% of Adobe's revenue, up from 94% in fiscal 2023 13.
  • On 10 September 2026, Adobe reported more than 1 billion monthly active users across its creativity and productivity products 12.
  • Over the last three years combined, Adobe turned 38.1% โœ“ of sales into free cash flow, an A โœ“ on our report card.
  • At the end of its third quarter of fiscal 2026, Adobe had $22.16 billion of signed revenue still to deliver, and 67% of it was counted as current 18.

๐Ÿฉน Weaknesses

  • Growth has slowed, from 24.7% โœ“ in FY2017 to 10.5% โœ“ in FY2025.
  • Adobe's own 10-K says its markets have limited barriers to entry, customers who are sensitive to price and frequent new entrants 2.
  • In 2026 its CFO resigned and the head of its Creativity & Productivity business stepped down, and a new CEO was named 1920.
  • At its April 2026 annual meeting, the advisory vote on executive pay passed only narrowly, about 148.8 million votes to 145.0 million 21.

๐Ÿš€ Opportunities

  • Adobe said its AI-first ARR grew more than 150% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 18.
  • In that quarter, subscription revenue from business professionals and consumers grew 16% (15% in constant currency) to $1.91 billion 18.
  • Adobe completed its $1.87 billion purchase of Semrush on 28 April 2026, adding tools to help brands show up in search and AI answers 22.
  • For businesses, Adobe offers Firefly models trained on a company's own brand content, and tools to automate content production 2.

โš ๏ธ Threats

  • Adobe warns of growing competition from AI tools for prompt-based creation, document understanding and ad creation 23.
  • It also says other companies may limit its use of outside AI models 23.
  • Adobe says EU AI Act rules are being phased in through 2030, and AI rules could force changes to its products 23.
  • A shareholder lawsuit alleges Adobe made misleading statements about competition from Figma; a court dismissed it in full, and the plaintiff was appealing as of 22 September 2026 24.

๐ŸฐDoes Adobe have a moat?

Narrow moatAdobe calls apps such as Illustrator industry standards 2, and subscriptions make up 96% of its revenue 13. But its own filing says barriers to entry are limited 2.
Brand 4/5
Why 4?

Adobe's 10-K calls Photoshop the world's most advanced imaging and design app, and Illustrator and After Effects industry standards 2. On 10 September 2026, Adobe reported more than 1 billion monthly active users across its creativity and productivity products 12. But its 10-K also notes customer price sensitivity and AI-first rivals 2.

Switching costs 4/5
Why 4?

Subscriptions were 96% of Adobe's revenue in fiscal 2025 13. ARR was $25.20 billion at the end of fiscal 2025 and $27.50 billion (including Semrush) at 28 August 2026 1312 14. Creative Cloud Pro users store, sync and share their files in Adobe's cloud 2. Businesses keep customer profiles in Adobe Experience Platform, and Adobe licenses its online products over multi-year terms 2. In June 2024 the US Department of Justice sued Adobe, alleging it hid subscription terms and lacked a simple way to cancel; the case was settled and dismissed in March 2026 15.

Network effects 2/5
Why 2?

Acrobat Reader is free, and Adobe says its freemium Acrobat products reach billions of potential users 2. Adobe created PDF, but the format is now an open standard run by ISO 16. Adobe Stock offers millions of photos, videos and other assets inside Photoshop, Illustrator and Express 2. Adobe reported more than 1 billion monthly active users on 10 September 2026 12.

Cost advantages and scale 3/5
Why 3?

Adobe's gross profit was 89% of revenue in fiscal 2025, and its Digital Media segment had gross margins of 95-96% 17. ARR reached $27.50 billion (including Semrush) at 28 August 2026 1312 14. But Adobe says its markets have limited barriers to entry and frequent new entrants 2.

Intangibles (patents, licences, regulation) 3/5
Why 3?

Adobe protects its products with patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets 2. It trains its Firefly AI models on licensed and public-domain content it has the right to use, and some business customers can get legal cover for content made in most Firefly tools 2. PDF, which Adobe created, is now an open standard 16.

A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is Adobe; grey dots are peers).

๐Ÿ”ญWhat should you watch next?

1 Dec 2026

New CEO

Anil Chakravarthy is due to become Adobe's president and CEO on 1 December 2026, when Shantanu Narayen moves to executive chair 20. Chakravarthy joined Adobe in January 2020 and was CEO of Informatica before that 31.

27 Nov 2026

End of fiscal 2026

On 10 September 2026, Adobe raised its fiscal 2026 revenue target to $26.576 billion to $26.626 billion, and kept its ARR growth target at 10.2% 183221. Figures on this page run to FY2025 and the four quarters to 28 August 2026.

