Topic: Growth Stocks

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $33 – Nasdaq symbol ADBE

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $33 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 491.8 million; Market cap: $16.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) reported that its revenue rose 6.6% in the three months ended August 31, 2012, to $1.08 billion from $1.01 billion a year earlier.

The company is doing a good job of selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. Subscription revenue jumped 50.9% in the quarter, and now accounts for 16% of its overall revenue, up from 11% a year earlier. Adobe still gets 75% of its revenue from direct software sales. The remaining 9% comes from services and support.

Earnings rose 6.7%, to $291.2 million from $272.8 million. Earnings per share rose 5.5%, to $0.58 from $0.55, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as restructuring charges and gains on investment sales.

Moving to a subscription model will slow Adobe’s short-term revenue and earnings growth, but it should give the company steadier revenue streams. Because of this ongoing switch, Adobe expects to earn between $0.53 and $0.58 a share in its current quarter. That’s well below the consensus estimate of $0.67.

Adobe is still a hold.

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