Adobe (ADBE) Q4 FY2021 earnings: revenue $4.1 billion, up 20.0% on the year

Adobe Inc. (ADBE) reported revenue of $4.1 billion for Q4 FY2021, the quarter ended 3 December 2021, up 20.0% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $1.2 billion, down 45.2% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.57. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-K it filed with the SEC on 21 January 2022.

Revenue

$4.1 billion

+20.0% on the year · +4.4% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Operating margin

36.5%

35.5% a year earlier

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Net income

$1.2 billion

-45.2% on the year · +1.7% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

Diluted EPS

$2.57

-44.6% on the year · +2.0% on the quarter

Q1 FY2020Q4 FY2021

this quarterthe same quarter a year earlierHover a bar for its figure.

Income statement (profit and loss)

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Revenue	4,110	3,935	3,424	+4.4%	+20.0%
Cost of revenue	507	n/a	n/a
Gross profit	3,603	n/a	n/a
Gross margin	87.7%	n/a	n/a
Operating income	1,501	1,441	1,215	+4.2%	+23.5%
Operating margin	36.5%	36.6%	35.5%
Interest expense	28.0	n/a	n/a
Pre-tax income	1,468	n/a	n/a
Income tax	235	n/a	n/a
Effective tax rate	16.0%	n/a	n/a
Net income	1,233	1,212	2,250	+1.7%	-45.2%
Net margin	30.0%	n/a	n/a
Diluted EPS	$2.57	$2.52	$4.64	+2.0%	-44.6%

$ million except per share.

Fourth quarters are the year less the first three quarters. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.

Cash flow

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Operating cash flow	2,066	n/a	n/a
Capital expenditure	99.0	n/a	n/a
Free cash flow	1,967	n/a	n/a
Free cash flow margin	47.9%	n/a	n/a
Cash from investing	-1,739	n/a	n/a
Cash from financing	-1,078	n/a	n/a
Depreciation and amortisation	205	193	190	+6.2%	+7.9%
Share-based compensation	269	n/a	n/a
Buybacks	1,000	n/a	n/a
Diluted shares, weighted	481m	481m	n/a	+0.1%
Shares outstanding at period end	475m	476m	479m	-0.2%	-0.8%

Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.

Balance sheet

$ million	Q4 FY2021	Q3 FY2021	Q4 FY2020	On the quarter	On the year
Shareholders' equity	14,797	14,414	13,264	+2.7%	+11.6%
Debt	4,123	4,122	4,117	+0.0%	+0.1%
Operating lease liabilities	453	n/a	n/a
Other liabilities	7,868	n/a	n/a
Total liabilities and equity	27,241	n/a	n/a
Fixed assets	1,673	n/a	n/a
Goodwill	12,668	n/a	n/a
Intangible assets	1,820	n/a	n/a
Investments	1,954	n/a	n/a
Cash and equivalents	3,844	4,623	4,478	-16.9%	-14.2%
Receivables	1,878	n/a	n/a
Other assets	3,404	n/a	n/a
Total assets	27,241	n/a	n/a

Questions

What was Adobe's revenue in Q4 FY2021?

Adobe (ADBE) reported revenue of $4.1 billion for Q4 FY2021, the quarter ended 3 December 2021, up 20.0% on the same quarter a year earlier.

How much did Adobe earn in Q4 FY2021?

Net income for Q4 FY2021 was $1.2 billion, down 45.2% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.57.

When did Adobe report Q4 FY2021 results?

Adobe filed its 10-K for the year that ended with the quarter on 21 January 2022; the fourth quarter is the year less the first three.

Quarterly results, the last 20 quarters

	Q4 FY2021 *	Q1 FY2022	Q2 FY2022	Q3 FY2022	Q4 FY2022 *	Q1 FY2023	Q2 FY2023	Q3 FY2023	Q4 FY2023 *	Q1 FY2024	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024 *	Q1 FY2025	Q2 FY2025	Q3 FY2025	Q4 FY2025 *	Q1 FY2026	Q2 FY2026	Q3 FY2026
Revenue	4,110	4,262	4,386	4,433	4,525	4,655	4,816	4,890	5,048	5,182	5,309	5,408	5,606	5,714	5,873	5,988	6,194	6,398	6,618	6,760
Cost of revenue	507	512	539	546	568	568	572	580	634	590	598	554	616	622	638	642	649	664	715	763
Gross profit	3,603	3,750	3,847	3,887	3,957	4,087	4,244	4,310	4,414	4,592	4,711	4,854	4,990	5,092	5,235	5,346	5,545	5,734	5,903	5,997
Gross margin	88%	88%	88%	88%	87%	88%	88%	88%	87%	89%	89%	90%	89%	89%	89%	89%	90%	90%	89%	89%
Operating income	1,501	1,580	1,529	1,484	1,505	1,586	1,624	1,697	1,743	907	1,885	1,992	1,957	2,163	2,109	2,173	2,261	2,418	2,238	2,354
Operating margin	37%	37%	35%	33%	33%	34%	34%	35%	35%	18%	36%	37%	35%	38%	36%	36%	37%	38%	34%	35%
Interest expense	28.0	28.0	28.0	28.0	28.0	32.0	26.0	27.0	28.0	27.0	41.0	51.0	50.0	62.0	68.0	67.0	66.0	63.0	65.0	66.0
Pre-tax income	1,468	1,543	1,492	1,456	1,517	1,598	1,650	1,743	1,808	968	1,930	2,042	1,991	2,182	2,101	2,187	2,264	2,422	2,238	2,357
Tax rate	16%	18%	21%	22%	22%	22%	22%	20%	18%	36%	18%	18%	15%	17%	20%	19%	18%	22%	24%	22%
Net income	1,233	1,266	1,178	1,136	1,176	1,247	1,295	1,403	1,483	620	1,573	1,684	1,683	1,811	1,691	1,772	1,856	1,889	1,712	1,827
Net margin	30%	30%	27%	26%	26%	27%	27%	29%	29%	12%	30%	31%	30%	32%	29%	30%	30%	30%	26%	27%
Diluted EPS	$2.57	$2.66	$2.49	$2.42	$2.53	$2.71	$2.82	$3.05	$3.23	$1.36	$3.49	$3.76	$3.79	$4.14	$3.94	$4.18	$4.45	$4.60	$4.25	$4.62
Operating cash flow	2,066	1,769	2,040	1,704	2,325	1,693	2,139	1,873	1,597	1,174	1,940	2,021	2,921	2,482	2,191	2,198	3,160	2,958	2,165	2,523
Capital expenditure	99.0	100	126	125	91.0	101	121	91.0	47.0	37.0	41.0	57.0	48.0	26.0	47.0	72.0	34.0	37.0	58.0	85.0
Free cash flow	1,967	1,669	1,914	1,579	2,234	1,592	2,018	1,782	1,550	1,137	1,899	1,964	2,873	2,456	2,144	2,126	3,126	2,921	2,107	2,438
Buybacks	1,000	2,400	1,200	1,200	1,750	1,400	1,000	1,000	1,000	2,000	2,500	2,500	2,500	3,250	3,500	2,057	2,474	2,478	2,111	2,232
Shares outstanding	475m	472m	471m	467m	462m	459m	456m	456m	455m	453m	449m	445m	441m	435m	427m	420m	413m	406m	399m	391m
Filing	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q	10-K	10-Q	10-Q	10-Q

Each quarter as filed, linked to its filing.

* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. A fourth quarter's EPS, and its diluted share count where shown, are from the company's results press release for that quarter, checked against the company's filed figures or a second data source. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.

10-K for the period ended 3 December 2021, filed 21 January 2022: the filing.