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, and 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, and total ARR reached $27.50 billion. In the same release, Adobe announced Anil Chakravarthy will become President and CEO effective December 1, 2026, with current CEO Shantanu Narayen moving to Executive Chair.
AI revenue as a line item
Interim CFO Steve Day's summary undersold the numbers: "Adobe delivered double-digit revenue and EPS growth in Q3." The bigger figure is AI-first ARR growth of more than 150%. It is now large enough, and disclosed specifically enough, for investors and CFOs to price into the stock as a reported line item.
A leadership change alongside the shift
Announcing a CEO transition in the same release as AI revenue growing this fast signals that Adobe is organizing its next phase around AI monetization, with new leadership to run it. If you're tracking how quickly AI revenue shows up on a mature enterprise software company's income statement, this is one of the clearest disclosed numbers so far.