Adobe vs Autodesk: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Adobe reported $23.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.1B of net income. Autodesk reported $7.2B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.1B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Adobe
Revenue rose from $5.854 billion in fiscal 2016 to $23.769 billion in fiscal 2025. Fiscal 2025 net income was $7.130 billion, compared with $5.560 billion in fiscal 2024. Adobe's fiscal years in this series ended on the Friday closest to November 30 or, in some years, early December.
Autodesk
Autodesk stopped selling new perpetual licenses for its core desktop products in 2016 and spent the following years converting customers to subscriptions. Reported revenue fell to $2.03 billion in fiscal 2017 with a $582 million net loss before the subscription base compounded. Fiscal 2026 shows the finished version of that model: $7.206 billion of revenue, up 18 percent, of which 94 percent was subscription and maintenance; gross profit of $6.56 billion, or 91 percent of revenue; a GAAP operating margin of 22 percent and a non-GAAP operating margin of 38 percent; net income of $1.124 billion; and free cash flow of $2.409 billion, up 54 percent, from $2.452 billion of cash from operations. Remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue not yet recognized, were $8.30 billion at January 31, 2026, of which $5.48 billion is expected to convert within twelve months. Autodesk pays no dividend and returns cash through share repurchases.
Revenue and profit by year
Adobe
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $23.8B | $7.1B | 30.0% | +10.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $21.5B | $5.6B | 25.9% | +10.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $19.4B | $5.4B | 28.0% | +10.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $17.6B | $4.8B | 27.0% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $15.8B | $4.8B | 30.5% | +22.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $12.9B | $5.3B | 40.9% | +15.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $11.2B | $3B | 26.4% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $9B | $2.6B | 28.7% | +23.7% | Source |
| FY2017 | $7.3B | $1.7B | 23.2% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $5.9B | $1.2B | 20.0% | — | Source |
Autodesk
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $7.2B | $1.1B | 15.6% | +17.5% | Source |
| FY2025 | $6.1B | $1.1B | 18.1% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $5.5B | $906M | 16.5% | +9.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $5B | $823M | 16.4% | +14.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $4.4B | $497M | 11.3% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $3.8B | $1.2B | 31.9% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $3.3B | $214.5M | 6.6% | +27.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $2.6B | -$80.8M | -3.1% | +25.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $2.1B | -$566.9M | -27.6% | +1.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $2B | -$582.1M | -28.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Adobe
- Digital Media74.3%
Creative Cloud and Document Cloud generated $17.649 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Digital Experience24.7%
Customer-experience applications and services generated $5.864 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue.
- Publishing and Advertising1.1%
Publishing products and advertising offerings generated $256 million in fiscal 2025 revenue.
Autodesk
- Subscription and maintenance revenue~94%
US$6.776 billion in fiscal 2026, made up of US$6.743 billion of subscription revenue and US$33 million of legacy maintenance plans. By product family this is AECO US$3.583 billion, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT US$1.787 billion, Manufacturing US$1.379 billion, Media and Entertainment US$332 million and other US$125 million, per the fiscal 2026 results.
- Other revenue (products and services)~6%
US$430 million in fiscal 2026, up 15 percent, from consulting, training and other products and services, recognized as they are delivered or performed.
Business model and strategy
Adobe
How it makes money
Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. In fiscal 2025, subscription revenue was $22.904 billion, or about 96% of total revenue. Digital Media includes Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, while Digital Experience includes applications and services for customer experience management. Adobe also reports a smaller Publishing and Advertising business.
Growth strategy
Adobe's stated strategy includes expanding Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, developing Firefly and other AI capabilities, and growing customer-experience applications. In 2026 Adobe also announced that Anil Chakravarthy, who leads Customer Experience Orchestration and worldwide field operations, will become CEO on December 1, 2026.
Competitive advantage
Adobe combines established creative applications, the PDF and Acrobat document workflow, and customer-experience software in subscription offerings. Its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K says its markets are competitive and subject to rapid technology change, so continued product development and customer retention remain important.
Autodesk
How it makes money
Autodesk sells subscriptions to design software used by professionals: AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT for drafting, Revit and Civil 3D for buildings and infrastructure, Inventor and Fusion for manufacturing, Maya and 3ds Max for animation.
Growth strategy
With drafting seats a mature market, Autodesk's growth depends on construction and manufacturing workflow software rather than on selling more AutoCAD licenses. AECO revenue grew 22 percent in fiscal 2026 to $3.58 billion, the fastest of the four product families, led by construction products that handle cost, scheduling, bidding and field work rather than design.
Competitive advantage
Autodesk's advantage is that its file formats and its products are what the industry trains on. Architecture and engineering programs teach AutoCAD and Revit, project data is exchanged as DWG and RVT files, and a firm that switches has to retrain staff and accept conversion risk on decades of legacy drawings.
Questions about Adobe vs Autodesk
Which company has higher revenue — Adobe Inc. or Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. reported $23.8B (FY2025), while Autodesk, Inc. reported $7.2B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Adobe Inc. is the larger business, with Autodesk, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Adobe Inc. vs Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $93.0B, while Autodesk, Inc.'s is $43.7B. Adobe Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Autodesk, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Adobe Inc. or Autodesk, Inc.?
Adobe Inc. generates $758k / employee in revenue per employee, while Autodesk, Inc. generates $504k / employee. Adobe Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc. make money?
Adobe Inc. and Autodesk, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Adobe Inc.: Adobe earns most of its revenue from subscriptions. Autodesk, Inc.: Autodesk sells subscriptions to design software used by professionals: AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT for drafting, Revit and Civil 3D for buildings and infrastructure, Inventor and Fusion for manufacturing, Maya and 3ds Max for animation.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Adobe Inc. or Autodesk, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Adobe Inc. trades at 3.9x P/S and Autodesk, Inc. at 6.1x P/S. Autodesk, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Adobe Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Adobe Inc. bigger than Autodesk, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Adobe Inc. ($23.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Autodesk, Inc. ($7.2B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Adobe vs Autodesk overview