Adobe Reports Record Q4 and Fiscal 2021 Revenue; Company Outlines Strategy for Next Decade of Growth

Company reports first $3 billion Digital Media and first $1 billion Digital Experience revenue quarter; and exceeds $2 billion in operating cash flows in the quarter

Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021 ended Dec. 3, 2021.

“Adobe’s record performance in Q4 resulted in fiscal 2021 revenue exceeding $15 billion,” said Shantanu Narayen, chairman and CEO, Adobe. “Adobe’s vision, category leadership, ground-breaking technology and large and loyal customer base position us well for fiscal 2022 and beyond.”

“Adobe’s financial performance in fiscal 2021 was outstanding, with top-line acceleration resulting in more than $7 billion in operating cash flows,” said Dan Durn, executive vice president and CFO, Adobe. “With an estimated $205 billion addressable market, we are well positioned for significant growth in the years ahead with our industry-leading products and platforms.”

Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Adobe achieved record revenue of $4.11 billion in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, which represents 20 percent year-over-year growth. Diluted earnings per share was $2.57 on a GAAP basis and $3.20 on a non-GAAP basis.
  • Digital Media segment revenue was $3.01 billion, which represents 21 percent year-over-year growth. Creative revenue grew to $2.48 billion, representing 19 percent year-over-year growth. Document Cloud revenue was $532 million, representing 29 percent year-over-year growth.
  • Digital Media Annualized Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) increased $571 million quarter over quarter to $12.24 billion exiting the quarter, including the addition of enterprise ARR of Frame.io, which closed on October 7, 2021. Creative ARR grew to $10.30 billion. Total enterprise ARR for Frame.io, including business closed by Adobe, exiting the quarter was approximately $29 million. Document Cloud ARR grew to $1.93 billion.
  • Digital Experience segment revenue was $1.01 billion, representing 23 percent year-over-year growth. Digital Experience subscription revenue was $886 million, representing 27 percent year-over-year growth.
  • GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter was $1.50 billion, and non-GAAP operating income was $1.86 billion. GAAP net income was $1.23 billion, and non-GAAP net income was $1.54 billion.
  • Cash flows from operations were a record $2.05 billion.
  • Remaining Performance Obligations (“RPO”) exiting the quarter were $13.99 billion, representing 23 percent year-over-year growth.
  • Adobe repurchased approximately 1.6 million shares during the quarter.

Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights

  • Adobe achieved record annual revenue of $15.79 billion in fiscal year 2021, which represents 23 percent year-over-year growth.
  • The company reported annual GAAP diluted earnings per share of $10.02 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $12.48.
  • Digital Media segment revenue was $11.52 billion, which represents 25 percent year-over-year growth. Creative revenue grew to $9.55 billion, representing 23 percent year-over-year growth. Document Cloud revenue was $1.97 billion, representing 32 percent year-over-year growth. Digital Media ARR grew by $1.98 billion during the year.
  • Digital Experience segment revenue was $3.87 billion, representing 24 percent year-over-year growth. Digital Experience subscription revenue was $3.38 billion, representing 27 percent year-over-year growth.
  • GAAP operating income was $5.80 billion, growing 37 percent year over year, and non-GAAP operating income was $7.26 billion, growing 31 percent year over year. GAAP net income was $4.82 billion, and non-GAAP net income was $6.00 billion.
  • Adobe generated a record $7.23 billion in operating cash flows during the year.
  • Adobe repurchased approximately 7.2 million shares during the year.

Adobe to Host Financial Analyst Meeting

Today, Adobe will host its annual financial analyst meeting together with its fourth quarter fiscal year 2021 earnings conference call. In addition to sharing its financial outlook, Adobe’s executive team will outline the company’s vision, strategies and opportunities across Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Document Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud. As part of the financial analyst meeting, Adobe is announcing that it expects its total addressable market to expand to approximately $205 billion by 2024.

The meeting will be hosted virtually on Adobe’s investor relations website at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Earnings documents, including Adobe management’s prepared slides and an investor datasheet are posted to Adobe’s investor relations website in advance of the conference call for reference.

Adobe Provides Fiscal Year and First Quarter 2022 Financial Targets

Adobe’s fiscal year 2022 and first quarter fiscal year 2022 targets factor in the following:

  • The strengthening of the U.S. Dollar against foreign currencies; and
  • The return to a 13-week first quarter and a 52-week fiscal year from fiscal 2021, which included an extra week in Q11,2.

