Analysis of Reportable Segments
Adobe Inc. operates in 3 segments: Digital Media; Digital Experience; and Publishing and Advertising.
Segment Profit Margin
Adobe Inc., profit margin by reportable segment
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Media | 95.23% | 95.71% | 95.32% | 95.63% | 96.28% | 96.19% |
| Digital Experience | 72.29% | 70.39% | 67.24% | 66.03% | 65.84% | 63.97% |
| Publishing and Advertising | 66.80% | 67.64% | 71.33% | 70.18% | 71.11% | 52.16% |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
Segment profit margins demonstrate varied performance across the reporting periods. The Digital Media segment exhibits a high and relatively stable margin, while the Digital Experience segment shows consistent growth. Publishing and Advertising displays more volatility, with a significant increase followed by a recent decline.
- Digital Media
- The Digital Media segment maintains consistently high profit margins, fluctuating narrowly between 95.32% and 96.28% over the observed timeframe. A slight downward trend is discernible from 2021 to 2023, followed by a modest recovery in 2024. The projected margin for 2025 indicates a continuation of this slight decline, settling at 95.23%. This suggests a mature segment with limited potential for substantial margin expansion.
- Digital Experience
- The Digital Experience segment demonstrates a clear upward trend in profit margin. Beginning at 63.97% in 2020, the margin steadily increased to 67.24% in 2022. This positive momentum continued, reaching 70.39% in 2023 and further increasing to a projected 72.29% in 2025. This consistent growth suggests increasing operational efficiency, economies of scale, or a shift towards higher-margin offerings within this segment.
- Publishing and Advertising
- The Publishing and Advertising segment exhibits the most significant fluctuations in profit margin. A substantial increase is observed from 52.16% in 2020 to 71.11% in 2021, followed by a stabilization around 70% in 2022 and 2023. However, a decline is apparent in the most recent periods, with the margin decreasing to 67.64% in 2024 and a projected 66.80% in 2025. This volatility may indicate sensitivity to market conditions, competitive pressures, or changes in the segment’s product mix.
Overall, the segment performance suggests a strategic focus on the Digital Experience segment, evidenced by its consistent margin improvement. The Digital Media segment provides a stable base, while the Publishing and Advertising segment requires further investigation to understand the drivers behind its recent performance decline.
Segment Profit Margin: Digital Media
Adobe Inc.; Digital Media; segment profit margin calculation
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Gross profit | 16,808) | 15,184) | 13,551) | 12,281) | 11,091) | 8,881) |
| Revenue | 17,649) | 15,864) | 14,216) | 12,842) | 11,520) | 9,233) |
| Segment Profitability Ratio | ||||||
| Segment profit margin1 | 95.23% | 95.71% | 95.32% | 95.63% | 96.28% | 96.19% |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
1 2025 Calculation
Segment profit margin = 100 × Gross profit ÷ Revenue
= 100 × 16,808 ÷ 17,649 = 95.23%
The Digital Media segment demonstrates consistent revenue and gross profit growth over the observed period from 2020 to 2025. While both metrics increased annually, the segment profit margin exhibited relative stability with minor fluctuations.
- Gross Profit Trend
- Gross profit increased steadily throughout the period, moving from US$8,881 million in 2020 to US$16,808 million in 2025. The rate of increase appears to be accelerating, with larger absolute gains observed in the later years of the period.
- Revenue Trend
- Revenue followed a similar upward trajectory, rising from US$9,233 million in 2020 to US$17,649 million in 2025. The growth in revenue mirrors the growth in gross profit, indicating a consistent relationship between these two metrics.
- Segment Profit Margin Analysis
- The segment profit margin remained consistently high, fluctuating within a narrow range of 95.23% to 96.28% throughout the period. It peaked at 96.28% in 2021, experienced a slight decline in 2022 and 2023, and showed a modest recovery in 2024 before decreasing slightly again in 2025. These fluctuations suggest effective cost management, despite the increasing scale of operations.
- The relatively stable profit margin, despite revenue growth, indicates strong operational efficiency and pricing power within the Digital Media segment.
Overall, the Digital Media segment demonstrates a healthy financial performance characterized by robust growth in both revenue and gross profit, coupled with a consistently high and stable profit margin. The minor fluctuations in the profit margin do not appear to represent a significant cause for concern, given the overall positive trend in financial performance.