Quarter ending 27 Nov 2026

Fourth-quarter results

Adobe's target for fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue is $6.80 billion to $6.85 billion 18.

Each quarter

AI-first revenue

Adobe said its AI-first ARR tripled and passed $500 million in the quarter to 29 May 2026 32. It grew more than 150% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 18.

Feb and Apr 2027

Debt coming due

Adobe has $850 million of notes due in February 2027 and $500 million due in April 2027, $1.35 billion of current debt at 28 August 2026 22.

Ongoing

Finance chief

CFO Daniel Durn resigned effective 15 June 2026, and Steven Day became interim CFO 19.

On appeal

Figma shareholder case

A shareholder lawsuit over Adobe's statements about Figma was dismissed in full, and the plaintiff was appealing as of 22 September 2026 24.

๐Ÿ“šLearn the words

Revenue (sales)All the money a company takes in from customers before paying any costs.
SubscriptionPaying a regular fee, often every month or year, to keep using software, instead of buying it once.
Annual recurring revenue (ARR)The yearly value of subscriptions customers have signed up for, at a given date. Adobe sets its own rules for this measure.
PDFPortable Document Format, a file type that looks the same on any device.
Generative AISoftware that makes new pictures, video, sound or text from a short written request, called a prompt.
FreemiumGiving a basic version away free and charging for extra features.
Gross marginThe share of each sales dollar left after paying to deliver the product or service. Higher means each sale is more profitable.
Operating profitProfit from the main business after paying for products, research, marketing and admin, but before interest and tax.
Free cash flowThe cash a business has left after running itself and buying equipment. It can be used for dividends, buybacks or deals.
Share buybackWhen a company uses its cash to buy back its own shares, so each remaining share owns a slightly bigger piece.
Remaining performance obligationRevenue from signed contracts that a company has not yet earned, because the service has not been delivered yet.
Fiscal yearA company's own 12-month accounting year. Adobe's ends in late November or early December, so FY2025 ended on 28 November 2025.
Economic moatA lasting advantage, like a strong brand or high switching costs, that keeps rivals from taking a company's customers.

โ“Frequently asked questions about Adobe

How does Adobe make money?

Adobe makes almost all its money from subscriptions, which were 96% of revenue in fiscal 2025 13. Digital Media, home of Creative Cloud and Acrobat, brought in $17.6bn โœ“ in FY2025. Digital Experience, its marketing software, added $5.9bn โœ“.

Who founded Adobe, and when?

John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe in 1982 25. Adobe went on to create PDF in 1991-1992, a format that is now an open standard 16.

Is Adobe's revenue still growing?

Adobe's revenue is still growing, but more slowly than before. Sales rose 10.5% โœ“ in FY2025 and 12.0% โœ“ in the four quarters to August 2026. Over ten years, growth averaged 17.4% โœ“ a year.

Who will be Adobe's next CEO?

Anil Chakravarthy is named to become Adobe's president and CEO on 1 December 2026 20. When named in September 2026, he was president of Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business 20. Shantanu Narayen, CEO since December 2007, is due to become executive chair 27 20.

Who are Adobe's biggest competitors?

Salesforce competes with Adobe in marketing software, and Microsoft in productivity software with built-in AI 910 211. Adobe also names AI-first creative and productivity tools among its rivals 2.

What is Adobe Firefly?

Firefly is Adobe's family of AI models that make images, video, vectors and audio 2. The Firefly app can also use AI models from other companies 2. Every asset made with Firefly carries Content Credentials, a label showing AI was used 2.

What happened with Adobe and Figma?

Adobe agreed to buy Figma in September 2022 428. The two ended the deal in December 2023, seeing no clear path to approval by regulators 428. Adobe paid a $1 billion fee for ending it in fiscal 2024 428.

Is Acrobat Reader free?

Acrobat Reader is free, and Adobe says its freemium Acrobat products reach billions of potential users 2. Adobe also sells paid Acrobat Studio, Pro and Standard plans 2.

๐ŸŽฎPlay: higher or lower, then test yourself

Higher or lower ยท round 1 of 6

Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [5] [6] [7].

Score: 0

๐Ÿง  Test yourself

5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5

1. In what year was Adobe founded?

John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe in 1982 25.

2. About how much of Adobe's fiscal 2025 revenue came from subscriptions?

Subscription revenue was 96% of Adobe's total in fiscal 2025 13.

3. Which file format did Adobe create?

Adobe developed PDF in 1991-1992, and it is now an open standard run by ISO 16.

4. What do Content Credentials on a Firefly image show?

Adobe calls Content Credentials a digital nutrition label that shows generative AI was used 2.

5. Out of every $100 of sales in FY2025, about how much did Adobe keep as profit?

Adobe kept about $30 โœ“ of every $100 of sales as net income in FY2025.

