Adobe vs Microsoft
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The short version
- Microsoft is the larger business, with $331.8B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $23.8B for Adobe, about 14 times as much.
- Microsoft grew revenue faster (17.8%, against 10.5%).
- Microsoft kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (46.8% operating margin, against 36.6%).
- Adobe turned more of its sales into free cash flow (41.5% FCF margin, against 20.2%).
- Adobe earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (65.9%, against 30.9%).
| Latest fiscal year | ADBE · FY25 | MSFT · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $104.3B | $3.91T |
| Revenue | $23.8B | $331.8B |
| Free cash flow | $9.9B | $67.0B |
| Net income | $7.1B | $133.7B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 10.5% | 17.8% |
| 5-year growth | 13.1% | 14.6% |
| Share count change | −5.1% | −0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 89.3% | 67.9% |
| Operating margin | 36.6% | 46.8% |
| Net margin | 30.0% | 40.3% |
| FCF margin | 41.5% | 20.2% |
| Return on capital | 65.9% | 30.9% |
| Return on equity | 55.4% | 34.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$385M | $30.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.0x | 0.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $11.3B | $48.7B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 14.7x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
ADBE $7.3B
MSFT $96.6B
FY18
ADBE $9.0B
MSFT $110.4B
FY19
ADBE $11.2B
MSFT $125.8B
FY20
ADBE $12.9B
MSFT $143.0B
FY21
ADBE $15.8B
MSFT $168.1B
FY22
ADBE $17.6B
MSFT $198.3B
FY23
ADBE $19.4B
MSFT $211.9B
FY24
ADBE $21.5B
MSFT $245.1B
FY25
ADBE $23.8B
MSFT $281.7B
FY26
ADBE —
MSFT $331.8B
ADBE
MSFT
Operating margin
FY17
ADBE 29.7%
MSFT 30.1%
FY18
ADBE 31.5%
MSFT 31.8%
FY19
ADBE 29.3%
MSFT 34.1%
FY20
ADBE 32.9%
MSFT 37.0%
FY21
ADBE 36.8%
MSFT 41.6%
FY22
ADBE 34.6%
MSFT 42.1%
FY23
ADBE 34.3%
MSFT 41.8%
FY24
ADBE 31.4%
MSFT 44.6%
FY25
ADBE 36.6%
MSFT 45.6%
FY26
ADBE —
MSFT 46.8%
ADBE
MSFT
Free cash flow
FY17
ADBE $2.7B
MSFT $31.4B
FY18
ADBE $3.8B
MSFT $32.3B
FY19
ADBE $4.0B
MSFT $38.3B
FY20
ADBE $5.3B
MSFT $45.2B
FY21
ADBE $6.9B
MSFT $56.1B
FY22
ADBE $7.4B
MSFT $65.1B
FY23
ADBE $6.9B
MSFT $59.5B
FY24
ADBE $7.9B
MSFT $74.1B
FY25
ADBE $9.9B
MSFT $71.6B
FY26
ADBE —
MSFT $67.0B
ADBE
MSFT
Return on capital
FY17
ADBE 37.9%
MSFT 74.1%
FY18
ADBE 35.6%
MSFT 48.1%
FY19
ADBE 29.0%
MSFT 100.6%
FY20
ADBE 38.7%
MSFT 86.8%
FY21
ADBE 40.0%
MSFT 88.0%
FY22
ADBE 39.1%
MSFT 69.4%
FY23
ADBE 44.4%
MSFT 50.2%
FY24
ADBE 47.7%
MSFT 41.5%
FY25
ADBE 65.9%
MSFT 34.7%
FY26
ADBE —
MSFT 30.9%
ADBE
MSFT
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.