Adobe is betting big on AI-powered marketing with a $1.9 billion all-cash deal to buy Semrush. The transaction is entirely cash, with Adobe putting $12 on the table for every Semrush share, a hefty jump from the stock’s recent $6.76 close, translating to a roughly 77.5% premium. Bringing Semrush into its ecosystem gives Adobe a stronger foundation of real-time visibility data at a moment when marketers need to understand how their brands surface across both traditional search engines and fast-rising AI assistants.
With the boardroom approvals locked in, the acquisition now heads to regulators for the final green light. Both companies expect the acquisition to be finalized in the first half of 2026, assuming no significant regulatory hurdles arise. And once the transaction closes, the widely adopted SEO and analytics platform’s technology and engineering teams will join Adobe’s marketing operations.
Adobe’s latest move signals a full-on shift toward a marketing stack designed for the generative-AI age. Semrush has expanded its capabilities in recent years to help companies track how their brands appear not just on Google or Bing but across AI-driven platforms. With the acquisition, the San Jose–based software giant plans to plug Semrush’s massive dataset and analytics engine directly into its Experience Cloud. The aim is to offer enterprise clients a unified picture of how consumers encounter their brands across websites, social platforms, search engines, and the emerging layer of AI-generated responses.
For Semrush, the buyout arrives as the company navigates a mix of growth and mounting pressure. The company’s Q2 2025 revenue climbed 20% to $108.9 million, though it still reported a GAAP operating loss of $4.3 million. Non-GAAP operating income reached $12 million, with margins sliding to 11.0% from 13.4%. While enterprise adoption is accelerating, Semrush continues to take hits in its lower-tier segment, where churn and customer acquisition costs remain persistently high.
The latest move also comes as Adobe is pushing aggressively into AI. In late 2023, it acquired Bengaluru-based Rephrase.ai, a startup that turns text into video, signaling its focus on creative AI tools. Financially, the company is still strong. Its Q3 FY25 revenue hit $5.99 billion, up 10% year over year, with AI-related ARR surpassing $5 billion. But not everything is smooth. Adobe’s stock has fallen more than 20% this year as investors question how quickly its generative AI projects (including Firefly) can become profitable, even with updated FY25 revenue guidance of $23.6-$23.7 billion.
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