The stock market has done incredibly well in 2024 and the S&P 500 is up 25% year to date. Luckily for investors looking to put capital into the market, things have cooled down in December, with the S&P down 1% since the start of the month.
Adobe (ADBE) has been one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com users lately. So, it is worth exploring what lies ahead for the stock.
Buying growth stocks into a potential stock market sell-off may seem counterintuitive. After all, who wants to load up on stocks only to see them fall?
Legendary investor Warren Buffett advises to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. One way we can try to measure the level of fear in a given stock is through a technical analysis indicator called the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which measures momentum on a scale of zero to 100.
Investors have been focused on the technology sector for the better part of the past two years, with a particular interest in the new trends and themes happening in the world of artificial intelligence and developments in the next horizon of computing power. Within this trend, some popular stocks have performed very well through the past 12 months.
Adobe stock price had a rough year as it became one of the worst-performing technology companies. ADBE plunged to a low of $445, its lowest level since July 2023, and 30% below its highest level this year.
Adobe added $578M in Q4 Digital Media ARR and $2B for FY2024, supporting stable recurring revenues. FY2024 revenue grew 11% YoY to $21.51B, with Q4 revenue reaching $5.61B, driven by subscriptions. Firefly generated 16B assets, boosting adoption and enterprise wins and enhancing ARPU and cross-product monetization opportunities.
I've seen a lot of headlines about how the stock market is expensive. That could be true, but the market consists of thousands of individual companies trading at various prices and valuations at any given time.
Adobe's extensive product variety and quality, particularly in digital media and experience segments, offers unique marketing solutions, helping with market retention (current users) and further market share growth (new users). Adobe Inc. is strategically positioned to leverage AI, with its multi-pronged approach to drive growth in 2025 across Creative, Experience, and Document clouds. The company's focus on AI integration and personalized solutions aims to enhance monetization and optimize margins, supporting long-term growth and market proliferation for the entire flow in the user funnel.
Adobe's strong financials and efficient operations position it for continued growth, despite recent share sell-offs. Fiscal year 2024 Q4 results exceeded expectations, but shares declined due to lowered guidance and concerns about AI investments paying off. Adobe's valuation is attractive, trading below historical averages, and potential returns could be double digits if growth targets are met.
Adobe's FY2024 saw strong financial performance with revenue up 11%, adjusted EBIT up 16%, and adjusted EPS up 25%. Yet, the stock price dropped 27% over the past year. The disruption from AI-driven text-to-image/video tools impacts the lower-end segment of the content creation market, but Adobe's position in the high-end market remains resilient due to customization needs. AI integration in Adobe's core products in Document Cloud, including AI Assistant and Generative Summary, entrenches its dominant market position and competitive advantage.
Adobe, trading at 21.6x forward earnings, trades inline with the S&P 500 despite better growth and a superior business model. Microsoft and Salesforce trade at over 30x forward earnings, despite similar growth expectations for all three names in 2025. Adobe's Q4 results were solid with 11% YoY revenue growth, record Digital Media ARR, and strong EPS growth, despite market concerns. 2025 guidance was slightly below expectations, but Adobe's recurring revenue, pricing power, and AI advancements support continued growth and potential upside.