True Competitors for Adobe Inc. (ADBE)

Business Model Summary

What Adobe Does: Enterprise and creative software platform serving professionals and enterprises with subscription-based tools across three domains: creative software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro), document management (Acrobat/PDF), and digital experience/marketing automation (Experience Cloud).

Revenue Model:

• Subscription revenue: 95% of total (~$20.4B)
• Digital Media (Creative Cloud + Document Cloud): 74% (~$15.9B)
• Digital Experience (Experience Cloud): 25% (~$5.4B)
• Publishing & Advertising (legacy): 1% (~$275M)

Target Customer:

• Creative Cloud: Professional designers, photographers, video editors, enterprises with creative teams
• Document Cloud: Knowledge workers, enterprises with document workflows
• Experience Cloud: Enterprise marketing teams, CMOs, digital agencies

Key Differentiators:

• 42% market share in creative software
• Deep ecosystem integration across creative, document, and experience tools
• 40+ years of brand loyalty (Photoshop since 1990)
• 89% gross margins

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True Competitors (Ranked by Similarity)

Tier 1: Direct Competitors (>80% Business Overlap)

1. Autodesk (ADSK) - 75% Overlap

• Business: Subscription-based design software for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing
• Revenue Model: 98% recurring/subscription revenue (~$6.1B), SaaS delivery
• Why Similar:
  • Nearly identical business model (perpetual-to-subscription transition completed)
  • Same customer type (design professionals in enterprise settings)
  • Similar gross margins (~91%) and operating model
  • Both sell “mission-critical” creative/design tools professionals can’t switch away from
• Key Differences:
  • Different verticals (AEC/manufacturing vs. creative/marketing)
  • Adobe 3.5x larger ($21.5B vs. $6.1B)
  • No direct product overlap (different design disciplines)
• Competitive Dynamic: Rarely compete directly—Autodesk wins architects/engineers, Adobe wins graphic designers/marketers. Some overlap in 3D/motion graphics.

2. Salesforce - Marketing Cloud (CRM) - 70% Overlap (Experience Cloud segment only)

• Business: Enterprise SaaS platform for CRM, marketing automation, customer engagement
• Revenue Model: Subscription-based ($34.9B total, ~$8B marketing/service cloud)
• Why Similar (for Experience Cloud):
  • Direct competition in marketing automation, personalization, analytics
  • Same enterprise buyers (CMOs, marketing teams)
  • Both competing for “customer experience” budget
• Key Differences:
  • Salesforce is CRM-first (sales/service), Adobe is marketing-first
  • Adobe has creative asset integration; Salesforce does not
  • Adobe Experience Cloud is ~25% of Adobe; Marketing Cloud is ~23% of Salesforce
• Competitive Dynamic: Head-to-head in enterprise marketing stacks. Adobe wins when creative workflow integration matters; Salesforce wins when CRM integration matters.

Tier 2: Partial Competitors (50-80% Overlap)

3. Intuit (INTU) - 55% Overlap

• Business: Subscription software for SMB financial management (QuickBooks), consumer tax (TurboTax), marketing (Mailchimp)
• Revenue Model: 85%+ subscription (~$16.3B revenue)
• Why Similar:
  • Subscription-based professional software
  • Mission-critical tools with high switching costs
  • Similar financial profile (high margins, sticky revenue)
  • Mailchimp competes with Adobe Campaign/Marketo
• Key Differences:
  • Different target verticals (financial management vs. creative/marketing)
  • More SMB-focused vs. Adobe’s enterprise focus
  • TurboTax is consumer-focused seasonal revenue
• Competitive Dynamic: Limited direct competition except Mailchimp vs. Adobe email marketing tools.

