# Salesforce.com (CRM.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/CRM

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:27:45.113Z. Financial observations: FY2001–FY2027.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: pass; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $246.74 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $136.32 per share, central $153.34 per share, high $176.01 per share. Buy at or below the central value $153.34 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:27:45.113Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 7.1% at the stated quote. About 7.1% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 0 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 0

- Years with a net loss: 0

- Operating margin variation: 0.76×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2018: 0.02×

- FY2019: 0.04×

- FY2020: 0.01×

- FY2021: 0.02×

- FY2022: 0.07×

- FY2023: 0.09×

- FY2024: 0.14×

- FY2025: 0.19×

- FY2026: 0.21×

- LTM to Jul 2026: 0.21×

### moat: fail

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 25.2%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 4.8%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -2.5 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 74.8%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 77.3%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 2.6%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 8.3%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2018: 14.7%

- FY2019: 33.7%

- FY2020: 2.0%

- FY2021: 4.8%

- FY2022: 12.9%

- FY2023: 16.7%

- FY2024: 44.4%

- FY2025: 82.8%

- FY2026: 79.3%

- LTM to Jul 2026: 77.3%

### economics: pass

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.75×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $34B

- Net income, five-year total: $19B

- Return on incremental invested capital: >100%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -5.1 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: -34.6 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 4.1%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2022: 2.79×

- FY2023: 15.37×

- FY2024: 1.78×

- FY2025: 1.45×

- FY2026: 1.41×

### management: pass

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2017 to 2026 (9 years)

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 14.9% vs 79.3%

- Per-share earnings: 0.17 to 6.36 (three-year endpoint medians)

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 3.7%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 0.6%

- Market cap gain: $141B

- Cumulative retained earnings: $23B

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 3.7%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 0.6%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2017

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2026

- Per-share value growth: 56.9%

- Per-share value change: $6.19

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $0.17

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $6.36

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 0.40

- Average buyback yield: 3.5%

- Buyback history: 4 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- Acquisition spending: $37B

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $25B

- ROIC, first three-year median: 14.9%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 79.3%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: $0.46

- FY2018: $0.17

- FY2019: $1.43

- FY2020: $0.15

- FY2021: $4.38

- FY2022: $1.48

- FY2023: $0.21

- FY2024: $4.20

- FY2025: $6.36

- FY2026: $7.80

### accounting: fail

- restructuring or one-time charges in at least three of five years

- stock compensation exceeds 15% of operating cash flow

- Sloan accruals: -6.7%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 1.10×

- Restructuring years, last five: 4

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 23.4%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 2.01×

- Accounting red flags: 2

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 1.09×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -10.5%

- FY2018: -12.4%

- FY2019: -7.4%

- FY2020: -7.6%

- FY2021: -1.1%

- FY2022: -4.8%

- FY2023: -7.0%

- FY2024: -6.1%

- FY2025: -6.7%

- FY2026: -6.7%

## Holders

- [Chuck Akre](https://gigainvestors.com/AC): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Matthew McLennan](https://gigainvestors.com/FE): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Bill Nygren](https://gigainvestors.com/HA): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Mark Hillman](https://gigainvestors.com/HCM): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Andrew Adams](https://gigainvestors.com/MPF): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Richard Pzena](https://gigainvestors.com/PIM): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Robert Vinall](https://gigainvestors.com/RVC): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Jeffrey Ubben](https://gigainvestors.com/VA): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [C.T. Fitzpatrick](https://gigainvestors.com/VVP): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

- [Wallace Weitz](https://gigainvestors.com/WIM): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 28% since Jan 2025 · "Salesforce core business neglected on AI pivot, DA Davidson says downgrading co" (finance.yahoo.com, Apr 2025) · sales +5.8%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:58:34.519Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to grow 7.3% a year for ten years

- 2025-10-22: Why Salesforce (CRM) Is Up 9.9% After Launching Agentforce 360 and Expanding AI Partnerships ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-salesforce-crm-9-9-071341526.html))

- 2025-12-04: Salesforce outlines $41.45B–$41.55B revenue target for FY26 as Agentforce adoption accelerates ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4528397-salesforce-outlines-41_45b-41_55b-revenue-target-for-fy26-as-agentforce-adoption-accelerates?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2026-05-28: Salesforce raises FY 2027 revenue guide to $45.9B-$46.2B while launching $25B accelerated share repurchase ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4597706-salesforce-raises-fy-2027-revenue-guide-to-45_9b-46_2b-while-launching-25b-accelerated-share?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2026-06-16: Salesforce (CRM) Stock Sees Fair Value Cut As Analysts Question AI Growth Path ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/salesforce-crm-stock-sees-fair-221337875.html))

- 2026-07-25: Salesforce (CRM) Lands $1.6 Billion VA Deal To Power Veteran Care ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/salesforce-crm-lands-1-6-020852466.html))

- 2026-08-28: CRM Q2 Deep Dive: AI-Powered Product Momentum and Flexible Pricing Drive Outperformance ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/crm-q2-deep-dive-ai-020107840.html))

### Sales · FY2026–2027

sales +5.8%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm; observed 2026-03-02.

