Pixel power
Getting creative with Adobe
Good morning, gradient gurus. This is your Stock Market Rundown for September 17th, 2024. Thanks for tuning in, once again. Let’s get into it:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: CREATIVE CRUNCH TIME
PDFs are the world’s most annoying file format. Can’t edit them. Can’t read them on a phone. And if you send one to your boss as an attachment, he’ll probably end up accidentally rotating it upside-down.
Despite being as old-fashioned as Napster and Tamagotchis, PDFs are part of the internet infrastructure. And like many other innovations in online design, they were the brainchild of Adobe Systems. Founded in 1982, Adobe kicked off the desktop publishing revolution thanks to cult software products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere.Â
Photoshop 1.0, when it was first released in 1990, cost $895, which is the equivalent of $1,700 in 2024 dollars. (Which is why most of us back in the day had a pirated version.)
Nowadays, you can’t just pop into Best Buy and purchase Photoshop… you have to sign up for a $54.99-per-month subscription, and pay up every month, until either your laptop dies, or you do.
That recurring revenue from millions of customers has built Adobe into a $238 billion market capitalization. Now, Adobe’s big push is to embrace the artificial intelligence revolution by adding generative AI tools to its products.
Ever wanted to put sunglasses on the Mona Lisa, give the Venus de Milo arms, or turn The Last Supper into a pizza party? Now you can, despite having no art skills whatsoever—thanks to Photoshop.
Adobe’s AI pivot is a big bet, and so far, investors are skeptical that it can compete with AI-native image generation startups like Midjourney. Just-released financial results didn’t help, with management projecting sluggish revenue growth. Adobe will need more than a few new filters if they don’t want to get cropped out of users’ software budgets.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
European regulators have charged that big video game companies trick gamers into in-app purchases. Such an awkward moment when mom finds out little Johnny spent the rent money on Call of Duty weapons upgrades.
Disgraced crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried is seeking to overturn his 25-year prison sentence, with his lawyers arguing the judge blocked critical evidence. Let me guess, he was going to give FTX’s clients their money back, but he forgot his password?
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator Caroline Ellison begged a judge not to send her to prison, in advance of her sentencing on September 24th. Hey, she’s not a bad person, she just made a few multi-billion-dollar mistakes.
Senate races just became as much fun as March Madness: US courts have made it legal for Americans to bet on the outcome of elections. Now you can lose your faith in democracy and lose your bankroll at the same time.
That’s it for today, my dear friends; let’s circle back for more updates later this week. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed today’s Stock Market Rundown, the #1 thing you can do to help me out is forward it to a friend.