VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
WIDE MOAT STOCKS & COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
Salesforce, Inc. CRM
NYSEApplication softwareFinancials to Jul 31, 2026 · Updated Oct 7, 2026
Moat ranks
Balance sheet
| $B | Jan 31 | Jul 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | 7.3 | 8.3 |
| Securities | 2.2 | 3.1 |
| Debt | 14.4 | 39.3 |
| Net cash | -4.9 | -27.9 |
| Equity | 59.1 | 38.4 |
- Debt / EBITDA
- 3.10×
- Debt / equity
- 1.02×
- Leases (7/31/26)
- $3.1B
- Diluted shares
- 821M
- Book value / share
- $46.75
- Price / book
- 4.8×
- Net cash / share
- −$33.96
- Market cap
- $185.2B
- Enterprise value
- $213.1B
Per-share record
Key indicators
| Indicator | Latest | Vs year ago | Last 8 quarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 10.8% | +1.1 pts | |
| Operating margin | 20.5% | -2.2 pts | |
| FCF margin | 9.7% | +3.8 pts | |
| Capex / revenue | 1.5% | +0.2 pts | |
| Current remaining performance obligations | ~$33.5B | +14% | |
| Remaining performance obligations | ~$66.3B | +11% | |
| Subscription attrition | ~8.0% | 0.0 pts | |
| Agentforce Apps revenue | $7.2B | +8% | |
| Data and platform revenue | $3.6B | +20% |
Margins and growth from reported quarters; company KPIs as reported in results releases.
About CRM
Salesforce sells customer-management applications, collaboration tools and the data platform that connects them. Recast FY2026 revenue was about 64% applications, 31% data and platform, and 5% professional services.
- Data Workflow Lockin
Configured customer data, workflows, business rules and training make migration costly.
- Suite Bundling
Shared data and integrated applications support cross-selling: over 70% of Fortune 100 companies used both Agentforce and Data 360 at FY2026 year-end.
- Ecosystem Complements
The marketplace and trained partner base make Salesforce easier to extend and implement.
- Data Workflow Lockin
Integration flows, governed data models, metadata and dashboards require rework and testing to replace.
- Sep 16, 2026
A Salesforce core-service disruption affected customer-facing instances across regions. Service recovered that day; the incident highlights reliability risk in critical customer workflows.
- Sep 14, 2026
A federal court denied most of Salesforce’s dismissal request in customer-security litigation. Some consumer-law theories were dismissed, but remaining claims carry unquantified legal and trust risk.
- Sep 10, 2026
Salesforce completed the Fin acquisition, adding AI customer-service agents and a customer base of more than 30,000 companies.
- Sep 1, 2026
Salesforce completed the Contentful acquisition, adding a content platform to connect customer data with personalized digital experiences.
- Apr 2026
Salesforce acquired Qualified for $1.2 billion of consideration, principally $1.1 billion cash, adding AI marketing technology and talent.
Ownership
Go deeper on CRM
- Compare stock research toolsFundamentals, valuation and screening platforms for CRM.18 tools
- See CRM's price chartNo price chart here yet. See price history and indicators.17 tools
- Read CRM's earnings callsTranscripts and audio of results calls, with management's own words.16 tools
- Investing tool dealsCurrent discounts on research, charting and tracking tools.80 deals
On this page
Financial record
| Fiscal year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | TTM | Trend | Change 2017–26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per share ($) | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 12.05 | 14.34 | 17.14 | 20.12 | 22.85 | 27.20 | 31.45 | 35.42 | 38.91 | 43.44 | 53.52 | +15.3%/yr | |
| Cash flow | 3.09 | 3.73 | 4.38 | 5.10 | 5.16 | 6.16 | 7.13 | 10.40 | 13.44 | 15.69 | 19.18 | +19.8%/yr | |
| Earnings | 0.46 | 0.49 | 1.43 | 0.15 | 4.38 | 1.48 | 0.21 | 4.20 | 6.36 | 7.80 | 11.77 | +36.9%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | 2.43 | 3.00 | 3.62 | 4.34 | 4.40 | 5.42 | 6.33 | 9.65 | 12.77 | 15.06 | 18.46 | +22.5%/yr | |
| Capex | 0.66 | 0.73 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.76 | 0.74 | 0.80 | 0.75 | 0.68 | 0.62 | 0.73 | -0.7%/yr | |
| Dividends | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.58 | 1.66 | 1.85 | – | |
| Book value | 11.76 | 14.12 | 20.14 | 39.86 | 44.62 | 59.68 | 58.53 | 60.62 | 62.81 | 61.86 | 46.75 | +20.3%/yr | |
