Adobe Beats Profit Expectations, Mulls Subscription Changes

Adobe Systems beat analysts' profitability expectations by 3 cents per share in the second fiscal quarter, ratcheted its Creative Cloud subscriber total up 221,000 to 700,000, and is considering new measures to mollify those who don't like the subscriptions, the company said Tuesday. Adobe is in the throes of a difficult transition to subscriptions instead of selling its software through perpetual licenses - one-time fees, with Adobe coaxing customers to pay for upgrades later.

Its Creative Cloud subscription costs $50 per month for a full-year commitment and grants access to the full suite of Adobe software such as Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, and new tools for Web publishing; perpetual licenses only are available now for the old Creative Suite 6 products.

The change angered many customers, though, and Adobe is considering changes, Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen said in a prepared statement. Those changes appear not to include a return to perpetual licenses, though.