Segment Profit Margin: Digital Experience
Adobe Inc.; Digital Experience; segment profit margin calculation
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Gross profit | 4,239) | 3,777) | 3,290) | 2,920) | 2,546) | 1,999) |
| Revenue | 5,864) | 5,366) | 4,893) | 4,422) | 3,867) | 3,125) |
| Segment Profitability Ratio | ||||||
| Segment profit margin1 | 72.29% | 70.39% | 67.24% | 66.03% | 65.84% | 63.97% |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
1 2025 Calculation
Segment profit margin = 100 × Gross profit ÷ Revenue
= 100 × 4,239 ÷ 5,864 = 72.29%
The Digital Experience segment demonstrates a consistent pattern of growth in both gross profit and revenue over the observed period. Simultaneously, the segment profit margin exhibits a clear upward trajectory, indicating increasing profitability alongside revenue expansion.
- Gross Profit
- Gross profit for the Digital Experience segment has increased steadily from US$1,999 million in November 2020 to US$4,239 million in November 2025. This represents a substantial cumulative increase, suggesting strong demand and effective cost management within the segment.
- Revenue
- Revenue mirrors the trend in gross profit, rising from US$3,125 million in November 2020 to US$5,864 million in November 2025. The consistent growth in revenue indicates a broadening customer base or increased spending from existing customers.
- Segment Profit Margin
- The segment profit margin has shown consistent improvement, increasing from 63.97% in November 2020 to 72.29% in November 2025. This indicates that the segment is becoming increasingly efficient in converting revenue into profit. The margin expansion suggests effective pricing strategies, cost controls, or a shift towards higher-margin products and services. The rate of increase appears to be accelerating in the later periods, with larger year-over-year gains.
The combined trends of rising gross profit, increasing revenue, and expanding segment profit margin suggest a robust and healthy performance for the Digital Experience segment. The consistent positive movement across all three metrics indicates strong operational effectiveness and a favorable market position.
Segment Profit Margin: Publishing and Advertising
Adobe Inc.; Publishing and Advertising; segment profit margin calculation
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Gross profit | 171) | 186) | 214) | 240) | 283) | 266) |
| Revenue | 256) | 275) | 300) | 342) | 398) | 510) |
| Segment Profitability Ratio | ||||||
| Segment profit margin1 | 66.80% | 67.64% | 71.33% | 70.18% | 71.11% | 52.16% |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
1 2025 Calculation
Segment profit margin = 100 × Gross profit ÷ Revenue
= 100 × 171 ÷ 256 = 66.80%
The segment experienced fluctuating financial performance between 2020 and 2025. While revenue and gross profit generally decreased over the period, the segment profit margin demonstrated relative stability with a slight downward trend towards the end of the analyzed timeframe.
- Gross Profit
- Gross profit peaked in 2020 at US$266 million, then declined consistently through 2025, reaching US$171 million. This represents an overall decrease of approximately 35.7% over the six-year period. The rate of decline appeared to accelerate between 2022 and 2025.
- Revenue
- Revenue followed a similar downward trajectory, decreasing from US$510 million in 2020 to US$256 million in 2025, a reduction of roughly 49.8%. The most significant revenue decrease occurred between 2020 and 2021. The rate of decline moderated in subsequent years, but remained negative.
- Segment Profit Margin
- The segment profit margin exhibited a high degree of volatility initially, increasing from 52.16% in 2020 to 71.11% in 2021. It remained relatively stable between 70.18% and 71.33% from 2021 to 2023. A gradual decline was then observed, with the margin decreasing to 67.64% in 2024 and further to 66.80% in 2025. Despite the decrease, the segment maintained a consistently high profit margin throughout the period.
The consistent decline in both gross profit and revenue, coupled with a relatively stable, though slightly decreasing, profit margin suggests potential cost management strategies were employed to mitigate the impact of lower sales. However, the continued reduction in absolute profit warrants further investigation into the underlying drivers of revenue decline and the sustainability of current cost controls.
Revenue
Adobe Inc., revenue by reportable segment
US$ in millions
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Media | 17,649) | 15,864) | 14,216) | 12,842) | 11,520) | 9,233) |
| Digital Experience | 5,864) | 5,366) | 4,893) | 4,422) | 3,867) | 3,125) |
| Publishing and Advertising | 256) | 275) | 300) | 342) | 398) | 510) |
| Total | 23,769) | 21,505) | 19,409) | 17,606) | 15,785) | 12,868) |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
Overall revenue demonstrates a consistent upward trajectory between November 2020 and November 2025. However, the rate of growth varies significantly across the reported segments. Digital Media consistently contributes the largest portion of revenue and exhibits the strongest growth, while Publishing and Advertising shows a consistent decline.
