M+E Connections

Adobe continues to be “bullish” about its growth prospects thanks, in part, to new products and services, as well as continued enhancements to its Adobe Primetime multiscreen TV platform, CEO Shantanu Narayen said June 21 on an earnings call for the second quarter that ended June 3.

Adobe Primetime helps broadcasters, cable networks, and service providers create and monetize personalized TV and film experiences for their customers across 3.4 billion devices, according to Adobe. It also provides data via Adobe Marketing Cloud integration that enables media sellers to optimize ad delivery in real time.

In March, the company announced Primetime over-the-top capabilities that make it easy for TV networks and pay-TV providers to bring more personalized TV and ad experiences directly to consumers via Apple TV, Microsoft Xbox, Roku and other connected devices, Narayen pointed out on the call. In May, Adobe also introduced expanded virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality capabilities within Adobe Primetime, with ad insertion, digital rights management and playback, he said.

Adobe also believes that the “innovation” in the new Creative Cloud update that it announced June 21 “will promote migration and enhance retention” among users of that suite of design applications, he said. The company continues to introduce new applications to target new design categories, he said, pointing to Adobe XD, its solution for user interface design.

Adobe XD has “already garnered more than 200,000 downloads as a preview release” alone, he said.
“In addition to delivering cutting-edge innovation for use by professionals, we are excited about the broader opportunity to enable anybody with an idea to create and share high-impact visual stories,” he said, pointing to Adobe Spark as an example. It was introduced in May to address that need, and “enables students and consumers to create professional quality, social posts, web stories and animated video in minutes,” he said.

“Our momentum is a result of the continuous delivery of breakthrough product innovation across each of our three cloud offerings,” he said.

Based on Adobe’s “strong first half performance and business momentum,” the company expects to meet or top the annual targets for this year that it raised in March, said CFO Mark Garrett. Adobe expects the second half of the year to “play out as we outlined” in the first-quarter earnings call, he said, targeting a third-quarter revenue range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion.

In Digital Media, Adobe expects to add about $285 million of net new annual recurring revenue in the third quarter, with strong year-over-year Digital Media segment revenue growth, he said. In Digital Marketing, Adobe expects continued momentum in bookings and about 7% year-over-year Adobe Marketing Cloud revenue growth in the third quarter, he said.