Figma Shares Drop 7% After Earnings Beat as AI Strategy Takes Hold

Figma shares fell 7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday despite the company posting third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street estimates. The drop followed an announcement that the firm is prioritizing long-term growth through artificial intelligence features, a strategy that requires short-term investment in customer value rather than immediate revenue maximization.

The company reported adjusted earnings of 10 cents per share, double the 5 cents expected by analysts. Revenue reached $391.4 million, up from a consensus forecast of $375.8 million. This represents 43% year-over-year growth. Figma’s net loss narrowed to $81.3 million, or 15 cents per share, compared to a loss of $1.10 billion a year earlier. The adjusted operating margin hit 12%, well above the 6.1% consensus.

Management raised its full-year outlook. Figma now projects an operating margin of 11%, up from the 9% estimate set in August. Revenue guidance increased to a range of $1.497 billion to $1.499 billion, surpassing the previous estimate of $1.463 billion to $1.467 billion. Analysts had predicted $1.471 billion for the year. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue growth to slow to approximately 33%, which is still higher than the 28% growth predicted by analysts.

Finance chief Praveer Melwani explained the strategic shift to CNBC, stating that Figma is trading off near-term revenue to invest in customers for durable long-term growth. The company began offering more AI credits to clients during the quarter while keeping prices stable. Weekly users from organizations spending over $10,000 on Figma who used AI credits grew by nearly 50%. The share of work performed by Figma’s own AI model doubled, and the rate of users undoing AI-generated work decreased.

This move comes one day after Canva, another design software startup, announced it would cut 22% of its employees. Figma shares have declined by about 41% in 2026, while the S&P 500 has risen 12%. Investors had previously worried that AI models would pose a competitive threat to the platform. Co-founder and CEO Dylan Field said the company is increasing its focus on cybersecurity, noting that AI agents have recently infiltrated systems at other tech firms like Hugging Face.

Figma executives will discuss the financial results and strategic outlook with analysts during a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.