| Diluted shares (M) | 700 | 735 | 775 | 850 | 930 | 974 | 997 | 984 | 974 | 956 | 821 | +3.5%/yr | |
| Totals ($B) | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 8.4 | 10.5 | 13.3 | 17.1 | 21.3 | 26.5 | 31.4 | 34.9 | 37.9 | 41.5 | 43.9 | +19.4%/yr | |
| Operating income | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 8.7 | +49.9%/yr | |
| Net income | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 9.7 | +41.7%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 9.5 | 12.4 | 14.4 | 15.2 | +26.8%/yr | |
| Buybacks | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 12.6 | 35.1 | – | |
| Dividends | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | – | |
| Net cash | 0.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 5.3 | 9.3 | -0.1 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 5.6 | -4.9 | -27.9 | −$5.1B | |
| Margins & returns (%) | |||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 73.5 | 73.7 | 74.0 | 75.2 | 74.4 | 73.5 | 73.3 | 75.5 | 77.2 | 77.7 | 77.3 | +4.2 pts | |
| Operating margin | 2.6 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 14.4 | 19.0 | 20.1 | 19.9 | +17.5 pts | |
| Net margin | 3.8 | 3.4 | 8.4 | 0.7 | 19.2 | 5.5 | 0.7 | 11.9 | 16.4 | 18.0 | 22.0 | +14.1 pts | |
| FCF margin | 20.1 | 20.9 | 21.1 | 21.6 | 19.2 | 19.9 | 20.1 | 27.2 | 32.8 | 34.7 | 34.5 | +14.6 pts | |
| ROIC | 2.2 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 7.4 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.7 | +8.4 pts | |
| Return on equity | 3.9 | 3.5 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 9.8 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 6.9 | 10.1 | 12.6 | 25.2 | +8.7 pts | |
| R&D % of revenue | 14.3 | 14.7 | 14.2 | 16.2 | 16.9 | 16.9 | 16.1 | 14.1 | 14.5 | 14.4 | 14.5 | +0.1 pts | |
| Stock pay % of revenue | 9.7 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.3 | -1.3 pts | |
| Capex % of revenue | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.4 | -4.1 pts | |
Change uses 2017 and 2026 only: compound annual growth for amounts, points for margins and returns, and the change in amount for net cash. A dash means no 2017 base. Trend shows the fiscal years.
Moat
Moat scorecard
- Strength
- Confidence
- Structure
- Competitive
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stable
- Pricing power
- moderate
- Agentforce Apps (Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Slack)64.3%3 claims
- Data 360, Headless Platform & Integration/Analytics30.6%1 claim
- Professional Services & Other5.1%No moat
Moat claims
- Applies to
- Agentforce Apps (Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Slack)
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 7, 2026
Configured customer data, workflows, business rules and training make migration costly. Reported attrition remained about 8% at July 2026, but excludes Slack self-service, Informatica and current acquisitions. Ordinary 12–36 month contracts improve visibility during the term; they are not a separate source of permanent protection.
Reported July 2026 attrition remained about 8%, supporting embedded workflows, although Slack self-service, Informatica and current acquisitions are excluded.
- Current remaining performance obligations~$33.5B+14%
- Remaining performance obligations~$66.3B+11%
- Subscription attrition~8.0%0.0 pts
- Agentforce Apps revenue (annual)$26.7B+8%
- Agentforce Apps revenue$7.2B+8%
- Agentforce ARR (prior definition)$1.2B
- Agentforce ARR (expanded definition)≥$1.5B
- Improved data portability and API-first architectures reduce switching friction
- AI-native CRM entrants change buyer expectations and lower migration costs
- Competitor suites (e.g., Microsoft) consolidate front-office spend
- FilingSalesforce, Inc. Form 10-K (fiscal year ended January 31, 2026)Mar 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agentforce Apps (Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Slack)
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 7, 2026
Shared data and integrated applications support cross-selling: over 70% of Fortune 100 companies used both Agentforce and Data 360 at FY2026 year-end. This is a selected large-customer cohort, not a whole-customer attach rate. Microsoft and other suites can offer competing bundles, while complexity and seat reductions limit pricing.