The following table summarizes Adobe’s fiscal year 2022 targets:

Total revenue

~$17.90 billion

Digital Media annualized recurring revenue (ARR)

~$1.90 billion of net new ARR

Digital Media segment revenue (Y/Y growth)

~14 %

~17 % (Adjusted3)

Digital Experience segment revenue (Y/Y growth)

~14 %

~17 % (Adjusted3)

Digital Experience subscription revenue (Y/Y growth)

~16 %

~19 % (Adjusted3)

Tax rate

GAAP: ~17.5 %

Non-GAAP: ~17 %

Earnings per share4

GAAP: ~$10.25

Non-GAAP: ~$13.70

The following table summarizes Adobe’s first quarter fiscal year 2022 targets:

Total revenue

~$4.23 billion1

Digital Media annualized recurring revenue (ARR)

~$400 million of net new ARR2

Digital Media segment revenue (Y/Y growth)

~8 %

~17 % (Adjusted3)

Digital Experience segment revenue (Y/Y growth)

~11 %

~18 % (Adjusted3)

Digital Experience subscription revenue (Y/Y growth)

~13 %

~20 % (Adjusted3)

Tax rate

GAAP: ~16 %

Non-GAAP: ~17 %

Earnings per share4

GAAP: ~$2.63

Non-GAAP: ~$3.35

Forward-Looking Statements, Non-GAAP and Other Disclosures

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those related to business momentum, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations, our market opportunity, market trends, current macroeconomic conditions, customer success, revenue, operating margin, seasonality, annualized recurring revenue, tax rate on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, earnings per share on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, and share count, all of which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: failure to compete effectively, failure to develop, acquire, market and offer products and services that meet customer requirements, introduction of new technology, information security and privacy, potential interruptions or delays in hosted services provided by us or third parties, macroeconomic conditions and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, risks associated with cyber-attacks, complex sales cycles, risks related to the timing of revenue recognition from our subscription offerings, fluctuations in subscription renewal rates, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of past or future acquisitions, failure to effectively manage critical strategic third-party business relationships, changes in accounting principles and tax regulations, uncertainty in the financial markets and economic conditions in the countries where we operate, and other various risks associated with being a multinational corporation. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer to Adobe’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year 2020 ended Nov. 27, 2020, and Adobe's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q issued in fiscal year 2021.

The financial information set forth in this press release reflects estimates based on information available at this time. These amounts could differ from actual reported amounts stated in Adobe’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended Dec. 3, 2021, which Adobe expects to file in January 2022. Adobe assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update these forward-looking statements.

A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings results and financial targets is provided at the end of this press release and on Adobe’s investor relations website.

  1. Additional week in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 contributed approximately $267 million of total Adobe revenue.
  2. Additional week in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 contributed approximately $25 million of net new Digital Media ARR.
  3. Adjusted to account for the extra week in first quarter fiscal year 2021 and to show growth rates in constant currency.
  4. Targets assume share count of ~477 million for fiscal year 2022 and ~479 million for first quarter fiscal year 2022.

About Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

©2021 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe, Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and the Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe (or one of its subsidiaries) in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(In millions, except per share data; unaudited)

 

Three Months Ended

 

Year Ended

 

December 3, 2021

 

November 27, 2020

 

December 3, 2021

 

November 27, 2020

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscription

$

3,812

 

 

$

3,115

 

 

$

14,573

 

 

$

11,626

 

Product

128

 

 

127

 

 

555

 

 

507

 

Services and other

170

 

 

182

 

 

657

 

 

735

 

Total revenue

4,110

 

 

3,424

 

 

15,785

 

 

12,868

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscription

378

 

 

283

 

 

1,374

 

 

1,108

 

Product

12

 

 

10

 

 

41

 

 

36

 

Services and other

117

 

 

135

 

 

450

 

 

578

 

Total cost of revenue

507

 

 

428

 

 

1,865

 

 

1,722

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

3,603

 

 

2,996

 

 

13,920

 

 

11,146

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

657

 

 

558

 

 

2,540

 

 

2,188

 

Sales and marketing

1,131

 

 

941

 

 

4,321

 

 

3,591

 

General and administrative

274

 

 

243

 

 

1,085

 

 

968

 

Amortization of intangibles

40

 

 

39

 

 

172

 

 

162

 

Total operating expenses

2,102

 

 

1,781

 

 

8,118

 

 

6,909

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income

1,501

 

 

1,215

 

 

5,802

 

 

4,237

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-operating income (expense):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

(28

)

 

(27

)

 

(113

)

 

(116

)

Investment gains (losses), net

(4

)

 

6

 

 

16

 

 

13

 

Other income (expense), net

(1

)

 

3

 

 

 

 

42

 

Total non-operating income (expense), net

(33

)

 

(18

)

 

(97

)

 

(61

)

Income before income taxes

1,468

 

 

1,197

 

 

5,705

 

 

4,176

 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

235

 

 

(1,053

)

 

883

 

 

(1,084

)

Net income

$

1,233

 

 

$

2,250

 

 

$

4,822

 

 

$

5,260

 

Basic net income per share

$

2.59

 

 

$

4.69

 

 

$

10.10

 

