Adobe Paid $1B to Walk Away From 48% Revenue Growth. Cry Me a River.

Figma just reported Q2. Revenue up 48%. Earnings per share doubled Wall Street’s forecast. Net dollar retention: 136% — meaning existing customers spend more every quarter. Over 80% of large accounts use AI features weekly. Third straight quarter of accelerating growth. Quartz

Figma is Sprite. Adobe is the thirst.

In 2022, Adobe tried to buy Figma for $20 billion. That wasn’t a growth strategy. That was an admission. Adobe looked at its own product line, looked at Figma’s trajectory, and decided it was cheaper to write a check than to compete. Sonny covered the full autopsy in the Adobe/Figma file.

The DOJ blocked the deal. Adobe paid a $1 billion breakup fee and walked back to Creative Cloud. At the time, Adobe called it “regulatory uncertainty.” Sonny calls it the most expensive Tinder unmatch in corporate history. 💔

Now here’s the part that stings. Figma didn’t need Adobe. Not the distribution, not the brand, not the enterprise sales team. Figma grew 48% on its own. Adobe’s last quarterly revenue growth? About 10%. The Next Web

Yes, Figma’s stock dropped 16% on Wednesday because AI infrastructure costs doubled. Wall Street panicked. But Wall Street panics when the restaurant bill arrives — it doesn’t mean the food was bad. Figma is investing $426.9 million a quarter in building the future of design. Adobe is investing in quarterly earnings calls explaining why it didn’t buy the future when it had the chance. Motley Fool

Cry me a river, Creative Cloud.