Adobe's AI-first revenue grew 150%+ this quarter -- and its CEO is stepping down as AI reshapes the business
Record Q3 revenue of $6.76B came with a leadership transition tied explicitly to AI strategy -- Anil Chakravarthy becomes CEO in December, Shantanu Narayen moves to Executive Chair.
Adobe reported record third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $6.76 billion, up 13% year over year, with non-GAAP earnings per share of $6.13, in a filing dated September 10, 2026. AI-first annualized recurring revenue grew more than 150% year over year; total ARR reached $27.50 billion. Alongside the results, Adobe announced Anil Chakravarthy will become President and CEO effective December 1, 2026, with current CEO Shantanu Narayen moving to Executive Chair.
A financial metric, not a pilot-program claim
Interim CFO Steve Day's own summary was understated relative to the underlying numbers: "Adobe delivered double-digit revenue and EPS growth in Q3." The more significant figure is the AI-first ARR growth rate -- more than 150% -- now large enough and disclosed specifically enough to function as a real line item investors and CFOs price into the stock, not a forward-looking pilot metric buried in a shareholder letter.
A leadership change timed to a strategy shift
A CEO transition announced in the same release as AI-revenue figures growing this fast is not likely a coincidence -- Adobe is signaling that its next chapter is explicitly organized around AI monetization, with new leadership installed to run it. For finance leaders evaluating Adobe's own tools, and for anyone tracking how fast AI-native revenue shows up on a mature enterprise software company's income statement rather than staying confined to pilots, this is one of the clearest disclosed numbers so far.