Earnings Preview: Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems (ADBE) is expected to report Q1 earnings Tuesday with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.

Guidance

The consensus estimate is 45c for EPS and revenue $875.84M, according to First Call. The company guided to revenues between $855M-$885M and non-GAAP EPS between 44c-46c.

Analyst Views

Kaufman previewed the quarter saying that while investors will care about the results for the February quarter, they think that the most attention will be on guidance. Kaufman for Q1 is estimating EPS in-line with the consensus of 45c but on higher revenue expectations of $886.3M. Kaufman believes that a new version of Acrobat is due in the November quarter, but could occur late in the August quarter. PacGrowth said that checks indicate Adobe had a solid Q1 driven by at least in-line CS3 sales, solid enterprise business, and at least in-line Acrobat sales. They feel comfortable that the company should be in a position to maintain its FY08 guidance for the year. Goldman also commented on the quarter recently saying, Q1 was relatively strong, but that for the remainder of the year, macro concerns are likely to start dampening demand. The Goldman analyst had trimmed his estimates for the year and repeated his Neutral rating.

Key issues on the conference call: Guidance, an update on how active the company has been repurchasing shares, and the specific timing of the release of a new version of Acrobat.