Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Issues Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 6.300-6.350 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 6.090. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.8 billion-$6.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.8 billion. Adobe also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 24.450-24.500 EPS.

Adobe Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADBE traded down $6.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $248.83. The stock had a trading volume of 9,147,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,802,552. The company has a market cap of $98.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.42. Adobe has a 12 month low of $190.12 and a 12 month high of $370.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The software company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by ($1.33). Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. Adobe has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 6.300-6.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 24.450-24.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Adobe will post 19.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Adobe from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut Adobe from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $365.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Adobe from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. CLSA began coverage on Adobe in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $280.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Adobe

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.33, for a total transaction of $109,961.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,797.92. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Ricks acquired 10,000 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $194.51 per share, with a total value of $1,945,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,434,074.05. This trade represents a 130.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Adobe

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe is expanding Acrobat beyond traditional PDFs into an AI-powered productivity platform featuring enterprise search, content creation and other workflow tools. Management hopes broader adoption will create new growth opportunities and strengthen its position against Microsoft and Alphabet. Adobe Acrobat evolves beyond PDFs with enterprise search, AI content creation
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe’s AI initiatives, including Firefly and AI features embedded in Acrobat and Premiere, could help demonstrate monetization and support a more constructive earnings narrative. Analysts expect approximately $6.7 billion of revenue and adjusted EPS near $6.08 for the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: The report is expected to be broadly in line with guidance, with Jefferies projecting 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth. Investors will focus less on the quarter’s headline results and more on remaining performance obligations, annual recurring revenue, AI demand, Firefly adoption and guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets imply a sizable post-earnings move, reflecting unusually high uncertainty. Adobe previously exceeded its EPS consensus estimate, but historical earnings reactions have often been negative despite such beats.
• Negative Sentiment: AI-native competitors and products from Microsoft and Alphabet are raising questions about Adobe’s pricing power and long-term growth. Analysts also cite mixed demand, tougher comparisons and persistent concerns about subscription growth and the company’s freemium push. Adobe earnings preview: ARR concerns persist amid freemium push
• Negative Sentiment: The appointment of Anil Chakravarthy as incoming CEO, alongside an interim CFO and the end of Shantanu Narayen’s tenure, has increased execution risk. OpenAI also reportedly restricted advertising from competing image- and audio-generation products, potentially limiting a marketing channel Adobe had used. OpenAI restricts rival AI ad campaigns in ChatGPT

Institutional Trading of Adobe

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Adobe in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Adobe in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the software company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC grew its holdings in Adobe by 43.1% during the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 103 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Sfam LLC bought a new position in shares of Adobe during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Company Profile

Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) develops software and services used for digital content creation, document management and digital experiences. The company serves creative professionals, marketers, enterprises, educators and consumers worldwide through subscription-based and cloud-enabled products.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud portfolio includes applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro and After Effects, along with related tools for photography, graphic design, video production and web development.