Adobe Plunges 14% on Weak Outlook

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) shares dropped more than 14% intra-day today after it released guidance for the current quarter that fell short of expectations regarding a crucial revenue metric, sparking concerns over increasing competition affecting its growth trajectory.

For the fiscal second quarter, Adobe has set a target for digital media net new revenue, at $440 million, which is below the approximately $460 million expected by analysts. The company has forecasted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be between $4.35 and $4.40, with revenue projections ranging from $5.25 billion to $5.30 billion. These figures compare less favorably with analyst predictions of $4.39 in EPS and $5.31 billion in revenue.

This subdued forecast comes despite Adobe posting fiscal first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, with an EPS of $4.48 on revenue of $5.18 billion, against forecasts of $4.38 in EPS on $5.14 billion in revenue.