- Digital Media
- Revenue from Digital Media increased steadily from US$9.233 billion in November 2020 to US$17.649 billion in November 2025. This represents a compound annual growth rate of approximately 14.7%. The segment’s contribution to total revenue has also increased over the period, indicating its growing importance to the company’s overall performance.
- Digital Experience
- Digital Experience revenue also experienced growth, rising from US$3.125 billion in November 2020 to US$5.864 billion in November 2025. While positive, the growth rate is lower than that of Digital Media, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 13.4%. The segment’s revenue growth appears to be decelerating slightly in the later periods.
- Publishing and Advertising
- In contrast to the other segments, Publishing and Advertising revenue has been in decline. Revenue decreased from US$510 million in November 2020 to US$256 million in November 2025. This represents a compound annual decline rate of approximately 14.7%. This segment’s diminishing contribution to total revenue suggests a strategic shift away from these offerings.
- Total Revenue
- Total revenue increased from US$12.868 billion in November 2020 to US$23.769 billion in November 2025, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate of approximately 13.4%. The growth in total revenue is primarily driven by the strong performance of the Digital Media segment, partially offset by the decline in Publishing and Advertising.
The consistent growth in Digital Media and Digital Experience segments, coupled with the decline in Publishing and Advertising, suggests a strategic focus on digital solutions and a potential phasing out of legacy products. The company appears to be successfully transitioning its revenue base towards higher-growth areas.
Gross profit
Adobe Inc., gross profit by reportable segment
US$ in millions
| Nov 28, 2025 | Nov 29, 2024 | Dec 1, 2023 | Dec 2, 2022 | Dec 3, 2021 | Nov 27, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Media | 16,808) | 15,184) | 13,551) | 12,281) | 11,091) | 8,881) |
| Digital Experience | 4,239) | 3,777) | 3,290) | 2,920) | 2,546) | 1,999) |
| Publishing and Advertising | 171) | 186) | 214) | 240) | 283) | 266) |
| Total | 21,218) | 19,147) | 17,055) | 15,441) | 13,920) | 11,146) |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-11-28), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-11-29), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-01), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-02), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-03), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-11-27).
Gross profit across reportable segments demonstrates a consistent upward trajectory over the observed period. While individual segment performance varies, the overall trend indicates growth in revenue generation. The Digital Media segment consistently represents the largest contributor to overall gross profit, with substantial year-over-year increases. Digital Experience also exhibits growth, though at a more moderate pace. Publishing and Advertising shows a contrasting pattern, experiencing a decline in gross profit over the period.
- Digital Media
- Gross profit from the Digital Media segment increased from US$8,881 million in 2020 to US$16,808 million in 2025. This represents a significant compound annual growth rate. Growth appears relatively consistent year-over-year, suggesting sustained demand for products and services within this segment. The increase from 2023 to 2024 was US$1,533 million, and a further increase of US$1,624 million is projected to 2025.
- Digital Experience
- The Digital Experience segment’s gross profit increased from US$1,999 million in 2020 to US$4,239 million in 2025. While demonstrating growth, the rate of increase appears to be slowing. The increase from 2023 to 2024 was US$487 million, and a further increase of US$462 million is projected to 2025, indicating a deceleration compared to earlier periods.
- Publishing and Advertising
- Gross profit from the Publishing and Advertising segment decreased from US$266 million in 2020 to US$171 million in 2025. This represents a consistent decline over the period. The decrease from 2023 to 2024 was US$28 million, and a further decrease of US$15 million is projected to 2025. This suggests a potential shift in market dynamics or strategic focus away from this segment.
- Total Gross Profit
- Total gross profit increased from US$11,146 million in 2020 to US$21,218 million in 2025. This growth is primarily driven by the strong performance of the Digital Media segment, partially offset by the decline in the Publishing and Advertising segment. The increase from 2023 to 2024 was US$2,092 million, and a further increase of US$2,071 million is projected to 2025, indicating continued overall growth, though with a slight deceleration in the rate of increase.
The observed trends suggest a strategic emphasis on Digital Media and Digital Experience, while the Publishing and Advertising segment may be undergoing a period of restructuring or facing increased competitive pressures. Continued monitoring of these segments is recommended to assess the sustainability of current growth rates and the impact of any strategic shifts.