Over 70% of Fortune 100 companies used both Agentforce and Data 360 at January 2026; cross-selling is supported, but selected cohorts do not prove broad pricing gains.
- Current remaining performance obligations~$33.5B+14%
- Remaining performance obligations~$66.3B+11%
- Agentforce Apps revenue (annual)$26.7B+8%
- Agentforce Apps revenue$7.2B+8%
- Agentforce ARR (prior definition)$1.2B
- Agentforce ARR (expanded definition)≥$1.5B
- Fortune 100 AI and data adoption≥70.0%
- Unbundling toward best-of-breed point solutions
- Budget pressure increases seat rationalization and cloud consolidation
- Competitors bundle CRM with broader suites (e.g., productivity + ERP)
- FilingSalesforce, Inc. Form 10-K (fiscal year ended January 31, 2026)Mar 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Agentforce Apps (Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Slack)
- Confidence
- Durability
- durable
- Trajectory
- wideningas of Oct 7, 2026
The marketplace and trained partner base make Salesforce easier to extend and implement. Salesforce reported over 14 million cumulative marketplace installs and 91% of customers using an AppExchange app in February 2026. These complements reinforce platform adoption, although partners can also support competing systems.
Cumulative marketplace installs rose from over 13 million at the March 2025 launch to over 14 million by February 2026, with 91% of customers using an app.
- Marketplace app installs≥14,000,000
- Customers using marketplace apps91.0%
- Partners multi-home and shift attention to other ecosystems
- Platform governance/pricing changes reduce partner ROI
- Third-party app security incidents reduce trust
- FilingSalesforce, Inc. Form 10-K (fiscal year ended January 31, 2026)Mar 2, 2026
- FilingSalesforce, Inc. Form 10-K (fiscal year ended January 31, 2026)Mar 2, 2026
- Applies to
- Data 360, Headless Platform & Integration/Analytics
- Confidence
- Durability
- medium
- Trajectory
- stableas of Oct 7, 2026
Integration flows, governed data models, metadata and dashboards require rework and testing to replace. Q2 FY2027 Data 360 ingested 104 trillion records, including 82 trillion through Zero Copy; this proves workload but not ownership of customer data. Open interfaces and external data platforms can reduce dependence, and category retention is not separately disclosed.
Q2 FY2027 Data 360 handled 104 trillion records, including 82 trillion through Zero Copy; workload deepens integration, while portability and undisclosed category retention limit the inference.
- Current remaining performance obligations~$33.5B+14%
- Remaining performance obligations~$66.3B+11%
- Data and platform revenue (annual)$12.7B+16%
- Data and platform revenue$3.6B+20%
- Data records ingested104,000.00B
- Data layer abstraction reduces dependence on any single analytics vendor
- Composable architectures reduce workflow coupling to one platform
Profile change log
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
A Salesforce core-service disruption affected customer-facing instances across regions. Service recovered that day; the incident highlights reliability risk in critical customer workflows.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
A federal court denied most of Salesforce’s dismissal request in customer-security litigation. Some consumer-law theories were dismissed, but remaining claims carry unquantified legal and trust risk.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce completed the Fin acquisition, adding AI customer-service agents and a customer base of more than 30,000 companies.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce completed the Contentful acquisition, adding a content platform to connect customer data with personalized digital experiences.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce acquired Qualified for $1.2 billion of consideration, principally $1.1 billion cash, adding AI marketing technology and talent.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce paid $25 billion under its March 11 accelerated repurchase agreements and received about 103 million shares initially; final settlement is expected in October 2026.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce issued $25 billion of senior notes to fund an accelerated repurchase, increasing leverage and interest expense while reducing shares.
- Oct 7, 2026 · business change
Salesforce completed the Informatica acquisition, expanding governed data integration and adding purchased revenue, amortization and financing demands.
