Creative software firm Adobe (ADBE) has announced that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shantanu Narayen will step down once a successor has been appointed.
The CEO’s resignation comes with Adobe’s stock down nearly 40% over the last five years, including a 20% decline so far in 2026.
Adobe, whose products include Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, has seen its share price battered over concerns about disruptions to its business from artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Despite stepping down as CEO, Narayen will remain at Adobe as chair of the company’s board of directors.
Narayen, age 62, first joined Adobe in 1988 as a vice president and general manager, and he became CEO in 2007.
His resignation was announced along with Adobe’s latest financial results.
For what was the fourth quarter of 2025, Adobe reported earnings per share (EPS) of $6.06 U.S., which beat the $5.87 U.S. expected among analysts.
Revenue in the final months of last year totaled $6.40 billion U.S., which was ahead of the $6.28 billion U.S. forecast on Wall Street. Sales were up 12% from a year earlier.
Management said that revenue from the company’s own A.I. products more than tripled in the quarter.
Looking ahead, Adobe said that it expects $5.80 U.S. to $5.85 U.S. in earnings per share, and $6.43 billion U.S. to $6.48 billion U.S. in revenue for the current quarter.
That was ahead of the $5.68 U.S. per share in earnings and $6.42 billion U.S. in revenue that Wall Street had penciled in for the company.
Still, at $269.78 U.S. per share currently, Adobe’s stock is more than 60% off its record high from 2021 after falling more than 20% in each of the past two years.
