Adobe Systems Q4 Profit Halves; Provides Weak Outlook

(RTTNews) - Software giant Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) reported Thursday that profit for the fourth quarter halved from last year, hurt by a provision for income taxes compared to last year's benefit, despite record revenues. Adjusted earnings per share met analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues topped it.

The company also provided earnings and revenues estimates for the first quarter and full-year 2022, both below current analysts' estimates. The company's shares are trading down 7 percent in Thursday's pre-market trading.

San Jose, California-based Adobe's net income for the quarter halved to $1.23 billion or $2.57 per share from $2.25 billion or $4.64 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $3.20 per share, compared to $2.81 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $3.20 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the quarter grew 20 percent to a record of $4.11 billion from $3.42 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $4.09 billion for the quarter.

Digital Media segment revenue grew 21 percent to $3.01 billion, as creative revenue rose 19 percent to $2.48 billion and document cloud revenue was up 29 percent to $532 million from last year.

Digital Experience segment revenue rose 23 percent to $1.01 billion, with digital experience subscription revenue up 27 percent to $886 million from last year.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Adobe expects earnings of about $2.63 per share and adjusted earnings of about $3.35 per share on total revenues of about $4.23 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $3.38 per share and revenues of $4.34 billion for the quarter.

For fiscal 2022, the company now projects earnings of about $10.25 per share and adjusted earnings of about $13.70 per share on total revenues of about $17.90 billion. The Street is looking for earnings of $14.26 per share on revenues of $18.16 billion for the year.