Adobe Inc. is an American software company headquartered in San Jose, California. Its software and cloud services are used for digital media creation, document management, electronic publishing, marketing, customer-experience management, and related business workflows.[2] The company's major product families include Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Adobe Experience Platform and Adobe Experience Manager.[2]
Adobe was founded in December 1982 by computer scientists John Warnock and Charles Geschke.[1] Its early work centered on the PostScript page-description language, followed by products including Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Portable Document Format (PDF), Adobe Acrobat and Adobe InDesign.[3] Adobe later shifted much of its software business from perpetual licenses to subscription and cloud-based delivery through Creative Cloud and other services.
For the fiscal year ended November 28, 2025, Adobe reported revenue of US$23.769 billion, operating income of US$8.706 billion and net income of US$7.130 billion. It employed 31,360 people at the end of that fiscal year.[2] Adobe's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol ADBE.[1]
History
Founding and PostScript
John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe in December 1982 after having worked together at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. Their early work focused on technology for describing text and graphics in a form that could be reproduced consistently by printers and other output devices.[4]
Adobe's first major technology was PostScript, a page-description language that became important in computer-based publishing. Adobe dates the release of PostScript to 1985.[3] The technology was used with early laser printers and helped connect personal computers with professional-quality printing and publishing systems.
The company went public on August 20, 1986.[1] Adobe expanded beyond printing technology in 1987 with the release of Adobe Illustrator, a vector-graphics application initially developed for the Apple Macintosh.[3]
Creative and document software
Adobe broadened its product range during the late 1980s and 1990s. Adobe Photoshop, developed by brothers Thomas and John Knoll, was released by Adobe in 1990.[5] Adobe Premiere followed in 1991 as a video-editing application.[3]
In 1993, Adobe introduced the Portable Document Format and Adobe Acrobat. PDF was intended to allow documents to preserve their layout and appearance across different computer systems and software environments.[6] PDF later became an open standard, standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 32000.[3]
Adobe expanded through both internal development and acquisitions. In 1994 it acquired Aldus Corporation, whose products included PageMaker, and it later introduced Adobe InDesign in 1999 as a professional page-layout and publishing application.[3]
Macromedia and digital experience expansion
Adobe completed its acquisition of Macromedia in December 2005 in a transaction valued at approximately US$3.5 billion.[7] Macromedia's portfolio included Flash, Dreamweaver and other web-development and interactive-media products. The acquisition expanded Adobe's presence in web authoring and interactive content.
In October 2009, Adobe completed its acquisition of web-analytics company Omniture for approximately US$1.8 billion.[8] The acquisition became an important part of Adobe's expansion into analytics, marketing and digital customer-experience software.
Adobe continued developing this business into what became Adobe Experience Cloud and associated products for analytics, content management, marketing automation, commerce and customer-data management.[3]
Creative Cloud and subscription model
Adobe launched Creative Cloud in May 2012 as a subscription-based service for its creative software. The company subsequently shifted its principal creative-software distribution model away from new perpetual Creative Suite releases and toward ongoing Creative Cloud subscriptions.[9]
In May 2013, Adobe said future feature development for its major creative products would be delivered through Creative Cloud, while Creative Suite 6 remained available to perpetual-license customers.[9] The transition changed Adobe's financial model toward recurring subscription revenue.
The company also expanded through acquisitions during this period. Adobe completed the acquisition of e-commerce software company Magento Commerce in June 2018.[10] In October 2018, it completed the acquisition of marketing-automation company Marketo for approximately US$4.75 billion.[11]
On October 8, 2018, the company's legal name was changed from Adobe Systems Incorporated to Adobe Inc.[12]
Workfront, Frame.io and Figma transaction
Adobe completed its acquisition of work-management software company Workfront in December 2020. Adobe later reported the purchase price as approximately US$1.52 billion.[13] In October 2021 it completed the acquisition of cloud-based video-collaboration platform Frame.io.[14]
In September 2022, Adobe announced an agreement to acquire collaborative design-software company Figma. The proposed transaction was valued at approximately US$20 billion in cash and stock.[15]
Adobe and Figma terminated the proposed acquisition in December 2023. The companies said they had concluded there was no clear path to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority.[16] Adobe paid the US$1 billion termination fee provided for in the merger agreement.[2]
Firefly and generative AI
Adobe introduced Firefly in March 2023 as a family of generative artificial-intelligence models, initially focused on image generation and text effects. Adobe also announced plans to integrate Firefly capabilities into Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, Experience Cloud and Adobe Express.[17]
Adobe commercially released Firefly-powered generative-AI features in September 2023, including integrations with products such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Express.[18] Firefly subsequently expanded beyond still-image generation into additional creative media and workflows.
