Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE)

What is Adobe Systems?

Adobe Systems is America’s largest software developer, with products such as Photoshop and PDF creator. Adobe delivers a range of products and services for various customer segments, from designers to professional developers. The company’s activity is split into three segments: Digital Media, Digital Marketing and Print, and Publishing. 

The Digital Media highlight product is Creative Cloud, a service that allows users to update Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and almost all other creative products developed by the company. Adobe dominates the market with programs like Photoshop and Illustrator – and with the move to cloud, this dominance is translating into growing revenue.

Adobe’s usage statistics are staggering. Some 200 billion PDFs are opened every year in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, and Adobe Experience Cloud processes 155 trillion transactions each year.

In 2017 Adobe was ranked the number 2 computer software company in Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list. It also made Interbrand’s Top 100 Best Global Brands list in the same year. 

Who are the key people at Adobe Systems?

Shantanu Narayen is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Adobe Systems. Originally from Hyderabad, India, he has a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He serves as Vice Chairman of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and was named one of the world’s best CEOs by Barron’s magazine in 2016 and 2017.

Another key figure at Adobe Systems is Mark Garrett, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Under his supervision, Adobe has achieved the fastest transition to a cloud-based subscription model among companies in the software industry. 

Scott Belsky is Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud. He also supervises Adobe’s Design team, which oversees experience design across all Adobe products.

What is the modern history of Adobe Systems?

Adobe has been around since 1982, when John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded the company after quitting Xerox PARC to develop and sell the PostScript page description language. A few years later, Apple licensed PostScript for use in its LaserWriter printers, which helped spark the desktop publishing revolution. 

Among the many major landmarks in Adobe Systems’ history are the introduction of PDF and its Adobe Acrobat and Reader software in 1993; the acquisition of its main rival Macromedia in a stock swap in 2005; and the release of Adobe Media Player in 2008.

What are the latest developments at Adobe Systems?

Adobe Systems continues to perform very strongly. In its Q4 2017 results, the company posted quarterly revenue of $2.01 billion, representing 25 per cent year-on-year growth. For the full year 2017, Adobe reported annual revenue of $7.30 billion – also 25 per cent year-on-year growth. Hailing the results, Chief Financial Officer Mark Garrett said: “We are raising our fiscal 2018 revenue target and remain bullish about delivering strong top line and bottom line growth.”

The Adobe Systems share price has been on a strong upward trajectory for much of the past decade – from around $25 in 2011 to over $100 at the start of 2017 and around $200 at the beginning of 2018, giving it a market capitalisation of some $102 billion. Our ADBE chart will keep you up to date with the latest share price movements.

Where does Adobe Systems operate?

Adobe Systems is headquartered in San Jose, California. It has over 17,000 employees worldwide in countries including Canada, Mexico, China, India, Japan, Australia, France, Germany and the UK.

Where is Adobe Systems traded?

Adobe Systems is a member of the NASDAQ-100 Index and the S&P 500 Index. Its shares trade on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Check out Capital.com for the latest ADBE chart.