- FY2018: $10B 

- FY2019: $13B 

- FY2020: $17B 

- FY2021: $21B 

- FY2022: $26B 

- FY2023: $31B 

- FY2024: $35B 

- FY2025: $38B 

- FY2026: $42B 

- FY2027: $44B 

### Gross margin · FY2027

gross margin 77.3%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm; observed 2026-03-02.

- FY2018: 73.5% 

- FY2019: 74.0% 

- FY2020: 75.2% 

- FY2021: 74.4% 

- FY2022: 73.5% 

- FY2023: 73.3% 

- FY2024: 75.5% 

- FY2025: 77.2% 

- FY2026: 77.7% 

- FY2027: 77.3% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in software application; annual sales are USD 41.5 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2026: revenue 41525000000; grossProfit 32255000000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); CRM.US: Salesforce, Inc. provides customer relationship management technology services that connect companies and customers together in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers Agentforce, which enables customers to build, deploy, and manage enterprise-grade, autonomous AI agents at scale, enabling humans and agents to work together; Agentforce Sales, an integrated platform that brings together the power of humans with AI agents to help sales teams for selling, managing, and automating entire sales processes; Agentforce Service, which enables companies in every industry to bring all of their customer, employee, IT, and field service needs onto one integrated AI-powered platform; Data 360, a data engine that gives AI agents their context and serves as the foundation for how customers unify service offerings, making their data actionable for both humans and agents; Informatica, an AI-powered data management platform that enables customers to discover, integrate, govern, and deliver trusted data at scale across hybrid and multi-cloud environments; and Slack, a conversational interface for the agentic enterprise where people and agents work together, connecting knowledge, actions, and data in real time. It also provides marketing platforms; commerce services, which empower shopping experiences across various customer touchpoints; integration and analytics solutions; Salesforce Starter, a suite for small and medium-sized businesses that brings sales, service, marketing, and commerce together; and a field service solution that enables companies to connect service agents, dispatchers, and mobile employees through one centralized platform to schedule and dispatch work, as well as track and manage jobs. It serves financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, automotive, and government sectors. Salesforce, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 75.5% to 77.7% during 2024–26; it earns 25.2% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 75.5%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 77.2%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2026: grossProfit / revenue = 77.7%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); 10-year return on capital observations [[2018,0.14738972161711172],[2019,0.33690176322418136],[2020,0.01967925659472422],[2021,0.04794520547945205],[2022,0.1287569251480945],[2023,0.16720165332864304],[2024,0.44447652748289695],[2025,0.8279827725287665],[2026,0.7926317650301156],[2027,0.7725404982599466]]; median 0.2520517082764122. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Can it raise prices

Kept about a 73% gross margin through 2022 cost inflation.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); Gross margin observations: [[2021,0.7441182006399397],[2022,0.7347878604861845],[2023,0.7333503444756315]]; range within 2 percentage points.

### Where the cash goes

Reinvests 88.3% of cash earnings; paid dividends in 4 of 10 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 463958000; cash acquisitions 3193000000; owner earnings 491042000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 6.502498767926165.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 534027000; cash acquisitions 25000000; owner earnings 346051000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.07224368662422591.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 595000000; cash acquisitions 5115000000; owner earnings 1477000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 3.4631008801624916.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2020: growth capex 0; upkeep 643000000; cash acquisitions 369000000; owner earnings 1618000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.2280593325092707.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 710000000; cash acquisitions 1281000000; owner earnings 6208000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.20634664948453607.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 717000000; cash acquisitions 14876000000; owner earnings 4025000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 3.6959006211180125.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 798000000; cash acquisitions 439000000; owner earnings 3196000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.13735919899874843.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2024: growth capex 0; upkeep 736000000; cash acquisitions 82000000; owner earnings 7359000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.01114281831770621.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); FY2025: growth capex 0; upkeep 658000000; cash acquisitions 2734000000; owner earnings 9016000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.30323868677905946.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2026: growth capex 0; upkeep 594000000; cash acquisitions 9268000000; owner earnings 10494000000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.8831713360015246.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); Dividend observations: [[2017,0],[2018,0],[2019,0],[2020,0],[2021,0],[2022,0],[2023,861000000],[2024,772000000],[2025,1537000000],[2026,1587000000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); FY2026: cash repurchases 12596000000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 3% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); CRM.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 2.9770000000000003 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What could break it

"Any interruptions or delays in services from third parties" (SEC filing, Mar 2026)

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm (filed 2026-03-02); Any interruptions or delays in services from third parties

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits grow 7.3% yearly over ten years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-03-02); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate 0.09162502048600463. Price 246.74; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2016 owner earnings/share -0.07167870480785071 → FY2026 10.976987447698745. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $75.16 per share