๐Ÿ”ŽSources and method

Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked โœ“). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.

  1. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 1 Segments and Operations: fiscal 2025 segment products, generative credits, sales channels (accessed 2026-10-31)
  2. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 1 Business: products, competition, intellectual property, Firefly (accessed 2026-10-29)
  3. Adobe (ADBE) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-01-15 โ€” revenue and cost of sales by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
  4. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 7 MD&A: segment customers, ARR definition, subscription model, Figma termination fee (accessed 2026-10-31)
  5. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Adobe (ADBE) โ€” annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  6. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) โ€” annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  7. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT) โ€” annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  8. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Adobe (ADBE) โ€” balance sheet at 2026-08-28 (accessed 2026-10-28)
  9. Adobe Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended November 28, 2025) โ€” Item 1: Adobe Experience Platform, Journey Optimizer and competition for marketing solutions (accessed 2026-10-29)
  10. Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal year 2026 (ended January 31, 2026) โ€” Item 1 overview and service offerings (Sales, Service, Platform, Data 360, Informatica, Slack, Agentforce, Marketing, Commerce, Integration, Analytics, Industries); principal office (accessed 2026-10-29)
  11. Microsoft Form 10-K FY2026 (year to 2026-06-30), filed 2026-07-29 โ€” Item 1 Business: Microsoft 365 Commercial and Consumer products, Microsoft 365 Copilot (accessed 2026-10-31)
  12. Adobe Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1: Adobe Reports Record Q3 Results (2026-09-10) โ€” Q3 fiscal 2026 results: monthly active users, Total Adobe ARR (accessed 2026-10-29)
  13. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 7 MD&A: annualized recurring revenue, subscription share of revenue (accessed 2026-10-29)
  14. Adobe Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended August 28, 2026 (filed 2026-09-22) โ€” Item 2 MD&A: customer groups and Total Adobe ARR growth (accessed 2026-10-31)
  15. Adobe Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended August 28, 2026 (filed 2026-09-22) โ€” Note 13 Legal proceedings: settlement of the subscription-cancellation case (accessed 2026-10-29)
  16. Adobe: About Adobe PDF (adobe.com) โ€” History of PDF and its status as an open ISO standard (accessed 2026-10-29)
  17. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Note 2 Revenue: segment revenue and gross profit, fiscal 2023-2025 (accessed 2026-10-29)
  18. Adobe Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1: Adobe Reports Record Q3 Results (2026-09-10) โ€” Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue, AI-first ARR, customer group revenue, RPO, Q4 and FY2026 targets (accessed 2026-10-31)
  19. Adobe Inc. Form 8-K (filed 2026-06-11): Item 5.02 CFO change โ€” CFO resignation and interim CFO appointment (accessed 2026-10-31)
  20. Adobe Inc. Form 8-K (filed 2026-09-08): Item 5.02 CEO appointment โ€” New CEO effective December 1, 2026; executive chair; Creativity & Productivity president departure (accessed 2026-10-31)
  21. Adobe Inc. Form 8-K (filed 2026-04-21): 2026 annual meeting results โ€” Item 5.07 vote results, including advisory pay vote and fiscal 2026 year-end date (accessed 2026-10-31)
  22. Adobe Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended August 28, 2026 (filed 2026-09-22) โ€” Notes: Semrush acquisition, goodwill impairment, stock repurchase authority, senior notes, single reportable segment (accessed 2026-10-31)
  23. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 1A Risk factors: AI competition and AI regulation (accessed 2026-10-31)
  24. Adobe Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended August 28, 2026 (filed 2026-09-22) โ€” Note 13 Legal proceedings: securities class action over Figma-related statements (accessed 2026-10-31)
  25. Adobe: Fast facts (adobe.com) โ€” Founding year and founders (accessed 2026-10-31)
  26. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Adobe (ADBE) โ€” quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  27. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Item 1 Human capital and executive officers: employee count, Learning Fund, CEO career (accessed 2026-10-31)
  28. Figma, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-02-18) โ€” Abandoned merger with Adobe: agreement and termination dates (accessed 2026-10-31)
  29. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Note 1 Basis of presentation: 52/53-week fiscal year, next 53-week year (accessed 2026-10-31)
  30. Adobe Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended November 28, 2025 (filed 2026-01-15) โ€” Cover page and Item 2 Properties: state of incorporation, headquarters address, San Jose office space (accessed 2026-10-31)
  31. Adobe Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1: Adobe Announces Anil Chakravarthy to Become President and CEO (2026-09-03) โ€” Incoming CEO background (accessed 2026-10-31)
  32. Adobe Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1: Adobe Reports Record Q2 Results (2026-06-11) โ€” Q2 fiscal 2026 results: AI-first ARR, Total Adobe ARR including Semrush (accessed 2026-10-31)