UPDATED 19:45 EDT / JUNE 15 2023

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Strong earnings results and AI buzz send Adobe’s stock higher

Shares Adobe Inc. moved higher in extended trading today after the design software company delivered record fiscal second-quarter revenue and beat Wall Street’s expectations.

The company reported net income for the quarter of $1.3 billion, rising slightly from the $1.2 billion profit it delivered in the same period a year ago. Earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation came to $3.91 per share, comfortably beating analysts’ consensus target of $3.79 per share. Revenue for the period rose 10% from a year earlier, to $4.82 billion, ahead of the $4.77 billion forecast.

Adobe’s stock rose more than 3% on the results, adding to 2% gain during the regular trading session.

Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen (pictured) said the company’s record-breaking revenue was thanks to strong demand across all of its products, including Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud. “Adobe’s groundbreaking innovation positions us to lead the new era of generative AI given our rich datasets, foundation models and ubiquitous product interfaces,” he said.

Adobe said its Digital Media segment, which includes its iconic Creative Cloud design software, pulled in $3.51 billion in revenue, up 10% from a year earlier. Within that segment, Creative revenue rose 9% to $2.85 billion, while Document Cloud added $659 million, up 11%.

Elsewhere, Adobe’s Digital Experience unit, which bundles Adobe’s Marketo marketing software and other applications, saw revenue increase by 12%, to $1.22 billion.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller said Shantanu Narayen and his team are effectively writing a future Harvard case study on careful but successful growth management. “As subscription revenue grows, Adobe is being conservative on the cost side, with the bulk of its investments going into R&D rather than go-to-market,” he said. “Investors will want to see Adobe maintain its double-digit growth for the rest of the financial year.”

Adobe’s stock has been on a real strong run, rising more than 46% so far this year prior to today’s gains on the back of its recent forays into artificial intelligence. Back in March, Adobe announced the launch of Firefly, a family of generative AI models for creative expression, including a new “text-to-image” generator. At the time, Adobe said it was trying to show design professionals that generative AI is a tool that can assist them in their work, as opposed to stealing their jobs.

Adobe expanded on its generative AI offerings in April, adding new creative features to Premiere Pro, a tool used by film studios and broadcasters to transform raw footage into professional video. Then, in May, it introduced a new “generative fill” tool to Photoshop, letting users modify images using plain English text prompts.

Analyst Liz Miller told SiliconANGLE that Adobe’s generative AI push is unique in that it’s being applied in a way that helps to drive business growth, especially in the area of marketing. “The creativity, the storytelling, the feelings and the empathy. All of this is now being supercharged by AI, workflows and the massive pools of data that Adobe’s able to harness,” she said. “This is helping Adobe to deliver consistent double-digit growth.”

Adobe has further opportunities to grow too, Miller said, with generative AI opening new markets by advancing digital product development and management. “With new advances in Adobe Express, it is inviting a whole new generation of creators into Adobe,” Miller added. The beta of Adobe Firefly is like looking into the future of creativity, and it’s very exciting. ”

The optimism around Adobe was such that investors were even prepared to overlook the company’s somewhat mixed guidance. For the third quarter, Adobe forecast earnings of between $3.95 and $4 per share on revenue of between $4.83 billion and $4.87 billion. Wall Street is looking for earnings of $3.89 per share on sales of $4.86 billion.

Photo: Fortune Live Media/Flickr

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