Cloud growth gives Symantec the edge

Article Excerpt

Businesses will likely spend more on software this year, as the global economy continues to recover. That’s good news for these market leaders, but Symantec’s focus on security puts it in a better position to benefit as more companies adopt cloud computing. ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $65 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 497.7 million; Market cap: $32.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.3; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) earned $151.3 million, or $0.30 a share, in its fiscal 2014 first quarter, which ended February 28, 2014. That’s down 14.9% from $177.9 million, or $0.35, a year ago. Revenue fell 0.8%, to $1.00 billion from $1.01 billion. The declines are mainly because Adobe is now selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription instead of a one-time purchase. That hurts the company’s short-term growth, but it should provide stable revenue streams as more users switch over. Subscriptions now supply…