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Adobe Inc

ADBEBelow valueExpectations · modest

Held by 13 superinvestors.

Price$273.47
Margin of safety−21%
Holders13
Total value$1.37B

SEC 10-K · fundamentals

Business quality

as of 2025-11-28

Valuation basis: trailing twelve months to 2026-05-29 — latest 10-K plus unaudited 10-Q filings.

Revenue growth
+10.5%
Net margin
30.0%
ROE
61.3%
FCF margin
41.4%
Revenue $12.87B → $23.77B · 6y
What makes a business high quality

Valuation · value band

Margin of safety

$346/ sh · growth-anchored intrinsic value
margin of safety
fair value
above fair value
$273
cheaperpricier

Zero-growth floor

$165

Central IV

$346

Optimistic top

$470

Adobe Inc (ADBE): Two methods value the business — a conservative owner-earnings DCF and a growth-credited Greenwald estimate, $165–$470 / sh. Today’s price sits below both (price $273 as of 2026-08-26).

The middle figure is the main read. The right end is the optimistic case under the same conservative caps — not an absolute ceiling.

Revenue growth 8% (lower of historical trend and fundamental cap, capped by moat) · moat 20 yr · discount 10.6% · Zero-growth downside $165

Price as of 2026-08-26 · yahoo · DGS10 4.7% @ 2026-08-26.

Method & numbers

Model cautions

  • Growth nearly matches the discount rate — the estimate is sensitive to assumptions.

A conservative intrinsic-value band (zero-growth floor to growth-capped DCF) plus a tangible asset floor — not investment advice, not a buy/sell signal, and not a price target.

Owner-earnings DCF $187.09 – $430.10 · Greenwald $273.15 – $469.66 (neutral $378.97) · zero-growth base $202.29 · reproduction $9.92

Moat Franchise (moat) · terminal value 25% of present value · owner-earnings yield 7% vs 10Y 4.7%.

Graham earnings-power value (normalized NOPAT)$165.57 – $202.29 / sh

Normalized NOPAT = average operating margin over the years shown × latest-year revenue × (1 − normalized tax); then + D&A − maintenance capex (write A). Unlevered (pre-interest, attributable to all capital). Capitalized at the 9–11% rate band (read as a WACC proxy). Enterprise → equity bridge applied: + cash − total debt.

Years: TTM 2026-05-29, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021

v1 simplifications: Maintenance capex (degraded) deducted in full cash (write A): EPV = (NOPAT + D&A − maintenance capex) / WACC; no tax shield on the capex term. Maintenance-capex methods diverge by 121% (> 50%); estimate is degraded. Share-based compensation is left as a real expense (not added back).

Buffett owner-earnings value$164.88 – $201.52 / sh

Owner earnings = average net income + average D&A − maintenance capex (zero-growth floor; no ΔNWC). Levered (starts from net income, already after interest — an equity-holder stream). Capitalized at the 9–11% rate band (read as a cost-of-equity proxy). No enterprise→equity bridge: the capitalized result is already equity value (subtracting debt would double-count interest).

Years: TTM 2026-05-29, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021

v1 simplifications: Owner earnings = net income + D&A − maintenance capex (degraded); the working-capital change is excluded (maintenance ΔNWC ≈ 0; growth ΔNWC is carried in growth value, not double-counted). Maintenance-capex methods diverge by 121% (> 50%); estimate is degraded. One-time items are not separately normalized (multi-year averaging smooths them partially). Share-based compensation is left as a real expense (not added back); see the SBC/OE disclosure. Capitalized at the 9–11% band as a cost-of-equity proxy; no leverage premium applied (net cash or debt within the no-charge range).

Asset floor: Reproduction value = tangible net assets + acquired-intangible reset proxy, ÷ diluted shares; tangible net assets alone are negative for this asset-light franchise (no R&D history to capitalize).

Moat reading: Franchise test compares earnings power (EPV) against reproduction value (tangible net assets + capitalized R&D). EPV well above reproduction value signals a moat; near it, a commodity; below it, value destruction. A directional reading, not a verdict.

Assumes a wide moat · competitive-advantage period ≈ 20 years (earnings intact, ROIC stable over history).

Growth value: if the moat holds for 20 yr at ROIIC ≈ 183%, $70.85–$267.37 / sh (neutral $176.68). Conservative, not a forecast.

Window TTM 2026-05-29, FY 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 · discount band 9%11% · normalized tax 19% (Average effective tax rate over 5 year(s), capped at the statutory 21%.) · diluted shares.

Owner-earnings DCF: growth g₁ 8% · OE FY TTM 2026-05-29, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 · Discount band: 9.16%–12.00% (DGS10 +4.5% to a 12% strict end, as of 2026-08-26). No enterprise→equity bridge: owner earnings already flow to shareholders (post-interest), so no net cash is added and no debt subtracted — matching the engine owner-earnings lamp. Two-method midpoint gap 9%.

Valuation basis: trailing twelve months to 2026-05-29 — latest 10-K plus unaudited 10-Q filings.

What the price is betting

Today's price pencils in about 5.4% a year in owner-earnings for the next few years. Revenue actually grew 12.4% a year.

Below what it has already done.

Roughly, the price needs its historical revenue growth to run about 5 more years to hold up.

How to read intrinsic value

SEC 13F · holders

Superinvestors Holding This Security

13 holders · $1.37B combined · this quarter +1 opened / -1 exited

This quarter1 opened9 added1 trimmed1 exited
Holders 12 → 12 · last 8q
Show all 13 holders
  • Value$1.4MWeight (prev→now)0.1% 0.1%
  • Value$1.1MWeight (prev→now)0.0% 0.0%
  • Value$224,292Weight (prev→now)0.0% 0.0%
Exited this quarter (1)

SEC 13F · notes

Written summary

Adobe Inc (ADBE) is held by 13 of the superinvestors tracked on Compounder, with a combined $1.37B in reported 13F value. The largest position belongs to Dodge & Cox, where it makes up 0.3% of the portfolio.

Other notable holders by value include Bill Nygren (0.8% of its book), Samantha McLemore (2.5% of its book) and Jeremy Grantham (0.1% of its book).

Over the latest quarter, 1 of the tracked filers opened a new position in ADBE, 9 added to existing ones, 1 trimmed, and 1 sold out entirely.

Holder counts and values reflect the most recent SEC Form 13F filings, through the quarter ended 2026-06-30. Source: SEC EDGAR. A 13F shows only long US-listed positions and can lag the real portfolio by up to 45 days, so this is disclosed long ownership, not a complete picture.

How to read a 13F

SEC 13F · co-ownership

Also held by these investors

Investors holding Adobe Inc (ADBE) also commonly hold →

ADBE's price is below its conservative value band. Browse all undervalued stocks by margin of safety

Also on

Sources· SEC EDGAR 13F as of 2026-06-30 · filed 2026-08-14

Educational data only — not investment advice. 13F positions are self-reported and can lag up to 45 days.

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