 

$

10.94

 

Shares used to compute basic net income per share

476

 

 

479

 

 

477

 

 

481

 

Diluted net income per share

$

2.57

 

 

$

4.64

 

 

$

10.02

 

 

$

10.83

 

Shares used to compute diluted net income per share

480

 

 

484

 

 

481

 

 

485

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In millions; unaudited)

 

December 3, 2021

 

November 27, 2020

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

3,844

 

 

$

4,478

 

Short-term investments

1,954

 

 

1,514

 

Trade receivables, net of allowances for doubtful accounts of $16 and $21, respectively

1,878

 

 

1,398

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

975

 

 

756

 

Total current assets

8,651

 

 

8,146

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

1,673

 

 

1,517

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets, net

443

 

 

487

 

Goodwill

12,721

 

 

10,742

 

Other intangibles, net

1,820

 

 

1,359

 

Deferred income taxes

1,085

 

 

1,370

 

Other assets

848

 

 

663

 

Total assets

$

27,241

 

 

$

24,284

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Trade payables

$

312

 

 

$

306

 

Accrued expenses

1,736

 

 

1,422

 

Deferred revenue

4,733

 

 

3,629

 

Income taxes payable

54

 

 

63

 

Operating lease liabilities

97

 

 

92

 

Total current liabilities

6,932

 

 

5,512

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term liabilities:

 

 

 

Debt

4,123

 

 

4,117

 

Deferred revenue

145

 

 

130

 

Income taxes payable

534

 

 

529

 

Deferred income taxes

5

 

 

10

 

Operating lease liabilities

453

 

 

499

 

Other liabilities

252

 

 

223

 

Total liabilities

12,444

 

 

11,020

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

Preferred stock

 

 

 

Common stock

 

 

 

Additional paid-in-capital

8,428

 

 

7,357

 

Retained earnings

23,905

 

 

19,611

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

(137

)

 

(158

)

Treasury stock, at cost

(17,399

)

 

(13,546

)

Total stockholders’ equity

14,797

 

 

13,264

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

27,241

 

 

$

24,284

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In millions; unaudited)

 

Three Months Ended

 

December 3, 2021

 

November 27, 2020

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

Net income

$

1,233

 

 

$

2,250

 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

Depreciation, amortization and accretion

205

 

 

190

 

Stock-based compensation

269

 

 

233

 

Unrealized investment (gains) losses, net

7

 

 

(7

)

Other non-cash adjustments

87

 

 

(1,192

)

Changes in deferred revenue

482

 

 

310

 

Changes in other operating assets and liabilities

(235

)

 

(2

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

2,048

 

 

1,782

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

Purchases, sales and maturities of short-term investments, net

(423

)

 

(22

)

Purchases of property and equipment

(81

)

 

(103

)

Purchases and sales of long-term investments, intangibles and other assets, net

(5

)

 

(6

)

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(1,212

)

 

 

Net cash used for investing activities

(1,721

)

 

(131

)

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

Repurchases of common stock

(1,000

)

 

(850

)

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards, net of proceeds from treasury stock re-issuances

(116

)

 

(82

)

Other financing activities, net

38

 

 

(8

)

Net cash used for financing activities

(1,078

)

 

(940

)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

(28

)

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

(779

)

 

711

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

4,623

 

 

3,767

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$

3,844

 

 

$

4,478

 

 

Non-GAAP Results

(In millions, except per share data)

The following table shows Adobe’s GAAP results reconciled to non-GAAP results included in this release.

 

Three Months Ended

 

Year Ended

 

December 3,

2021

 

November 27,

2020

 

September 3,

2021

 

December 3,

2021

 

November 27,

2020

Operating income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GAAP operating income

$

1,501

 

 

$

1,215

 

 

$

1,441

 

 

$

5,802

 

 

$

4,237

 

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

265

 

 

239

 

 

287

 

 

1,107

 

 

924

 

Amortization of intangibles

91

 

 

84

 

 

83

 

 

350

 

 

360

 

Non-GAAP operating income

$

1,857

 

 

$

1,538

 

 

$

1,811

 

 

$

7,259

 

 

$

5,521

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GAAP net income

$

1,233

 

 

$

2,250

 

 

$

1,212

 

 

$

4,822

 

 

$

5,260

 

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

265

 

 

239

 

 

287

 

 

1,107

 

 

924

 

Amortization of intangibles

91

 

 

84

 

 

83

 

 

350

 

 

360

 

Investment (gains) losses, net

4

 

 

(6

)

 

(7

)

 

(16

)

 

(13

)

Income tax adjustments

(57

)

 

(1,204

)

 

(79

)

 

(260

)

 

(1,628

)

Non-GAAP net income

$

1,536

 

 

$

1,363

 

 

$

1,496

 

 

$

6,003

 

 

