Adobe Systems

Question: What's the outlook for my shares of Adobe Systems Inc.? They have disappointed. Answer: Coming off a lackluster 2010, this pioneering software maker famous for its Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat products should have a better 2011. Online video is a booming business, aided by the surging popularity of mobile computing and increasingly sophisticated website content. An improving economy should provide an added boost. With sales of $3.8 billion in the year that ended Nov. 30, Adobe isn't nearly as enormous as some of its rivals, but it is dominant and profitable in its niche, with plenty of cash and modest debt.

Question: What's the outlook for my shares of Adobe Systems Inc.? They have disappointed. Answer: Coming off a lackluster 2010, this pioneering software maker famous for its Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat products should have a better 2011. Online video is a booming business, aided by the surging popularity of mobile computing and increasingly sophisticated website content. An improving economy should provide an added boost. With sales of $3.8 billion in the year that ended Nov. 30, Adobe isn't nearly as enormous as some of its rivals, but it is dominant and profitable in its niche, with plenty of cash and modest debt.

Adobe Systems Inc. released better-than-expected preliminary earnings for the fourth quarter, but said it would cut 600 jobs, or 8% of its workforce, because of slower revenue growth. The San Jose software company said it expected earnings of 45 to 46 cents a share, compared with 49 cents a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Adobe expects to earn 59 to 60 cents a share. Analysts projected 51 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. Adobe said revenue would be $912 million to $915 million, up from $911 million a year earlier but below the average analyst estimate of $930 million.

EARNINGS Best Buy says 4th quarter will be leaner Customers snapping up electronics and gift cards for the holidays boosted Best Buy's Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter profit, but the nation's largest electronics retailer said its profit margin would be squeezed in the fourth quarter, and its shares fell. Still, Best Buy raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts and said both traffic and shoppers' average spending rose from a year earlier. Net income rose to $227 million, or 53 cents a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 28 from $52 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier, when Best Buy wrote down the value of its British retailer, Carphone Warehouse.

Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter ended March 1 and said it thinks the current quarter will fall in line with expectations. Excluding one-time charges, Adobe reported pro forma earnings of $52.8 million, or 22 cents a share--down from pro forma earnings of $83.6 million, or 33 cents a share, for the comparable period last year. Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had expected Adobe to earn 20 cents a share on revenue of $267.6 million.

Publishing and graphic software company Quark Inc. said Tuesday that it had offered to acquire Adobe Systems Inc. at a premium to its rival's current stock price but had been turned down. Quark, a closely held company that makes publishing and desktop design software, said it was interested in acquiring all or a significant portion of Adobe's common stock. The Denver-based maker of QuarkXPress software said it was making the offer public after being rebuffed last week.

Adobe Systems Inc. on Monday announced that it planned to buy Macromedia Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at more than $3 billion. The deal would bring together a pair of California-based companies that are successful in different realms of the publishing software business -- and help both ward off anticipated challenges from Microsoft Corp.

Adobe Systems Inc., the world's biggest maker of graphic-design programs, plans to cut 680 jobs, or about 9% of its global workforce, as the company copes with a lingering sales slump. Adobe will record $65 million to $71 million in pretax expenses, including costs for shutting offices and severance pay, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Adobe expects to report additional costs related to its $1.8 billion purchase of Omniture Inc. last month. Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen is dealing with a slowdown in demand for software from advertisers and other creative professionals.

Adobe Systems Inc., best known for its Photoshop and Acrobat software, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit grew 11% to $245.9 million, or 46 cents a share. The San Jose firm said sales rose to $915.3 million from $911.2 million a year earlier.

Adobe Systems Inc., the world's biggest maker of graphic-design programs, plans to cut 680 jobs, or about 9% of its global workforce, as the company copes with a lingering sales slump. Adobe will record $65 million to $71 million in pretax expenses, including costs for shutting offices and severance pay, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Adobe expects to report additional costs related to its $1.8 billion purchase of Omniture Inc. last month. Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen is dealing with a slowdown in demand for software from advertisers and other creative professionals.

Adobe Systems Inc., best known for its Photoshop and Acrobat software, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit grew 11% to $245.9 million, or 46 cents a share. The San Jose firm said sales rose to $915.3 million from $911.2 million a year earlier.

Adobe Systems Inc. released better-than-expected preliminary earnings for the fourth quarter, but said it would cut 600 jobs, or 8% of its workforce, because of slower revenue growth. The San Jose software company said it expected earnings of 45 to 46 cents a share, compared with 49 cents a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Adobe expects to earn 59 to 60 cents a share. Analysts projected 51 cents, according to Thomson Reuters. Adobe said revenue would be $912 million to $915 million, up from $911 million a year earlier but below the average analyst estimate of $930 million.

Adobe Systems Inc. said second-quarter profit climbed 41% on sales of Creative Suite 3. Net income rose to $214.9 million, or 40 cents a share, from $152.5 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, the San Jose company said. Sales advanced 19% to $886.9 million.

Adobe Systems Inc., facing competition from websites letting people edit photos online, created a free, Internet-based version of its Photoshop software. A test version of the service, Photoshop Express, will allow users to store, sort and edit pictures online and move them to social-networking sites such as Facebook. Adobe hopes to entice digital-camera owners who may become customers for its software later, analysts said.

Adobe Systems Inc. said profit climbed 53% as more customers bought the latest version of its Creative Suite design software. First-quarter net income rose to $219.4 million, or 38 cents a share, from $143.9 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier, San Jose-based Adobe said. Sales advanced 37% to $890.4 million.

Adobe Systems Inc. said second-quarter profit climbed 41% on sales of Creative Suite 3. Net income rose to $214.9 million, or 40 cents a share, from $152.5 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, the San Jose company said. Sales advanced 19% to $886.9 million.