New York, January 22, 2026, 19:44 EST — After-hours
- Adobe shares climbed 1.9% to $299.73, then held steady in after-hours trading.
- Through Firefly Foundry, the company is collaborating with Hollywood partners to develop “IP-safe” custom generative AI models.
- Investors are zeroing in on Adobe’s fiscal Q1 earnings call on March 12, looking for clues that AI features could boost revenue.
Adobe Inc shares ended Thursday up 1.9%, closing at $299.73, and saw little movement after hours. The software giant has been promoting Firefly Foundry, its custom generative AI platform, through new partnerships in Hollywood. 1
The timing is key, as investors want solid evidence that Adobe can turn a profit from generative AI — software that generates images, video, and text from brief prompts — without running into copyright issues. Adobe is pitching Firefly Foundry as “IP-safe,” which means its models are trained on a customer’s own intellectual property rather than sweeping internet data. “Global companies like The Home Depot and Disney said that they needed more,” Adobe executive Hannah Elsakr told The Verge. 2
Adobe, in a post linked to Sundance, revealed that Firefly Foundry’s collaborators include major talent agencies like Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency, and William Morris Endeavor, alongside various production and design firms. The company also highlighted several directors they’re partnering with. Sean Bailey, founder and CEO of B5 Studios, commented, “Adobe has always valued the creative process, championing artists and the worlds they bring to life.” Meanwhile, CAA chief Bryan Lourd added, “Firefly Foundry empowers artists with commercially safe tools.” 3
Adobe is pushing new AI capabilities in its document tools, a key segment investors see as a stable growth driver. “For anyone trying to cut through information overload and stay on top of every assignment, you can now do that with Acrobat,” said Abhigyan Modi, senior vice president of Adobe Document Cloud. Adobe unveiled chat-based editing plus a tool that converts documents into presentation drafts and audio summaries. 4
Thursday saw a broad risk-on mood on Wall Street, lifting the S&P 500 by 0.55%. Adobe also climbed but still sits roughly 36% below its 52-week peak of $465.70, MarketWatch reports. Trading volume hit about 5 million shares for the session. 5
That said, the pitch leaves key questions on pricing and demand unanswered. Investors remain cautious, worried that new AI features simply get folded into current subscriptions, capping any immediate revenue boost. Meanwhile, cheaper competitors keep advancing, and customer churn remains a thorny issue.
Legal and reputational issues add another layer of uncertainty: while “IP-safe” branding cuts down one risk, the larger ecosystem remains tangled. Studios and brands tend to move slowly when workflows, rights, and approvals are involved.
Adobe’s fiscal Q1 earnings call is scheduled for March 12. Investors will be digging into updates on Firefly Foundry rollouts and customer uptake. The big question: can AI start driving bookings and recurring revenue, or is it still just demo material? 6
