Figma IPO: Can the Design Darling Take on Adobe at Scale?

Key Points

• Adobe tried to buy Figma for $20 billion in 2022, but regulators blocked the deal.

• The start-up is growing rapidly and delivering a proift.

• The future looks bright for Figma.

• 10 stocks we like better than Adobe ›

Figma (NASDAQ: FIG) is set to go public on July 30. For the design software star, the public offering represents a long and winding path since Adobe's (NASDAQ: ADBE) $20 billion acquisition of the company was blocked in 2023 over regulatory pushback that the deal would suppress competition in the design software industry.

After dealing with the setback and offering severance to workers who wanted to quit, Figma has added new artificial intelligence (AI) features and continued to deliver solid growth. On the eve of its initial public offering (IPO), Figma appears to be as strong as ever.

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The company competes with Adobe in design software, and it may be best known for user interface and user experience (UI/UX) design software, serving companies like Netflix, Uber Technologies, and Alphabet's Google. Figma's singular innovation is that it built design software within web browsers, rather than selling it separately as software, and its web-based applications have helped make its product successful and drive its growth.

Adobe recognized the competition from Figma early on, so it's not a surprise the company tried to buy it. It even made earlier offers to acquire it. After the deal fell through, Adobe remains Figma's biggest, and significantly larger, competitor.

Can Figma compete with Adobe? Let's take a closer look.

Image source: Getty Images.

Figma is ready for its close-up

Targeting a valuation of $18.8 billion, slightly less than what Adobe offered to buy it for three years ago, Figma's IPO seems very reasonably priced.

Over the last four quarters, the company reported $821 million in revenue, giving it a price-to-sales valuation of 23. However, that valuation seems justified as Figma is growing rapidly, and is profitable.

During that period, revenue is up 46%, and it reported a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating margin of 17%. It's also highly profitable at the product level with a gross margin of 91% and net dollar retention of 132%, meaning that existing customers increased their spending on the platform by 32% over the last four quarters.

By contrast, Adobe is much larger than Figma, with $21.5 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024, but that also works to Figma's advantage as it demonstrates a large market for its service, and room to grow if it can grab market share from Adobe.

Figma estimates its addressable market at $33 billion today, which also gives it plenty of room for growth.

Adobe vs. Figma: Who's the winner?

Figma competes directly with Adobe XD, a product Adobe launched to claw back market share from Figma, but the start-up has generally held its own.

According to a survey of comments on platforms like Reddit, designers generally prefer Figma over Adobe XD.

Figma's growth rate shows that it's succeeding by adding both new customers and new products. It now has a suite of tools that covers everything from product ideation to shipping the product. Seventy-six percent of Figma's customers now use at least two products, showing a healthy rate of cross-selling and adoption.

Investors should expect Figma to continue introducing new products as it expands and evolves, and aims to take market share from Adobe.

Is Figma a buy?

IPOs are notoriously volatile and difficult to predict, but Figma seems to be well positioned for success. Its valuation has already been validated by Adobe, and at an $18.8 billion market cap the pricing looks reasonable. Figma is also growing fast, and is already profitable on a GAAP basis, separating it from a lot of cloud software companies that have been public for years.

If Figma can continue its pace of product innovation and deliver strong growth, the stock looks like a good bet over the long term.

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Jeremy Bowman has positions in Netflix. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Alphabet, Netflix, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.