4. ServiceNow (NOW) - 50% Overlap

• Business: Enterprise SaaS platform for IT service management and digital workflows
• Revenue Model: Subscription-based (~$11.2B, 100% recurring)
• Why Similar:
  • Enterprise SaaS with land-and-expand model
  • Platform play with multiple product suites
  • Similar buyer (enterprise IT/ops leaders)
  • Similar valuation framework (high-growth subscription)
• Key Differences:
  • IT workflows vs. creative/marketing workflows
  • No product overlap whatsoever
  • Different end users (IT teams vs. creative/marketing teams)
• Competitive Dynamic: No direct competition—but same valuation peer for subscription software analysis.

5. Figma (Private, ~$12.5B valuation) - 65% Overlap (Creative Cloud segment only)

• Business: Collaborative web-based design platform for UI/UX
• Revenue Model: Subscription-based (~$749M ARR)
• Why Similar:
  • Direct competition with Adobe XD
  • Same customer (product designers, UX teams)
  • Adobe attempted $20B acquisition (blocked by regulators)
• Key Differences:
  • Web-native vs. desktop-first
  • UI/UX only vs. Adobe’s full creative suite
  • Much smaller scale ($749M vs. $15.9B Digital Media)
• Competitive Dynamic: Figma dominates UI/UX design; Adobe XD largely failed. Adobe pivoting to integrate Figma-like collaboration.

6. Canva (Private, ~$32B valuation) - 50% Overlap (Creative Cloud segment only)

• Business: Web-based design platform for non-designers (templates, drag-and-drop)
• Revenue Model: Freemium + subscription (~$3B ARR)
• Why Similar:
  • Design software competing for mindshare
  • 230M MAUs vs. Adobe’s ~30M Creative Cloud subscribers
  • Subscription model
• Key Differences:
  • Different customer: Canva = non-designers, SMBs; Adobe = professionals
  • Template-based vs. professional tool
  • 80% different use cases (Canva marketing collateral; Adobe professional production)
• Competitive Dynamic: Canva captures “good enough” design; Adobe retains professional workflows. ~20% overlap.

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NOT True Competitors (Common Mistakes)

❌ Microsoft (MSFT) - Sector Peer, NOT Business Peer - 25% Overlap

Why Often Listed: Both are “software companies” and “cloud/SaaS”

Why NOT Comparable:

• Microsoft: Diversified tech conglomerate (Windows, Azure, Office, LinkedIn, Gaming, etc.)
• Adobe: Focused creative/document/experience software company
• Business Model: Microsoft is platform + infrastructure; Adobe is application software
• Revenue Mix: Microsoft Azure/cloud infra (24%), Windows (13%), Office (26%), Gaming (9%), LinkedIn (6%) vs. Adobe’s focused segments
• Scale: Microsoft $245B revenue vs. Adobe $21.5B (11x difference)

Actual Relationship: Microsoft Designer/Copilot creates some competitive pressure but different scale/scope entirely.

❌ Oracle (ORCL) - Different Customer, Different Product - 20% Overlap

Why Often Listed: Both have “Experience Cloud” products

Why NOT Comparable:

• Oracle: Enterprise database and ERP first; marketing cloud is acquired/bolted-on
• Adobe: Marketing and experience first; integrated creative-to-delivery pipeline
• Customer Base: Oracle wins existing Oracle ERP customers; Adobe wins net-new marketing-first buyers
• Revenue Mix: Oracle CX is ~5% of Oracle; Adobe Experience is 25% of Adobe

Overlap: Only in narrow Oracle Marketing/CX Cloud vs. Adobe Experience Cloud—different integration philosophies.

❌ SAP (SAP) - ERP Company, NOT Marketing - 15% Overlap

Why Often Listed: Both have customer experience/marketing products

Why NOT Comparable:

• SAP: Enterprise ERP/back-office first (S/4HANA, SuccessFactors)
• Adobe: Front-office creative and marketing first
• Revenue Model: SAP is implementation-heavy; Adobe is pure subscription
• CX Position: SAP CX is ~8% of SAP revenue, acquired (Hybris, Emarsys)

❌ Alphabet/Google (GOOGL) - Advertising, NOT Software - 15% Overlap

Why Often Listed: Both do “digital marketing”

Why NOT Comparable:

• Google: Advertising platform (sell ads, make money from ad spend)
• Adobe: Software platform (sell tools to marketers who then buy ads)
• Revenue Model: Google = advertising revenue; Adobe = subscription revenue
• Customer Relationship: Marketer uses Adobe to create campaigns, then spends media $ on Google

Actual Relationship: Complementary—Adobe tools integrate with Google Ads/Analytics.

