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Adobe Q3 FY2026 earnings showing record $6.76B revenue
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Adobe Stock Falls 3% on CEO Succession Despite Q3 Beat

SEC / Adobe Investor Relations2 min read5 sources

Why is Adobe stock down today?

Adobe (ADBE) stock, closing at $248.83, fell about 3% in after-hours Thursday trading as CEO Narayen's December 1 handover to Chakravarthy overshadowed a record $6.76B Q3 revenue beat.

Key numbers

Q3 FY2026 Revenue$6.76B+13% vs a year ago
Non-GAAP EPS$6.13Beat $6.09 estimate
After-Hours Decline~3%from $248.83 regular-session close
FY2026 Revenue Guidance (raised)$26.58–$26.63BUp from prior $26.50–$26.60B
YTD Stock Performance-27.3%Through September 9, 2026
Forward P/E9.8xvs ~25x for Microsoft

What happened

Adobe (ADBE) stock, closing at $248.83, fell about 3% in after-hours Thursday trading as CEO Narayen's December 1 handover to Chakravarthy overshadowed a record $6.76B Q3 revenue beat. The company beat revenue estimates by roughly $70 million — sales of $6.76 billion compared with the $6.70 billion analysts expected — and non-GAAP earnings per share of $6.13 came in above the $6.09 consensus. Adobe also raised its full-year revenue outlook to $26.58–$26.63 billion, a modest upgrade above prior guidance. The selloff reflected the end of an 18-year leadership era, compounded by the simultaneous exit of president David Wadhwani, who oversaw roughly 75% of Adobe's revenue and is leaving September 27.

Why it matters

Adobe has now fallen after three straight quarterly earnings beats in 2026, a pattern that shows investors care more about leadership continuity than short-term results. Narayen spent 18 years turning Adobe from a boxed-software company into a subscription and AI powerhouse, and it is not yet clear whether Chakravarthy will hold that strategic course as rivals pour resources into AI creative tools. The back-to-back leadership exits — CFO Dan Durn left for Marvell in June, CEO Narayen now stepping down — add uncertainty for a stock already down roughly 27% for the year.

Who this affects

Marketbearish
Low impact
Adobe's drop pressures software ETFs holding large ADBE positions.
Companybearish
Medium impact
Shareholders face an uncertain CEO transition through December 2026.
Competitorsbullish
Low impact
Rivals Figma and Canva may gain from Adobe's leadership gap.
Industrybearish
Low impact
Design software faces a leadership vacuum at its largest player.

Adobe vs Salesforce, Microsoft, Autodesk

AdobeADBE$98.9B-2.4%-27.3%9.8x
SalesforceCRM$200B———
MicrosoftMSFT$3.66T——25.1x
AutodeskADSK$44.2B——15.9x

As of 2026-09-10

How we got here

  1. Adobe announces CEO Narayen to hand role to Chakravarthy on December 1

  2. ADBE falls ~3–7%; president David Wadhwani also announces departure

  3. Q3 FY2026 results: revenue $6.76B, non-GAAP EPS $6.13, both beat estimates

  4. FY2026 revenue guidance raised to $26.58–$26.63B; stock falls ~3% after hours

  5. Anil Chakravarthy officially becomes Adobe President and CEO

What to watch

  • Chakravarthy's first strategic update and AI product roadmap as CEOQ1 2027
  • Q4 FY2026 earnings: first full-quarter results under new leadershipQ4 2026
  • ARR growth rate — the metric investors use most to gauge Adobe's AI momentumQ4 2026

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

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