Adobe’s annual sales forecast falls short on currency impact
ADOBE, the biggest maker of creative design software, gave a revenue forecast for 2023 that just fell short of analysts’ estimates, saying currency fluctuations and economic uncertainty will dent sales.
Fiscal-year revenue will be about US$19.2 billion, the company said on Tuesday (Oct 18) in a statement. Profit, excluding some items, will be as much as US$15.45 a share for the period ending in November 2023. Analysts, on average, projected earnings of US$15.53 a share on sales of US$19.8 billion.
Exchange rates are expected to cause a 4 per cent headwind to sales growth in 2023, and about a US$700 million downward revaluation to the company’s digital media annual-recurring revenue, the company said. In the statement, chief executive officer Shantanu Narayen highlighted “Adobe’s continued success in this uncertain macroeconomic environment.”
Investors seemed relieved by the numbers, sending shares about 3.5 per cent higher in extended trading.
Adobe said the forecast doesn’t include Figma, a smaller creative software rival the company announced last month it would acquire for US$20 billion. Analysts were surprised by the price tag, the highest ever for a private software company, and suggested competitors were making greater inroads than previously thought. The San Jose, California-based company’s shares have declined 21 per cent since the Figma deal was announced, closing at US$292.98 on Tuesday in New York.
Adobe is looking to expand its web-based products to attract more casual designers and small businesses, a market that has gravitated in recent years to companies such as Canva, Lightricks and Figma. During Adobe’s annual conference earlier on Tuesday, the company introduced changes to its flagship Photoshop image-editing program to add more collaboration tools, artificial intelligence features and web capability.
The company also affirmed its fiscal fourth-quarter guidance of about US$4.5 billion in sales and earnings, excluding some items, of US$3.50 a share. BLOOMBERG
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