Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) was featured recently by MarketBeat where we discussed the company’s strong fundamentals as a diversified software company. Adobe appeared with two other mega-cap stocks, and it was highlighted for its above-industry growth and potential share appreciation in the future. This article will dig a little deeper into the company's fundamentals to see why some investors are buying while others are holding off.

Let Down By Valuation & Growth Estimates 

Despite having strong branding and conceptual potential as a business, some weaknesses of Adobe should be addressed. The first is that the company is relatively more expensive than its peer sector companies. Adobe's FWD P/E ratio is 38.99, while the sector is 21.62. On a Price / Sales basis, the company is also lagging. This ratio stands at 10.39, while the sector is significantly lower at 2.83.

Adobe is also growing slower than its competitors in the same sector. The businesses' YoY growth while is 16.01% compared to 20.56. However, some good news for the company is that it's expected to catch up to the sector as its FWD revenue growth ratio is 16.18%, while the sector stands at 14.67%. 

Excellent Profitability And Good Analyst Ratings

A positive for the stock is certainly its excellent profitability. Its gross profit margin is 87.87%, and the sector median is 50.66%. As a proxy for cash, its EBITDA margin is also significantly higher than its peers at 39.91% to the sector's 12.95%. Part of the reason for Adobe's high profitability is that it's very efficient at getting returns on the capital it invests in the business. Its return on total assets is 20.34%, while the sector is at only 4.17%.

Wall St has been bullish on Adobe over the last 90 days. 31 analysts rated the stock in total, and it received 18 strong buy, 7 buy, and 6 hold recommendations. Overall, the analyst consensus is that it's a buy. However, its EPS and revenue estimates have received some downwards pressure with 22 down EPS revisions and 26 down revenue revisions. 

Adobe Vs. SAP SE

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) makes for an interesting comparison to Adobe, although it could be argued that Adobe has no true direct competitors. Still, both companies are in the same sector and industries. SAP is considerably smaller than Adobe with a market cap of 106.16B compared to 183.82B.

The performance YTD for both companies has been in the negative, with ADB returning -28.84% to investors and SAP -32.17%. Adobe is the clear winner for the return for over ten years, returning 1,165% while SAP only returned 61.77%.