Adobe Inc. management check
ADBE · Information Technology · Application Software · CEO Shantanu Narayen
Filings as of
4 good · 1 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $67, against $188 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.90 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$51.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $7.1bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.2 years of payThe CEO holds 244,327 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.2 years of pay. Both: 1 buyer ($1.9m) and 2 sellers ($49.9m) in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -3.6% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 8.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
14 leadership filings in 3 years14 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 95 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 62 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 39 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 94 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 55 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Application Software, by management score. Adobe Inc. is 34th of 73 in its sector.
- 72PLTRPalantir Technologies78
- 186FICOFair Isaac70
- 202CRMSalesforce68
- 264ADBEAdobe Inc.64
- 343DDOGDatadog59
- 350INTUIntuit58
- 405TYLTyler Technologies52
- 430ORCLOracle Corporation49
- 445CDNSCadence Design Systems47
- 456ADSKAutodesk44
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed February 27, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | $51.2m | −$17.4m | $16.9m | $67 | $188 | $7.1bn |
| 2024 | — | $52.4m | $10.1m | $15.8m | $108 | $173 | $5.6bn |
| 2023 | — | $44.9m | $127.7m | $14.7m | $128 | $146 | $5.4bn |
| 2022 | — | $31.6m | −$95.3m | $11.2m | $72 | $104 | $4.8bn |
| 2021 | — | $36.1m | $104.7m | $15.7m | $129 | $126 | $4.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Revenue. Its other key measures: Non-GAAP Diluted EPS, Relative TSR, Net New Sales(1).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Shantanu Narayen (Chair and CEO) held 244,327 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 15, 2026, roughly $61.5m at that filing's price.
Both: 1 buyer ($1.9m) and 2 sellers ($49.9m) in six months.
- BoughtDavid A RicksDirector$1.9mJun 25, 2026
- SoldShantanu NarayenChair and CEO$49.6mSep 17, 2026
- SoldJillian ForuszSVP & CAO$296kJul 29, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 11, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 21, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 12, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 27, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 24, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 30, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 8, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 18, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 19, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Apr 21, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $35.7bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 129% of net income, and $8.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $15.8bn | $17.6bn | $19.4bn | $21.5bn | $23.8bn |
| Net income | $4.8bn | $4.8bn | $5.4bn | $5.6bn | $7.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $1.1bn | $1.4bn | $1.7bn | $1.8bn | $1.9bn |
| Buybacks | $4.0bn | $6.5bn | $4.4bn | $9.5bn | $11.3bn |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 481m | 471m | 459m | 450m | 427m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.