Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen has announced his decision to step down from the role he’s held for over 18 years. The transition won’t be immediate—Narayen will continue as CEO until the board finds and appoints a successor, and will then stay on as Chair of the Board.In an internal memo to employees, Narayen called the moment “a time for reflection,” noting that the earnings call he was about to conduct would be his 100th at the company. The board has appointed lead independent director Frank Calderoni to chair a special committee evaluating both internal and external candidates. On the earnings call, Narayen said the search should take a few months.
Narayen led Adobe ‘s shift from boxed software to a subscription-first model now worth over $25 billion in annual revenue
The leadership change caps a transformative run. When Narayen took over as CEO in 2007, Adobe had around 3,000 employees and under $1 billion in revenue. He steered the company away from traditional software licensing and toward a subscription-first model—Creative Cloud—turning it into one of the biggest SaaS businesses in the world. Today, Adobe employs more than 30,000 people, pulls in over $25 billion a year, and the stock has jumped more than sixfold under his watch.Not everything landed, though. Adobe’s $20 billion bid to acquire design tool maker Figma collapsed after regulators pushed back, sticking Adobe with a $1 billion breakup fee. And the stock has been under sustained pressure—down nearly 23% in 2026 so far—as investors fret over generative AI’s potential to disrupt the software industry at large.
Adobe beat Q1 estimates on both revenue and earnings, with AI-first product revenue more than tripling year-over-year
The stepping-down announcement came wrapped inside a strong earnings report. Adobe posted fiscal Q1 revenue of Rs 6.40 billion, up 12% year-over-year and ahead of the $6.28 billion Wall Street expected. Adjusted EPS hit $6.06 versus the $5.87 consensus, while annualised revenue from AI-first products more than tripled. The company now counts 850 million monthly users across Acrobat, Creative Cloud, Express, and Firefly—a 17% jump. Fiscal Q2 guidance also came in above expectations.
Shantanu Narayen ‘s full memo to Adobe employees
I want to share with all of you that I have informed the Board of my decision to transition from my role as CEO of Adobe after over 18 years in the job (and the earnings call that I am about to conduct will be my 100th at the greatest company on the planet). Over the coming months, I will be working with Frank Calderoni, our lead Director, and the Board of Directors to identify my successor and to ensure a smooth transition. I will stay on as Chair of the Board to support the next CEO just as John and Chuck did when I took on this role.This is not a goodbye by any means but a time for reflection. What attracted me to Adobe 28 years ago was our leadership in creating new market categories, world-class products, a relentless desire to innovate in every functional area of the company and the people I met during the interview process. We have continued to create new markets, deliver world-class products, drive innovation in everything we do and attract and retain the best and brightest employees. Over this time, we grew from ~3K employees to >30K employees, delivered technology that touched billions of people as customers of our products or the digital experiences that our customers create, leading to our revenue growing from <$1B to >$25B. I am so incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together.Our mission, Empower Everyone to Create, represents an even larger opportunity in the AI era. By delivering an innovative roadmap aligned to our audience strategy, we are positioning Adobe to lead this next chapter.The next era of creativity is being written right now—shaped by AI, by new workflows and by entirely new forms of expression. Adobe has never waited for the future to arrive. We’ve anticipated it. We’ve built it. And we’ve led it. What gives me the greatest confidence isn’t just our technology—it’s our people. Your ingenuity, resilience and commitment to customers are what will define this moment.I love Adobe and the privilege of leading it has been the greatest honor of my career. I will ensure that I set up Adobe for its next decade of greatness with the right leader and executive team, in partnership with the Board, while continuing to deliver on our FY26 Must Wins.The opportunity in front of us is extraordinary. Together, we are uniquely positioned to lead it—and I remain deeply committed to doing so as we look ahead and prepare to name Adobe’s next CEO. I am more confident than ever that Adobe’s best days are still to come.I look forward to the employee meeting next week where we will discuss our quarterly accomplishments and I will be happy to answer any questions.Shantanu
