Adobe Inc. (ADBE) reported a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue for its Creative and Marketing Professionals segment, reaching $4.39 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The growth was driven by heightened AI adoption and a robust demand for Creative Cloud products, particularly the premium offerings that have led to a substantial increase in subscription penetration among professionals.
In addition, Creative freemium monthly active users (MAUs) surpassed 80 million, an increase of over 50% year-over-year. Adobe anticipates continued growth with projected subscription revenues between $4.41 billion and $4.44 billion for the second quarter. The company’s enterprise digital experience business also showed strong high-margin growth, with platforms like GenStudio and Adobe Experience Platform achieving over 30% year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
Despite this growth, Adobe’s shares have dropped 31.4% year-to-date, underperforming the broader technology sector. The company’s remaining performance obligations (RPO) stood at $22.22 billion, significantly lower than Microsoft’s RPO of $625 billion, highlighting its challenge in competing within the AI space against larger firms like Microsoft and Alphabet.