❌ Corel Corporation (Private) - Legacy Competitor, Different Scale - 30% Overlap

Why Often Listed: CorelDRAW competes with Illustrator

Why NOT Comparable:

• Scale: Corel ~$500M revenue vs. Adobe $21.5B
• Model: Corel still sells perpetual licenses; Adobe is 95% subscription
• Market Position: Corel is niche/legacy; Adobe dominates professional market

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Competitive Positioning Summary

Adobe’s Truest Peers for Valuation:

Company	Overlap	Best Comparison For
Autodesk (ADSK)	75%	Business model, margins, switching costs
Salesforce (CRM)	70%	Experience Cloud, enterprise SaaS metrics
Intuit (INTU)	55%	Subscription software, profitability
ServiceNow (NOW)	50%	Enterprise SaaS multiples

Investment Implications

For Comparative Valuation:

• DO compare to: Autodesk (identical business model transition, similar margins), Salesforce (Experience Cloud competition, enterprise SaaS), Intuit (subscription software economics), ServiceNow (SaaS multiples benchmark)
• DON’T compare to: Microsoft (conglomerate, infrastructure), Oracle/SAP (ERP-first, different buyer), Google (advertising platform)

For Margin Analysis:

• Compare 89% gross margins to Autodesk 91%, Salesforce 76%, Intuit 75%
• Adobe’s margins reflect software-only (no hardware, no implementation services)
• Don’t compare to Microsoft (Azure drags margins) or Oracle (services-heavy)

For Growth Comparison:

• Compare 11% revenue growth to Autodesk 12%, Salesforce 11%, ServiceNow 22%
• Adobe growth limited by creative market maturity; Experience Cloud growing faster
• Don’t compare to Figma/Canva (private, hypergrowth phase)

For Multiple Analysis (EV/Revenue):

• Adobe: ~10x
• Autodesk: ~11x
• Salesforce: ~6x
• ServiceNow: ~15x
• Intuit: ~11x

Adobe trades at premium to Salesforce (higher margins) but discount to ServiceNow (lower growth).

For TAM Analysis:

• Digital Media TAM: Professional creative software (~$70B)
• Document Cloud TAM: Document management (~$30B)
• Experience Cloud TAM: Marketing technology (~$150B, shared with Salesforce)
• NOT Adobe’s TAM: Total software market, cloud infrastructure, advertising spend

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Summary Table

Competitor	Type	Overlap %	Primary Overlap Dimension
Autodesk	True Peer	75%	Business model, subscription, design software
Salesforce	True Peer	70%	Experience Cloud, enterprise SaaS
Intuit	Partial Peer	55%	Subscription software economics
ServiceNow	Partial Peer	50%	Enterprise SaaS valuation
Figma	Segment Competitor	65%	UI/UX design (Creative Cloud)
Canva	Segment Competitor	50%	Non-professional design
Microsoft	NOT Peer	25%	Conglomerate, different scale
Oracle	NOT Peer	20%	ERP-first, different customer
SAP	NOT Peer	15%	ERP-first, different model

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Sources:

• Adobe 2024 10-K Annual Report
• Adobe Revenue Breakdown | Bullfincher
• Autodesk FY2024 Results
• Salesforce Revenue Breakdown
• Intuit FY2024 Results
• ServiceNow Valuation Multiples
• Figma Revenue and Valuation | Sacra
• Canva Revenue and Valuation | Sacra
• Adobe Experience Cloud Competitors | 6sense
• SaaS Valuation Multiples 2024 | Aventis Advisors
• Top SaaS Companies 2024 | SaaS Corner