Adobe 1998 Annual Report Download - page 3

Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that
might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section
entitled ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Factors
That May Affect Future Results of Operations.’’ Readers should carefully review the risks described in other
documents the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q to be filed by the Company in 1999. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to the forward-looking
statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document.
PART I
Item 1. Business
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Adobe Systems Incorporated (‘‘Adobe’’ or the ‘‘Company’’) develops, markets, and supports computer
software products and technologies that enable users to express and use information across print and
electronic media. The Company offers a market-leading line of application software products, type
products, and content for creating, distributing, and managing information of all types; licenses its
industry-standard technologies to major hardware manufacturers, software developers, and service provid-
ers; and offers integrated software solutions to businesses of all sizes. The Company’s software runs on
Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and UNIX platforms.
The Company was originally incorporated in California in October 1983 and was reincorporated in
Delaware in May 1997. The Company maintains its executive offices and principal facilities at 345 Park
Avenue, San Jose, California 95110-2704. Its telephone number is 408-536-6000. The Company maintains a
World Wide Web site at http://www.adobe.com.
PRODUCTS
In 1984, Adobe developed the software that initiated desktop publishing. Today, Adobe is uniquely
positioned to make a further dramatic impact not only on how society creates visually rich information, but
also on how it distributes and accesses that information electronically.
Adobe software helps people use the computer to express, share, and manage their ideas in
imaginative and meaningful new ways, whether the choice of media is static or dynamic, paper or
electronic. In the simplest terms, Adobe products enable people to create, send, view, print, and manage
high-impact information, thereby helping them and their ideas stand out. The Company’s strategy is to
address the needs of professional publishers, business publishers, consumers, and companies who need to
solve document and printing problems.
Adobe software enables users to work with professional creative tools; assemble illustrations, images,
and text into fully formatted documents; output documents directly to any kind of printing device; and
distribute documents on paper, video, compact disc, the Internet, an e-mail system, or a corporate
network. Moreover, Adobe software enables users to perform all of these tasks across multiple computing
environments, including Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and UNIX.
Application Products:
Adobe Acrobat—the fastest way to publish and distribute business documents of any kind on
corporate e-mail and intranets, the Internet, or CD-ROM. Adobe Acrobat software enables users to
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