Adobe's longtime CEO to exit role amid AI disruption, shares fall

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March 12 : Adobe's longtime CEO Shantanu Narayen will leave his role once a successor is appointed, the creative tooling company said on Thursday, sending its shares down 6.5 per cent in extended trading on renewed worries around its strategy as it grapples with AI disruption.

Narayen's exit from the role comes after he served as the company's head for 18 years, during which he helped the company's flagship software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and InDesign become household products for creatives across the world.

Narayen will stay on as chair of the board to support the next CEO, the company said.

Adobe is grappling with a changing software landscape, where artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to entry for design and its dominant position in the industry is being threatened by newcomers embracing the technology.

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"Investors will likely focus on whether incoming leadership maintains a balance between disciplined execution and aggressive AI investment, especially as competition in creative and enterprise AI intensifies," said Emarketer analyst Grace Harmon.

Worries have also flared with the rise of new automated AI tools and agents that many fear would be able to disrupt traditional software subscription models and give way to quicker and cheaper ways of creating products.

Adobe's shares have fallen around 22 per cent so far this year after declining over 21 per cent in 2025, reflecting investor apprehension over the firm's AI strategy and outlook. 

The company also announced quarterly financial results, forecasting second-quarter revenue of between $6.43 billion to $6.48 billion, compared with estimates of $6.43 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It reported first-quarter revenue of $6.40 billion, beating estimates of $6.28 billion.

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