Analyst(s): Keith Kirkpatrick
Publication Date: September 12, 2025
Adobe’s Q3 FY 2025 earnings report highlights how strong adoption of AI-powered tools and record Digital Media growth are driving momentum. Its raised revenue and EPS guidance reinforces confidence in Adobe’s strategy across its Creative Cloud and Experience platforms.
What is Covered in this Article:
- Adobe’s Q3 FY 2025 financial results
- Digital Media growth and ARR momentum
- Expanding adoption of Firefly, Acrobat AI Assistant, and Acrobat Studio
- Digital Experience performance and enterprise AI integration
- Raised FY 2025 revenue and EPS guidance
The News: Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) reported Q3 FY 2025 revenue of $5.99 billion, up 11% year-over-year (YoY) and ahead of consensus of $5.91 billion. Digital Media revenue increased 12% YoY to $4.46 billion, with Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) reaching $18.59 billion, up 11.7% YoY. Digital Experience revenue grew 10% YoY to $1.48 billion, with subscription revenue in this segment up 11% YoY to $1.37 billion. Non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 14% YoY to $5.31, topping expectations of $5.18. Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) climbed 13% YoY to $20.44 billion.
“Adobe delivered record Q3 revenue, with strength in subscription revenue across both Digital Media and Digital Experience segments,” said Dan Durn, executive vice president and CFO at Adobe. “We’re raising our FY 2025 total revenue and EPS targets as we execute against our growth strategy to deliver category-leading and AI-infused solutions to meet the diverse needs of our customers.”
Adobe Q3 FY 2025 Results Beat Estimates, FY 2025 Outlook Raised on AI Demand
Analyst Take: Adobe delivered another strong quarter, underscored by record revenue and accelerating AI adoption across both Digital Media and Digital Experience. The company has successfully executed on its strategy of infusing AI into flagship applications and launching AI-first products, while demonstrating resilience in enterprise adoption and customer engagement. Strong ARR growth, robust uptake of Firefly and Acrobat AI Assistant, and early traction with GenStudio help position Adobe to monetize AI demand effectively despite intensifying competition from Canva and OpenAI, among others.
Expanding Creative Cloud and Firefly Adoption
Creative Cloud Pro, which integrates Firefly, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro with AI capabilities, is driving strong migration among creative professionals. Firefly usage accelerated with 29 billion generations, including nearly 40% growth in video generations quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), highlighting expanding demand for generative content. The Firefly app gained momentum with MAUs rising 30% QoQ, and first-time Adobe subscribers through the app growing 20% QoQ, signaling its role as an on-ramp for new users.
Enterprises are increasingly leveraging Firefly Services for brand-safe, large-scale content automation, with consumption of Firefly Services and custom models rising 32% and 68% QoQ, respectively. Notably, emerging markets like India grew Creative Cloud units 50% YoY, expanding Adobe’s addressable base. These metrics reinforce Adobe’s positioning as the creative “operating system” in the era of AI.
Strength in Digital Media and Acrobat Studio Momentum
The Digital Media segment delivered 12% YoY revenue growth, with ARR expanding 11.7% to $18.6 billion, underscoring healthy demand across professionals and consumers. Acrobat AI Assistant adoption accelerated, with ending units up more than 40% QoQ and engagement (conversations and summarizations) rising nearly 50%.
Acrobat Studio, which combines Acrobat, Express, and PDF Spaces, saw strong early reception, creating a premium offering that integrates productivity with creativity. Monthly active users across Acrobat and Express grew about 25% YoY, supporting Adobe’s freemium funnel strategy. The education vertical proved particularly strong, with student access to Express premium plans rising over 80% YoY. Together, these dynamics highlight how Adobe is extending document workflows into collaborative, AI-powered knowledge hubs that drive both seat expansion and monetization.
Digital Experience and Enterprise AI Integration
Digital Experience revenue increased 9% YoY to $1.48 billion, with subscription revenue up 11% YoY, driven by strength in Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and GenStudio. AEP ARR grew more than 40% YoY, with 70% of eligible customers adopting AEP AI Assistant, reflecting strong momentum in agentic workflows. GenStudio now exceeds $1 billion in ARR, growing over 25% YoY, and is helping enterprises automate performance marketing campaigns through Firefly video and image models.
New launches like AEP Agent Orchestrator and the LLM Optimizer provide differentiation as brands pivot toward LLM-based discovery and hyper-personalization. Cross-cloud adoption continues to scale, with One Adobe deals growing over 60% YoY and 40% of the top 50 enterprise accounts doubling ARR since FY 2023. These results affirm Adobe’s edge in delivering integrated content supply chain and customer experience orchestration at enterprise scale.
Guidance and Final Thoughts
Adobe raised its FY 2025 revenue outlook to $23.65–$23.70 billion (prior: $23.50–$23.60 billion; consensus: $23.58 billion) and non-GAAP EPS to $20.80–$20.85 (prior: $20.50–$20.70; consensus: $20.60), supported by Digital Media ARR growth of 11.3%. Q4 FY 2025 guidance calls for revenue of $6.08–$6.13 billion (consensus: $6.08 billion) and non-GAAP EPS of $5.35–$5.40, which was above the consensus estimate of $5.33.
AI-influenced ARR has already surpassed $5 billion, while AI-first ARR exceeded the $250 million year-end target a quarter early, underscoring accelerated adoption. While ARR growth in Digital Media remains a focal point for investors, strong RPO expansion of 13% YoY to $20.4 billion provides visibility into future performance. Margins remain resilient, aided by productivity gains in GPU utilization and cost management, despite stepped-up AI investment.
Overall, Adobe is demonstrating that AI innovation is not just driving customer adoption but also translating into upgraded guidance and durable growth. This accomplishment is particularly important in an era when many other SaaS vendors are struggling to demonstrate they are able to effectively monetize AI,
See the complete press release on Adobe’s Q3 FY 2025 financial results on the Adobe website.
Disclosure: Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum as a whole.
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Author Information
Keith Kirkpatrick is VP & Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows for The Futurum Group. Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