- Oct 7, 2026 · analyst revision
Added retention and usage history with product exclusions and ARR definition changes; the debate separates software profit from portfolio gains and tests debt-funded capital returns.
- Oct 7, 2026 · analyst revision
The primary category competes across broad enterprise applications. Its former 20% share measured narrower IDC CRM revenue, so that fact now sits in market context rather than the segment share score; unsupported oligopoly classification was changed to competitive.
- Oct 7, 2026 · analyst revision
Revenue weights now use recast FY2026 totals. Ordinary 12–36 month subscriptions are no longer scored as a separate contract moat; workflow, suite and ecosystem claims remain. Professional services are verified without a moat from their substitutable delivery model and reported costs.
Industry & peers
Peer map
Hover a point for its values; click a peer to compare. Dashed lines: industry medians.
Global enterprise application software
Cloud and on-premise business applications including ERP, finance, HCM, CRM, supply chain, procurement, analytics, content management and collaboration, using Apps Run The World's enterprise-applications taxonomy. Excludes implementation consulting, core cloud infrastructure and consumer software; the market is broader than SAP's ERP-centered portfolio or IDC's narrower CRM application market.
| Stocks | Moat | Gross m. | Op. m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | 67 | 77.3% | 19.9% | |
| Industry median | 31 | 78 | 75.3% | 19.9% |
| Sector median | 77 | 75 | 64.9% | 23.6% |
| All stocks median | 398 | 76 | 52.9% | 19.6% |
Moat medians cover every stock. Margin medians count only stocks with collected numbers and need at least three.
Drivers & risks
- ERP modernization and migration of established customers create cloud demand; systems of record provide a base for adjacent applications.
- Integrated business data and workflow automation support demand for AI, but paid adoption must justify additional spend. Including AI across existing commercial tiers can broaden adoption, while extra revenue still depends on usage, editions and proven customer outcomes.
- Compliance, data residency and secure deployment requirements favor vendors with tested enterprise controls and implementation partners.
- Demand follows business investment and employment; multi-year subscriptions cushion slowdowns, while new deals and migration projects can be delayed.
- Currency changes affect international revenue translated into dollars or euros; implementation wages, cloud hosting and AI inference costs affect supplier margins. ServiceNow’s Q3 2026 cRPO outlook includes a $35 million currency headwind, while its current cost disclosures show rising cloud and infrastructure spending.
- Major migrations reopen vendor choice; Oracle, Microsoft, Workday and specialist applications can displace an incumbent.
- Interoperability, open data formats, antitrust remedies and data-access litigation reduce some forms of contractual dependence and support pricing power.
- High interest rates and weak business confidence can delay transformation budgets; debt-funded acquisitions and repurchases also increase supplier financing costs.
- AI may improve existing applications or let new entrants bypass them; product announcements do not prove adoption or pricing power.
- Cyber incidents, failed implementations and cloud outages can weaken trust in mission-critical systems. Unresolved government-contract compliance investigations, such as ServiceNow’s July 2026 disclosure, can also affect public-sector trust and procurement access. Healthcare deployments face patient-safety and government oversight requirements; expanding contract ceilings do not resolve delivery risk.
Bulls & bears
Can Salesforce turn its installed workflows and AI/data usage into durable software growth and cash returns without acquisitions, investment marks and debt-funded buybacks carrying the result?
Arguments
What to watch
- 1Attrition and current RPO, with acquisition and currency contributions separated
- 2Agentforce ARR on a consistent definition, Data 360 usage and cross-product adoption
- 3Operating income and cash flow, interest expense, debt and the final ASR settlement
Next check: Expected October 2026 ASR settlement and Q3 FY2027 results after Contentful and Fin closed; also watch customer-security proceedings and outage prevention. No official earnings date was verified by October 7.
Sources: company filings and dated sources collected for Find My Moat; market cap as of Oct 6, 2026. Not investment advice.
Free to reuse, commercially too, with a credit link. See the data license.
Moat Score 67/100 by <a href="https://www.findmymoat.com/stocks/XNYS:CRM">Find My Moat</a> (as of September 2026)Request update
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