$

4,903

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted net income per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GAAP diluted net income per share

$

2.57

 

 

$

4.64

 

 

$

2.52

 

 

$

10.02

 

 

$

10.83

 

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

0.55

 

 

0.49

 

 

0.60

 

 

2.30

 

 

1.90

 

Amortization of intangibles

0.19

 

 

0.17

 

 

0.17

 

 

0.73

 

 

0.74

 

Investment (gains) losses, net

0.01

 

 

(0.01

)

 

(0.01

)

 

(0.03

)

 

(0.03

)

Income tax adjustments

(0.12

)

 

(2.48

)

 

(0.17

)

 

(0.54

)

 

(3.34

)

Non-GAAP diluted net income per share

$

3.20

 

 

$

2.81

 

 

$

3.11

 

 

$

12.48

 

 

$

10.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares used in computing diluted net income per share

480

 

 

484

 

 

481

 

 

481

 

 

485

 

 

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Targets

 

(Shares in millions)

 

The following tables show Adobe's annual fiscal year 2022 financial targets reconciled to the non-GAAP financial targets included in this release.

Fiscal 2022

 

Digital Media

segment revenue

 

Digital Experience

segment revenue

 

Digital Experience

subscription revenue

 

 

(Y/Y growth)

 

(Y/Y growth)

 

(Y/Y growth)

GAAP Target

 

14

%

 

14

%

 

16

%

Impact of extra week in fiscal year 2021

 

2

 

 

2

 

 

2

 

Constant currency impact

 

1

 

 

1

 

 

1

 

Adjusted Target

 

17

%

 

17

%

 

19

%

 

Fiscal Year 2022

Diluted net income per share:

 

 

 

GAAP diluted net income per share

$

10.25

 

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

 

3.25

 

Amortization of intangibles

 

0.83

 

Income tax adjustments

 

(0.63

)

Non-GAAP diluted net income per share

$

13.70

 

 

 

Shares used to compute diluted net income per share

477

 

 

Fiscal Year 2022

Effective income tax rate:

 

 

 

GAAP effective income tax rate

17.5

 

%

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

(0.9

)

 

Amortization of intangibles

(0.1

)

 

Income tax adjustments

0.5

 

 

Non-GAAP effective income tax rate

17.0

 

%

 

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Targets (continued)

 

(Shares in millions)

 

The following tables show Adobe's first quarter fiscal year 2022 financial targets reconciled to the non-GAAP financial targets included in this release.

First Quarter Fiscal 2022

 

Digital Media

segment revenue

 

Digital Experience

segment revenue

 

Digital Experience

subscription revenue

 

 

(Y/Y growth)

 

(Y/Y growth)

 

(Y/Y growth)

GAAP Target

 

8

%

 

11

%

 

13

%

Impact of extra week in fiscal year 2021

 

8

 

 

7

 

 

7

 

Constant currency impact

 

1

 

 

0

 

 

0

 

Adjusted Target

 

17

%

 

18

%

 

20

%

 

First Quarter

Fiscal 2022

Diluted net income per share:

 

 

 

GAAP diluted net income per share

$

2.63

 

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

 

0.70

 

Amortization of intangibles

 

0.21

 

Income tax adjustments

 

(0.19

)

Non-GAAP diluted net income per share

$

3.35

 

 

 

Shares used to compute diluted net income per share

479

 

 

First Quarter

Fiscal 2022

Effective income tax rate:

 

 

 

GAAP effective income tax rate

16.0

 

%

Stock-based and deferred compensation expense

(0.9

)

 

Amortization of intangibles

(0.1

)

 

Income tax adjustments

2.0

 

 

Non-GAAP effective income tax rate

17.0

 

%

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Adobe continues to provide all information required in accordance with GAAP, but believes evaluating its ongoing operating results may not be as useful if an investor is limited to reviewing only GAAP financial measures. Adobe uses non-GAAP financial information to evaluate its ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Adobe's management does not itself, nor does it suggest that investors should, consider such non-GAAP financial measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adobe presents such non-GAAP financial measures in reporting its financial results to provide investors with an additional tool to evaluate Adobe's operating results. Adobe believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful because they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. This allows institutional investors, the analyst community and others to better understand and evaluate our operating results and future prospects in the same manner as management.

Adobe's management believes it is useful for itself and investors to review, as applicable, both GAAP information as well as non-GAAP measures, which may exclude items such as stock-based and deferred compensation expenses, amortization of intangibles, investment gains and losses, the related tax impact of all of these items, income tax adjustments, and the income tax effect of the non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments from the provision for income taxes. Adobe uses these non-GAAP measures in order to assess the performance of Adobe's business and for planning and forecasting in subsequent periods. Whenever such a non-GAAP measure is used, Adobe provides a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most closely applicable GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the related GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure as detailed above.

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