By Zaheer Kachwala

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Figma FIG.N forecast annual revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, as the design software maker anticipates robust demand and bets on its efforts to expand its user base.

The company has banked on generative artificial intelligence as a strategic tool to stand out in a crowded industry dominated by Adobe ADBE.O while also seeking out acquisitions to bolster its products.

"The core sort of thesis for us is that as AI gets better, Figma gets better... what we want to be able to do is to provide folks the infinite canvas that allows them to explore the ideas and then explore those ideas much more quickly," CFO Praveer Melwani told Reuters.

Figma expects 2026 revenue of between $1.36 billion and $1.37 billion, compared with estimates of $1.29 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Revenue for the fourth quarter came in at $303.8 million, beating estimates of $293.2 million. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 8 cents per share, compared with estimates of a profit of 7 cents.

Fourth-quarter operating expenses nearly tripled.

"There's a way that stock-based compensation $(SBC)$ gets calculated and gets burned off there. It's an accelerated attribution method, you take large expense hits in those first couple quarters, post going public," Melwani said.

Figma went public in July last year in a blockbuster debut that saw its shares gain 250% on the first day of trading, but the stock has slumped around 80% since then.

The company projected first-quarter revenue of between $315 million and $317 million, while analysts were expecting $291.9 million.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

((Zaheer.Kachwala@thomsonreuters.com;))