ADBEAdobe Inc.·FY2026Q3 10-QPaidFiling score 39 · Small change

Adobe's $6.82 billion buyback equals 91% of nine-month free cash flow

Fiscal 2026 third-quarter 10-Q: operations brought in $7.646 billion of cash over nine months, $7.466 billion after capital expenditure, and share repurchases came to $6.821 billion

Adobe's $6.82 billion buyback equals 91% of nine-month free cash flow
aiSwingX™ analyzes US filings and reports them as news investors can read.
39
–
23 0

Adobe (ADBE) generated $7.646 billion of operating cash flow in the first nine months of fiscal 2026. Subtracting $180 million of capital expenditure leaves free cash flow of $7.466 billion. Over the same nine months the company repurchased $6.821 billion of its own shares — 91.4% of that free cash flow.

In plain terms

Adobe rents out Photoshop and document software for a monthly fee. Over the past nine months it made more than $7.4 billion of spare cash from that business, and spent $6.8 billion of it buying back its own shares. As a result the money in its account fell by more than $1 billion. A debt due early next year was also moved into the column for bills due soon.

What happened

Adobe (ADBE) sells Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat on subscription. Its fiscal 2026 third quarter ended on August 28, 2026, and the 10-Q was filed on September 22, 2026.

Three cash lines for the first nine months of the fiscal year. All three appear in the consolidated statement of cash flows.

Item Nine months, fiscal 2026
Operating cash flow $7.646 billion
Capital expenditure −$180 million
Free cash flow $7.466 billion
Share repurchases −$6.821 billion
Repurchases / free cash flow 91.4%

Net income for the same nine months was $5.428 billion. The $6.821 billion of repurchases equals 125.7% of that figure.

Cash fell by ●●Subscribers
●● maturing in 2027 moved into current liabilitiesSubscribers
●● of backlog — and why "●●" is not ●● of itSubscribers
What makes up ●● of deferred revenueSubscribers
A ●● impairment with no income-statement lineSubscribers
A ●● effective tax rate and a ●● valuation allowanceSubscribers
The quarter at a glanceSubscribers
Arithmetic table · quarterly metricsSubscribers
End of the free preview

39 Filing score · Small change

What the numbers mean — for subscribers

We find the numbers that are in the filing but not in the news, and analyze what they mean, how big they are and what to watch next quarter — with the arithmetic and quarterly metrics. Cancel any time.

$10.99/mo · $109/yr
Log in to subscribe
Not ready to subscribe? Get free alerts when new articles go out.
Only on days we publish. Unsubscribe any time.

FAQ

How is the 91% of free cash flow figure derived?

The nine-month operating cash flow, capital expenditure and share repurchase figures are in the free table above. All three appear in this 10-Q's consolidated statement of cash flows.

Which notes were moved into current liabilities?

The company wrote that it reclassified the senior notes due February 1, 2027 and April 4, 2027 as current debt. The carrying value and the company's stated plan are in the subscriber section.

How much of the contracted backlog becomes revenue within a year?

The company disclosed the total remaining performance obligations and separately the share expected to be recognized within 12 months. The subscriber section shows, with the original sentence, why that percentage does not apply to the total.

Where is the goodwill impairment recorded?

There is no separate income-statement line. It sits inside general and administrative expenses. The amount and the reporting unit are in the subscriber section.

Where can I verify this directly?

Open Adobe Inc.'s fiscal 2026 third-quarter Form 10-Q (accession 0000796343-26-000156) on SEC EDGAR and read the consolidated statement of cash flows together with the deferred revenue, debt and goodwill notes.

How aiSwingX™ wrote this

  1. We read the filing on SEC EDGAR in full — statements, notes, MD&A. Press releases and news are not used as sources.
  2. Every figure is reconciled to its location in the filing and to XBRL data. One mismatch means no publication.
  3. An editor reviews before publication; any later change is recorded in the revision history.
Adobe Inc. Form 10-Q (fiscal 2026 third quarter, filed 2026-09-22, accession 0000796343-26-000156): consolidated statements of income, consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of cash flows, Note 3 on deferred revenue and remaining performance obligations, Note 7 on goodwill and other intangibles, Note 9 on income taxes, and the Liquidity and Capital Resources discussion in MD&A. Quarterly and year-to-date figures cross-checked against SEC XBRL Company Facts. · SEC EDGAR · This article is not investment advice. Disclaimer

Frequently asked questions

Where can I verify the figures in this article?

Open the filing cited at the bottom of the article (e.g. the 10-Q note number) on SEC EDGAR via the link at the end of the article.

What is the at-a-glance box?

A four-item summary of the article: the key figure, what it means, the source, and what to watch next quarter. If you are short on time, read just that.

May I quote or share this article?

Customary quotation and sharing are fine with attribution (aiSwingX™ and the article URL). Republishing the full text elsewhere requires the License plan.

aiSwingX™ analyzes US filings and reports them as news investors can read.
39
–
23 0