In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing world, multiple companies have long-shot chances of making a massive difference. These make for risky investments, which may worry some investors. However, one AI investment hiding in plain sight will be fine regardless of how prevalent AI becomes: Adobe (ADBE -0.94%).
Adobe's product suite is already the dominant force in digital media, but its new AI tools take it to the next level. I think it's one of the top artificial intelligence investments you can make right now.
Adobe's AI fits nicely into its already successful product suite
Few companies achieved dominance in a particular industry as Adobe has with digital media. Its products are used at all education levels, making it a logical choice when these students get jobs. But AI unlocks a new level of functionality previously unseen in its products.
Adobe has two main AI products: Sensei and Firefly. Adobe Sensei is its generative AI product utilized in the Adobe Experience Cloud. Sensei can help users market to missed audiences and craft new advertising campaigns. But the real game changer is Firefly.
Firefly uses generative AI to create images from just a text prompt. While this is useful for creating and modifying images, combining it with Sensei creates a powerful advertising model. With the two combined, it can tailor images for marketing based on the customer viewing the image or keep content fresh by updating an image with another product.
This is an incredibly powerful and useful application of AI, and Adobe is leading the way.
It's also taking drastic steps to capture market share. Adobe users get 25 free monthly credits to utilize Firefly, but that plan can be upgraded to 100 credits for just $4.99 per month. That's not a huge price, considering how powerful this tool is, which is critical in capturing market share. I wouldn't be surprised if Adobe elects to increase pricing after a significant audience core consistently uses the technology, which will be a boost further down the road.
Adobe is doing everything possible to win this critical race, but it's already a great investment today.
Investors have to pay up to own a top company like Adobe
Adobe has been one of the most consistent companies on the market and has managed to maintain respectable growth levels even as many companies look to curtail their expenses. In the third quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended Sept. 1), Adobe's revenue grew 10% to $4.89 billion.
It also produces strong profits, with net income totaling $1.4 billion, equating to a 29% Q3 profit margin. With its strong cash flows, Adobe repurchases shares. In Q3, it bought back $1 billion worth of stock, which was offset by a $442 million stock-based compensation expense. At that pace, Adobe repurchases about 1% of the company annually, which adds up over the long haul.
Best-in-class companies are rarely cheap, and Adobe is no exception. The stock trades at 34 times forward earnings, a massive premium over the S&P 500's average valuation of 19 times forward earnings.
ADBE PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
But, with Adobe's upside fueled by AI proliferation plus a rock-solid base product that will be dominant regardless of how much of an effect AI has, Adobe makes for a great purchase. While the stock has seen a lot of enthusiasm lately (it's up around 45% since May 1), I think it's warranted.
Adobe's potential is still untapped, and I think the stock can still crush the market even with high expectations heading into next year.
