Adobe Posts Higher Sales With CEO Set to Depart

By Katherine Hamilton

Adobe said Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen, credited with leading the software company's transformation over the past 18 years, will step down after it finds a new leader for the AI era.

Adobe announced Narayen's plans to depart as it posted higher sales in its first quarter. Shares fell 6% to $252.98 in after-hours trading.

Narayen, who joined Adobe in 1998, will stay on as chair of the board. His departure comes amid market jitters that artificial intelligence will upend most software providers.

Adobe also posted a profit of $1.89 billion, or $4.60 a share, compared with $1.81 billion, or $4.14 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $6.06, ahead of the $5.87 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 12% to $6.40 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $6.28 billion.

Adobe's AI-first annualized recurring revenue more than tripled year over year, Narayen said. The company ended the quarter with $26.06 billion in ARR, in line with Wall Street's estimate.

Subscription revenue increased 13% year over year.

In the current second quarter, Adobe expects revenue will be between $6.43 billion and $6.48 billion, with adjusted earnings per share in the range of $5.80 to $5.85. Analysts are projecting $6.43 billion in sales and $5.68 a share in adjusted earnings.

Adobe reaffirmed its full-year guidance.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 12, 2026 16:46 ET (20:46 GMT)