Adobe Results Top Wall Street Estimates
Adobe Systems issued its fiscal fourth-quarter results Thursday, posting higher-than-expected earnings and profits thanks to a series of successful cost-cutting moves including halting the development of its Flash media player for mobile browsers, which deceased Apple co-founder Steve Jobs criticized as an inefficient power hog. The unexpected solid results come about a month after Adobe said it would be laying off 7 percent of its workforce as it continues to refocus its effort after losing out to Apple in a long running war over emerging Web standards.
In the three months ended December 2nd, Adobe posted adjusted earnings of 67 cents a share, topping the consensus estimate of 60 cents per share projected by analysts in a recent Reuters survey. Overall revenue in the quarter, meanwhile, rose 14 percent from the same period a year ago to $1.15 billion, ahead of the analysts' average expectation of $1.09 billion. The company cited strong performance in its core digital marketing and media businesses as the chief drivers of the surprisingly strong results.
Following Adobe's long battle with Apple, the company has scaled back development of a variety of products, including Flash for mobile, and shifting towards leasing software through the cloud on a subscription basis rather than selling licenses for its products up front. The company expects revenue to decline slightly in the current quarter due to seasonal factors but expects strong performance in Q3 and Q4 as it launches new products.
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