Thirty years after starting Photoshop, Adobe is now a software giant with a SaaS model.
Text | Dan Zhongkui
Edit | Su Jianxun
In the early morning of December 13, Beijing time, creative software giant Adobe (ADBE.US) announced the company’s fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2019 and the annual financial report.
Data shows that for the entire fiscal year 2019, Adobe’s total net revenue was $ 11.171 billion, compared to $ 9.030 billion in fiscal 2018. Adobe’s full-year net profit was $ 2.951 billion, compared to $ 2.591 billion in fiscal 2018.
The fourth quarter earnings report is still higher than expected, which is a pleasant surprise. The published in the third quarter of this year The fourth-quarter guidance that was lower than expected has panicked the market, causing its stock price to experience shocks for more than a month, and finally in It reached a bottom of $ 261.09 on October 22, then rebounded and continued until the end of November.
Four fiscal quarter revenue was US $ 2.99 billion, up 21% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations of US $ 2.97 billion; net profit was US $ 852 million, up 25.7% year-on-year; based on non-US GAAP, diluted earnings per share It was $ 2.29, exceeding market expectations of $ 2.26.
By division of business, Adobe ’s fourth-quarter subscription revenue was US $ 2,687 million, up from US $ 2.184 billion in the same period last year; product business revenue was US $ 167 million, up from US $ 150 million in the same period last year; services Revenue from support services was $ 138 million, up from $ 130 million in the same period last year.
The so-called subscription revenue, that is, in 2012, Adobe ’s PS, Ai, Ae and other applications were bought and sold by traditional software with one hammer, and turned into SaaS-style cloud tools with annual payment. Although this change has reduced the single cost, for example, the PS Personal Edition is only 800 yuan a year in China, but the subscription service means that the user’s value cycle can be lengthened. If the product can gain user approval, the user can Year after year renewal.
Source: the next web
There are media reports that Adobe is one of the technology companies that has successfully overturned its business model to adapt to changing times. Since switching from a “Creative” model to a subscription-only model in 2013, the company’s stock value has increased by more than 600%.
However, the change of subscription model also puts a more severe test on Adobe, and users will quickly abandon them once the product cannot be recognized for functional innovation.
At the beginning of November this year, Adobe released a variety of new products and even black technology at its Max Creative Summit, including Photoshop for iPad, Adobe Aero for immersive AR experiences, and Adobe XD for multi-person collaboration.
From an outsider’s point of view, the changes in these products are not too new, but in the eyes of designers and artists using Adobe, every software update of Adobe can greatly improve a certain part of their work from the product. effectiveness.
For example, you can quickly select images that need to be modified in complex composition:
Keep track of main characters in dynamic video clips:
People who do n’t have any basic knowledge of watercolor can quickly learn the skills of watercolor color picking and painting.
To maintainWith the accumulated technology upgrade of the above tools, Adobe launched artificial intelligence Adobe Sensei in 2017. This is not a specific product, but the underlying technology that supports Adobe’s full line of products, which can implement functions such as image recognition and simulation image generation.
The image overlay regeneration function demonstrated in the figure is to automatically extract different clothes elements and design new clothes through Adobe Sensei.
Unlike most companies treating AI purely as a technology framework, Adobe integrated technology into products and specific businesses in the early days of AI development. “For customers, choosing to deliver AI with a solution is the best solution.” Ashley Still, head of Adobe Sensei, told 36 氪.
The robustness of the SaaS business and the continuous innovation of AI in terms of functionality make Adobe financially confident. In the fourth fiscal quarter, Adobe repurchased approximately 2.8 million company shares. Adobe’s fourth-quarter cash flow from business operations was $ 1.38 billion.
Adobe also expects that the company’s full-year revenue for fiscal year 2020 will reach $ 13.15 billion, of which the revenue of the digital media sector will increase by 19% year-on-year, and the revenue of the digital experience sector will increase by 16% year-on-year; digital Annual media recurring revenue will reach US $ 1.55 billion; according to data provided by Yahoo Finance Channel, 29 analysts had previously expected Adobe’s fiscal year 2020 revenue to reach US $ 13.16 billion.
On the same day, Adobe’s stock price rose by $ 2.22 in regular Nasdaq trading and closed at $ 305.96, an increase of 0.73%. Over the past 52 weeks, Adobe’s highest price was $ 313.311 and its lowest price was $ 204.95.
(The first picture in this article is from the next web, the title pictures were taken by 36 氪)