# Adobe's AI money finally arrives

> Record quarter, a $650 million AI business growing 150%, and a new CEO walking in on December 1.
- Title: Adobe's AI money finally arrives · Yahoo Finance | Shortify
- Summary: Record quarter, a $650 million AI business growing 150%, and a new CEO walking in on December 1. Adobe's AI revenue is real and compounding fast, but it is…
- Keywords: adobe, earnings, firefly, stocks, business, finance, Adobe's, money, finally, arrives, Yahoo Finance
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/adobe-adbe-ai-bet-finally-132237575.html
- Published: 2026-09-13T13:22:37+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: adobe, ai, earnings, firefly, stocks, business, finance
## A record quarter
Adobe posted $6.76 billion in Q3 revenue on September 10, up 13% year over year, and lifted its full-year revenue and profit targets. Non-GAAP EPS rose 15% to $6.13.
## The AI number nobody expected
AI-first ending ARR passed $650 million, up more than 150% year over year. That is the line item investors have been waiting years for Adobe to produce.

> Buried inside those headline numbers was a sharper story
## The funnel is converting
Firefly ARR grew 40% in a single quarter and Acrobat AI Assistant doubled its monthly users. Total MAU crossed 1 billion, with creative premium users up more than 70%.
## Cash backs the story
Operating cash flow hit a Q3 record of $2.52 billion. Adobe repurchased 9.5 million shares with $24.55 billion still authorized, and agreed to buy Topaz Labs for its image and video AI models.
## The backlog says slow down
Remaining performance obligations grew only 8% to $22.16 billion, well behind 13% revenue growth. The interim CFO also flagged a currency headwind hitting the fourth quarter.
## Still a rounding error
That $650 million sits against a $27.50 billion total ARR base. The Topaz deal needs regulatory clearance, and Anil Chakravarthy takes over as CEO on December 1 mid-bet.
## The market shrugged
Hedge fund holders slipped from 86 to 81 and short interest sits at 4.89% of float. A forward P/E of 9.22 on double-digit growth is the whole argument, either a gift or a warning.

> That combination is the tension in this stock right now.
## Key takeaway

Adobe's AI revenue is real and compounding fast, but it is still 2% of the base, and the backlog is growing slower than sales.