Adobe Inc. (ADBE) is getting a new boss. On Thursday, the company said Anil Chakravarthy will step into the role of president and CEO starting Dec. 1. Shantanu Narayen, who has been at the helm for years, will shift to executive chair. It's a classic passing of the torch, but with a twist: the new leader is a company insider, not an outside hire.
Chakravarthy isn't a stranger to Adobe's corridors. He currently runs the Customer Experience Orchestration business and worldwide field operations. He'll also join the board. Narayen isn't disappearing entirely; he'll stick around to help with the transition as Adobe doubles down on artificial intelligence.
Adobe Prepares for AI-Driven Era
The board's choice was unanimous, and lead independent director Frank Calderoni described the process as "rigorous." Narayen vouched for Chakravarthy, saying he has the experience and knowledge to guide Adobe through an AI-driven era. For his part, Chakravarthy says he wants to push growth in agentic software across creativity, productivity, and customer experience. That's a fancy way of saying software that can act on its own, which is where the industry is heading.
Chakravarthy's Adobe journey began in January 2020 when he joined to lead the Digital Experience business. He later took on worldwide field operations and became president of Digital Experience in December 2021. Under his watch, Adobe's customer experience business expanded, and he oversaw products like Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio, and Brand Visibility. He also played a role in bringing Workfront and Semrush into the Adobe fold.
Before Adobe, Chakravarthy spent four years as CEO of Informatica. He also held executive roles at Symantec and VeriSign, and he put in time at McKinsey & Co. So he's got a mix of big-company and consulting chops.
Earnings Ahead
Investors, though, are looking at the near term. Adobe stock slipped in Friday's premarket trading as the market gears up for the company's Sept. 10 earnings report. Wall Street is looking for earnings of $5.84 per share on revenue of $6.70 billion. That's up from $5.31 and $5.99 billion a year ago.
With the report just six days out, traders might be hesitant to make big moves before they see the numbers. That means technical levels could matter more in the short run.
Adobe's stock is still above several key moving averages. It's about 0.2% above its 20-day simple moving average of $274.05 and 2.4% above its 200-day SMA of $268.23. It's also trading about 11% above its 50-day SMA and 12.8% above its 100-day SMA. That suggests a strong recovery, but it might be due for a breather after such gains.
Momentum has cooled, though. The MACD is below its signal line, and the histogram is negative. That's a sign that buying pressure has faded. The moving averages are also sending mixed signals. The 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA, which is good for the short-term trend. But the 50-day SMA is still below the 200-day SMA, which points to longer-term resistance.
Resistance is around $275.50, with support near $251.
Analyst Outlook
Analysts are cautiously optimistic. Adobe has a Hold consensus rating, with an average price target of $268.55. On Thursday, Barclays raised its price forecast to $295 and kept an Equal-Weight rating. RBC Capital bumped its target to $315 with an Outperform rating on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted its forecast to $301 while maintaining a Neutral rating on Tuesday.
Price Action
In Friday's premarket, Adobe shares were down 3.30% to $276.31, according to market data.
