Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) stock jumped in pre-market trading on Friday following the release of better-than-expected earnings. The media software company also raised its full-year earnings and sales forecast, driven by strong demand for its generative artificial intelligence (AI) digital media products.
Adobe recently reported second-quarter financial results, surpassing analysts’ expectations and raising its full-year guidance amidst strong performance in its Digital Media business.
For the second quarter, the software giant posted adjusted earnings of $4.48 per share, slightly above the consensus estimate of $4.39. The company’s revenue for the period reached $5.31 billion, marking a 10% year-over-year increase and surpassing expectations of $5.29 billion.
The Digital Media business, which includes its popular Creative Cloud subscriptions, showed robust performance with a net new annualized recurring revenue of $487 million. This figure notably exceeded Wall Street expectations of $437.4 million. Adobe attributed this growth to the increasing number of Creative Cloud subscribers upgrading their plans to access Firefly, the company’s generative AI model designed to enhance creative work.
During a conference call, David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media division, said,
“We’re pleased with the adoption of AI functionality as well as its early monetization across Document Cloud and Creative Cloud, including our flagship applications, Firefly services and Express.”
Adobe Raises Full-Year Guidance
Looking ahead, Adobe revised its full fiscal year guidance upwards. The company now expects adjusted earnings to range between $18.00 and $18.20 per share, up from its previous forecast of $17.60 to $18.00 per share. Additionally, the company forecasts annual net sales to range from $21.40 billion to $21.50 billion, nudging the lower end of its forecast by $100 million. Analysts had anticipated adjusted earnings of $18.02 per share on revenue of $21.46 billion.
Contrary to several other software companies that have recently lowered their full-year guidance due to concerns over an uncertain economic environment and diminished enterprise interest in AI development, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen expressed confidence in the company’s resilience. He informed analysts on Thursday that Adobe hadn’t observed any significant economic changes that would impact its performance.
Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) Stock Reaction
As of 07:29 a.m. (Eastern Time) Friday, ADBE stock traded at $524.00, marking a 14.23% increase compared to the previous trading session.
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