Semrush acquisition and 2026 developments
On April 28, 2026, Adobe completed its acquisition of Semrush Holdings for approximately US$1.87 billion, primarily in cash.[19] Adobe said the acquisition added search-engine optimization, generative-engine optimization and agentic-search optimization capabilities to its marketing and customer-experience products.[20]
In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Adobe combined its former Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising reporting segments into a single operating and reportable segment.[19] The company began presenting its offerings primarily around two customer groups: Creative & Marketing Professionals, and Business Professionals & Consumers.[19]
Products and services
Creative and media software
Adobe's creative software is offered primarily through Creative Cloud. Its major applications include Adobe Photoshop for image editing, Adobe Illustrator for vector graphics, Adobe Lightroom for photography workflows, Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing and Adobe After Effects for motion graphics and visual effects.[2]
Creative Cloud also incorporates Adobe Firefly and other artificial-intelligence features. Adobe sells some Creative Cloud applications individually as well as through broader subscription packages.[2] Adobe's other creative offerings include Substance 3D applications and Adobe Stock, a marketplace and service for stock photographs, illustrations, video and other creative assets.[2]
Documents and productivity
Adobe's document products center on the Acrobat family. Adobe Acrobat provides tools for creating, editing, converting, signing and managing PDF documents, while Acrobat Reader provides software for viewing and interacting with PDFs.[2]
Adobe Express is a web and mobile content-creation application aimed at users creating graphics, documents, presentations, social-media material and other visual content. In Adobe's fiscal 2026 reporting structure, Acrobat and Express make up the company's Business Professionals & Consumers customer group.[19]
Digital experience and marketing
Adobe provides software for enterprise marketing and customer-experience management. Adobe Experience Platform serves as a data and application foundation for a number of its enterprise products.[19]
The portfolio includes Adobe Experience Manager for managing digital content and experiences, Adobe Commerce for e-commerce, Adobe Marketo Engage for marketing automation, Adobe Journey Optimizer for customer journeys and engagement, Adobe Customer Journey Analytics, and Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform.[2]
Adobe also operates GenStudio and other tools intended to connect content creation, campaign management, personalization, analytics and marketing workflows.[19] Following the Semrush acquisition in 2026, Adobe incorporated search-engine and generative-engine optimization capabilities into its enterprise experience-management offerings.[19]
Business and operations
Adobe generates most of its revenue from subscriptions. For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, subscription revenue was US$6.582 billion out of total quarterly revenue of US$6.760 billion, or approximately 97% of revenue.[19] Product revenue and services and other revenue accounted for the remainder.
The company distributes its products through its own websites and sales organization, application stores, distributors, resellers and other channels. Its cloud-based products are delivered through software-as-a-service and related hosted models, while professional services include consulting, training, maintenance and technical support.[2]
For fiscal 2025, Adobe recorded US$23.769 billion in total revenue, compared with US$21.505 billion in fiscal 2024. Subscription revenue accounted for US$22.904 billion of its fiscal 2025 total.[2] Revenue for fiscal 2025 was distributed across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.[2]
At November 28, 2025, Adobe had 31,360 employees. The company reported that approximately half were based in the United States and half in international locations.[2]
Leadership
Shantanu Narayen became Adobe's chief executive officer in December 2007 and later became chair of its board of directors. As of September 25, 2026, Adobe continued to list Narayen as chair and chief executive officer.[21]
In June 2026, Daniel Durn resigned as Adobe's chief financial officer. Steve Day was appointed interim chief financial officer, effective upon Durn's departure on June 15.[22]
On September 3, 2026, Adobe announced that Anil Chakravarthy would become president and chief executive officer and join the company's board, effective December 1, 2026. The company said Narayen would move to the position of executive chair on the same date.[23]
Legal and regulatory matters
In June 2024, the United States Department of Justice, following notification and referral from the Federal Trade Commission, filed a civil action against Adobe and two executives concerning the company's subscription practices. The government alleged that Adobe did not adequately disclose early-termination fees associated with certain annual subscription plans and made cancellation unnecessarily difficult, in violation of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act.[24]
In March 2026, the Department of Justice announced a proposed settlement under which Adobe would pay US$75 million in civil penalties and provide US$75 million in free services to eligible customers. The settlement also required disclosures concerning early-termination fees and provisions intended to make subscription cancellation simpler.[25] Adobe stated that it disagreed with the government's claims and denied wrongdoing while agreeing to resolve the litigation.[26]
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered the final judgment on April 10, 2026.[27]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Adobe Fast Facts. Adobe Inc. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Adobe Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 28, 2025. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 15 January 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 About Adobe. Adobe Inc. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Co-Founder Dr. John Warnock Passes at 82. Adobe Inc. 20 August 2023. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Explains It All: Photoshop. Adobe Blog. 25 February 2015. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ The history of PDF. Adobe Inc. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Systems Incorporated Annual Report on Form 10-K. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Systems Incorporated Annual Report for fiscal 2009. Adobe Systems Incorporated. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Adobe Systems Incorporated Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2013. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2014. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Completes Acquisition of Magento Commerce. Adobe Blog. 19 June 2018. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Inc. Current Report on Form 8-K. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 5 November 2018. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednamechange - ↑ Adobe Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2021. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Completes Frame.io Acquisition. Adobe Blog. 7 October 2021. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2022. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2023. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe and Figma Mutually Agree to Terminate Merger Agreement. Adobe Inc. 18 December 2023. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Unveils Firefly, a Family of New Creative Generative AI. Adobe Inc. 21 March 2023. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Unleashes New Era of Creativity for All with the Commercial Release of Generative AI. Adobe Inc. 13 September 2023. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 Adobe Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 28, 2026. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 22 September 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Completes Semrush Acquisition, Strengthening CX Enterprise with Enhanced Brand Visibility Capabilities. Adobe Inc. 28 April 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedleaders - ↑ Adobe Inc. Current Report on Form 8-K. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 11 June 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Announces Anil Chakravarthy to Become President and CEO and Shantanu Narayen to Become Executive Chair on December 1, 2026. Adobe Inc. 3 September 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ FTC Takes Action Against Adobe and Executives for Hiding Fees, Preventing Consumers from Easily Cancelling Software Subscriptions. Federal Trade Commission. 17 June 2024. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe Agrees to $150 Million Settlement and Injunction to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. United States Department of Justice. 13 March 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Adobe's Statement Regarding the Department of Justice Settlement. Adobe Inc. 13 March 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.
- ↑ United States v. Adobe, Inc. et al., Final Judgment. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, reproduced by Justia. 10 April 2026. Accessed 25 September 2026.