- 2016-11: $72.00 per share

- 2016-12: $68.46 per share

- 2017-01: $79.10 per share

- 2017-02: $81.35 per share

- 2017-03: $82.49 per share

- 2017-04: $86.12 per share

- 2017-05: $89.64 per share

- 2017-06: $86.60 per share

- 2017-07: $90.80 per share

- 2017-08: $95.49 per share

- 2017-09: $93.42 per share

- 2017-10: $102.34 per share

- 2017-11: $104.32 per share

- 2017-12: $102.23 per share

- 2018-01: $113.91 per share

- 2018-02: $116.25 per share

- 2018-03: $116.30 per share

- 2018-04: $120.99 per share

- 2018-05: $129.33 per share

- 2018-06: $136.40 per share

- 2018-07: $137.15 per share

- 2018-08: $152.68 per share

- 2018-09: $159.03 per share

- 2018-10: $137.24 per share

- 2018-11: $142.76 per share

- 2018-12: $136.97 per share

- 2019-01: $151.97 per share

- 2019-02: $163.65 per share

- 2019-03: $158.37 per share

- 2019-04: $165.35 per share

- 2019-05: $151.41 per share

- 2019-06: $151.73 per share

- 2019-07: $154.50 per share

- 2019-08: $156.07 per share

- 2019-09: $148.44 per share

- 2019-10: $156.49 per share

- 2019-11: $162.89 per share

- 2019-12: $162.64 per share

- 2020-01: $182.31 per share

- 2020-02: $170.40 per share

- 2020-03: $143.98 per share

- 2020-04: $161.95 per share

- 2020-05: $174.79 per share

- 2020-06: $187.33 per share

- 2020-07: $194.85 per share

- 2020-08: $272.65 per share

- 2020-09: $251.32 per share

- 2020-10: $232.27 per share

- 2020-11: $245.80 per share

- 2020-12: $222.53 per share

- 2021-01: $225.56 per share

- 2021-02: $216.50 per share

- 2021-03: $211.87 per share

- 2021-04: $230.32 per share

- 2021-05: $238.10 per share

- 2021-06: $244.27 per share

- 2021-07: $241.93 per share

- 2021-08: $265.27 per share

- 2021-09: $271.22 per share

- 2021-10: $299.69 per share

- 2021-11: $284.96 per share

- 2021-12: $254.13 per share

- 2022-01: $232.63 per share

- 2022-02: $210.53 per share

- 2022-03: $212.32 per share

- 2022-04: $175.94 per share

- 2022-05: $160.24 per share

- 2022-06: $165.04 per share

- 2022-07: $184.02 per share

- 2022-08: $156.12 per share

- 2022-09: $143.84 per share

- 2022-10: $162.59 per share

- 2022-11: $160.25 per share

- 2022-12: $132.59 per share

- 2023-01: $167.97 per share

- 2023-02: $163.61 per share

- 2023-03: $199.78 per share

- 2023-04: $198.37 per share

- 2023-05: $223.38 per share

- 2023-06: $211.26 per share

- 2023-07: $225.01 per share

- 2023-08: $221.46 per share

- 2023-09: $202.78 per share

- 2023-10: $200.83 per share

- 2023-11: $251.90 per share

- 2023-12: $263.14 per share

- 2024-01: $281.09 per share

- 2024-02: $308.82 per share

- 2024-03: $301.18 per share

- 2024-04: $268.94 per share

- 2024-05: $234.44 per share

- 2024-06: $257.10 per share

- 2024-07: $258.80 per share

- 2024-08: $252.90 per share

- 2024-09: $273.71 per share

- 2024-10: $291.37 per share

- 2024-11: $329.99 per share

- 2024-12: $334.33 per share

- 2025-01: $341.70 per share

- 2025-02: $297.85 per share

- 2025-03: $268.36 per share

- 2025-04: $268.71 per share

- 2025-05: $265.37 per share

- 2025-06: $272.69 per share

- 2025-07: $258.33 per share

- 2025-08: $256.25 per share

- 2025-09: $237.00 per share

- 2025-10: $260.41 per share

- 2025-11: $230.54 per share

- 2025-12: $264.91 per share

- 2026-01: $212.29 per share

- 2026-02: $194.79 per share

- 2026-03: $186.67 per share

- 2026-04: $176.53 per share

- 2026-05: $191.10 per share

- 2026-06: $156.66 per share

- 2026-07: $184.02 per share

- 2026-08: $257.54 per share

- 2026-09: $229.57 per share

- 2026-10: $238.01 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2019: low $12.95 per share, central $16.25 per share, high $18.17 per share

- FY2020: low $24.87 per share, central $31.58 per share, high $35.52 per share

- FY2021: low $36.05 per share, central $39.30 per share, high $43.64 per share

- FY2022: low $43.33 per share, central $47.89 per share, high $53.96 per share

- FY2023: low $50.14 per share, central $55.41 per share, high $62.42 per share

- FY2024: low $72.54 per share, central $80.65 per share, high $91.45 per share

- FY2025: low $103.41 per share, central $115.79 per share, high $132.27 per share

- FY2026: low $109.37 per share, central $123.19 per share, high $141.59 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

Prior published observations retained from 2026-10-15T06:33:25.514Z where newer inputs omit a numeric field or fiscal period.

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108524/000110852426000060/crm-20260131.htm); period 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-02.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.