Adobe Systems Inc.
(
ADBE
) is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth quarter 2012 earnings
on December 13, 2012. In the run up to the earnings release, we
see one upward movement in analyst estimates.
Prior-Quarter Synopsis
Adobe's third quarter earnings of 45 cents missed the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of 47 cents due to lower revenue and its
significant exposure to the European region.
Adobe's total revenue was $1.081 billion, down 3.8%
sequentially but up 6.7% year over year. The sequential decline
was due to increased adoption of new and lower priced
subscription-based models by customers.
Products generated 75.0% of revenue, down 0.18% sequentially
while Subscription revenue comprised 16.0% of revenue, up 50.9%
sequentially. Services & Support brought in the balance,
increasing 12.1% sequentially.
Gross margin was 88.9%, down 80 bps from 89.7% in the
comparable year-ago quarter due to unfavorable mix. However,
operating margin was slightly up from 62.6% in the year-ago
period due to lower-than-expected expenses in the quarter.
Management Guidance
For the fourth quarter, Adobe expects revenue in a range of
$1.075 billion to $1.125 billion.
GAAP EPS is expected to be 34 cents to 39 cents, including
stock-based compensation of 17 cents, intangibles amortization
charges of 6 cents, restructuring charges of 1 cent, and income
tax adjustment of 5 cents. Excluding all of these, non GAAP EPS
is expected to be 53-58 cents. Currently, the Zacks Consensus
Estimate for the upcoming quarter is pegged at 46 cents.
(Detailed earnings results can be viewed in the blog titled:
Adobe Reports Weak 3Q
Agreement of Analysts
Over the last 30 days, only 1 out of the 10 analysts providing
estimates for the fourth quarter made an upward revision. For
fiscal 2012 also, 1 out of 11 analysts made an upward revision.
There were no downward revisions for either the fourth quarter or
fiscal 2012.
A few analysts believe that the company will report strong
revenue driven by strength in Digital Marketing and strong
response to Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud.
On the contrary, others believe that though subscription had a
good pick-up last quarter and could add approximately185k
subscribers in the fourth quarter, above the guidance of 125k, a
strong move to subscription will likely impact near-term revenue
recognition. Additionally, they believe that global economic
slowdown and negative foreign currency movement will act as
headwinds.
Also, the analysts do not expect strong operating margin
expansion due to the company's huge growth investments and
continued hiring.
Magnitude of Estimate Revisions
In the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate was up by a
penny to 46 cents for the fourth quarter but remain unchanged for
fiscal year 2012 at $1.91.
Over the 90-day period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate decreased
by 10 cents to 46 cents for the fourth quarter and by 7 cents to
$1.91 for fiscal 2012.
Recommendation
We believe Adobe will come out with decent fourth quarter
results owing to increasing revenue visibility, solid CS6
adoption, cost cutting efforts, improved execution and an
expanding customer base. We believe the company's dominance in
the Creative category and the integration of Creative products
with digital marketing apps will provide a competitive edge.
However, to some extent, we believe that thenew subscription
service could hurt Adobe's overall financial growth, at least
over the short term, as it brings in revenues on a monthly basis,
instead of a lump sum at the start.
Additionally, Adobe's acquisition of Efficient Frontier will
enhance its Digital Marketing suite by adding optimization
capabilities for search and display advertising while
accelerating its entry into social advertising.
Aweak demand environment in Europeand strong competition from
Apple Inc.
(
AAPL
) and
Microsoft Corp.
(
MSFT
) remain a matter of concern.
Currently, Adobe shares have a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold).
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