Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE) was up US$3.97 at $39.80 in morning trading Tuesday, after the software maker and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced an e-book alliance.
Adobe said that its Acrobat eBook Reader software will be offered through Amazon's e-book store. Almost 2,000 Adobe-based books will be sold on the site, and the alliance will be expanded to Amazon sites in France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom over the next year, the companies said.
By teaming with Amazon.com, Adobe will be able to offer consumers an interactive e-book reading experience "with the added ability to print content," said Michael Looney, Adobe's senior director of e-books.
Looney said the partnership should appeal to "mobile professionals" and students, who can use the site to buy and print material such as financial reports and course work.
Jeff Blackburn, general manager of worldwide digital at Amazon.com, commented that the various Adobe PDF titles "really illustrate the incredible versatility of digital content and its potential."
Adobe, based in San Jose, California, recently reported first-quarter results that topped analyst expectations. Revenue for the quarter ended March 2nd rose to $329 million from $282.2 million a year earlier, while earnings before extraordinary items totaled 33 cents per share. Net income rose to $69.8 million, or 28 cents per share, from $64.6 million, or 26 cents.
In January, the company had lowered its
targets for the quarter, saying a "deteriorating economy" was hurting
business, particularly in the United States.
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