CRM — Salesforce, Inc.
Snapshot dated September 28, 2026.
Salesforce, Inc. provides a cloud-based customer relationship management platform that integrates sales, service, marketing, and commerce functions for businesses. Its primary revenue streams come from subscriptions for its core Customer 360 platform, which includes applications like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud, alongside a growing data and analytics portfolio featuring Tableau and MuleSoft. The company serves organizations ranging from small businesses to large enterprises across virtually every major industry, operating primarily on a recurring subscription model. As a leader in the enterprise software-as-a-service market, it competes against major technology conglomerates and specialized cloud software providers. Salesforce has recently focused its operational strategy on improving profitability through margin expansion and cost control initiatives, rather than solely prioritizing aggressive revenue growth. The company maintains a global footprint, with headquarters in San Francisco and operations spanning major markets worldwide.
Fair Value / Share
$400.05
Price on September 28, 2026
$231.50
Upside to fair value
72.81%
Margin of safety 42.1%
Upside is measured against what you pay; margin of safety is measured against what the business is worth.
Data by Equibles and SEC filings. Figures are as of September 28, 2026 and are not live.
Earnings Yield
Earnings Yield shows how much profit a company generates relative to its share price. EPS ÷ Stock Price.
Stock Price
$231.50
Market Cap
$190,061,500,000
Net Income (TTM)
$9,662,000,000
Diluted Shares
821.0 million
EPS (TTM)
$11.77
Earnings Yield
5.08%
AI Analysis
Salesforce currently has an earnings yield of 5.08%, which is derived from an EPS (TTM) of $11.77 divided by its share price of $231.50. This figure sits just above the 4-5% annual return typically found in safer, guaranteed alternatives like bonds. When the yield aligns closely with this benchmark, it suggests the price is not heavily discounting the company's future growth potential, but rather reflecting a market expectation that current earnings levels are sustainable. If the company’s net income were to increase or the share price to decrease, the earnings yield would rise. Conversely, if earnings growth slows, the yield would compress. This measure does not capture future cash flow projections, debt obligations, or the capital expenditures required to maintain the company's software infrastructure.
Return on Capital
EBIT ÷ (Net Working Capital + Net Fixed Assets) — how efficiently the business turns capital into profit.
EBIT (TTM)
$8,735,000,000
Net Working Capital
-$12,563,000,000
Net Fixed Assets
$3,042,000,000
Invested Capital
-$9,521,000,000
Return on Capital
Capital-free operations
This business operates on negative invested capital — customers pay in advance, so the business funds itself rather than tying up capital. Combined with positive EBIT, that is the strongest possible outcome in this framework, not a missing result.
AI Analysis
Salesforce (CRM) presents a unique case within this framework because its invested capital is -$9.5B, while its EBIT is $8.7B. Because the denominator is negative, a standard return on capital percentage is not applicable. Rather than being an error or a weak result, this represents the strongest outcome this measurement can identify: the business requires no capital of its own to operate and still generates significant profit. This negative invested capital figure is driven by the company's business model, which collects payments from customers in advance, effectively allowing them to fund operations without additional capital investment. This metric does not account for the specific industry dynamics or the high levels of reinvestment required for early-growth or cloud-based service businesses, which can sometimes impact capital intensity in ways that don't reflect operational inefficiency.
Acquirer's Multiple
Enterprise Value ÷ Operating Earnings — how many years of operating earnings it would take to buy the whole business.
| Company | Operating earnings | Enterprise value | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORCLOracle Corp | $23.1B | $375.2B | 16.3x |
| MSFTMicrosoft Corp | $155.2B | $3.8T | 24.7x |
| CRMSalesforce, Inc. | $8.7B | $221B | 25.3x |
Where CRM sits: 25.3x against a peer median of 20.5x (peers: 24.7x and 16.3x) — 23.6% above the median.
Show the enterprise value bridge for each companyHide the enterprise value bridge
CRM
Debt $39.3B. This is the company's reported total debt — borrowings due within a year plus long-term borrowings. The company separately reports $2.5B of operating lease liabilities as of 2026-07-31 ($1.9B non-current, $531M current). These are excluded from debt because operating lease cost already sits inside operating earnings — counting the liability again as debt would charge the business twice for the same thing.
MSFT
Named as a competitor: competes directly in CRM and business applications with Dynamics 365
Debt $40.3B. This is the company's reported total debt — borrowings due within a year plus long-term borrowings. The company separately reports $16.5B of operating lease liabilities as of 2026-06-30. These are excluded from debt because operating lease cost already sits inside operating earnings — counting the liability again as debt would charge the business twice for the same thing.
ORCL
Named as a competitor: competes in enterprise cloud applications and customer experience software
Debt $8.4B. This is reported total debt, including $9.2B of finance lease obligations ($749M + $8.4B in the filing). Finance leases are counted as debt because they are a borrowing in substance — the company has committed to fixed payments for an asset it effectively owns.
Operating earnings — CRM
AI Analysis
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) has an Acquirer's Multiple of 25.3x, derived from an enterprise value of $221B and TTM operating earnings of $8.7B. Among the peers, Microsoft (MSFT) has an Acquirer's Multiple of 24.7x based on an enterprise value of $3.8T and operating earnings of $155.2B. Oracle (ORCL) has an Acquirer's Multiple of 16.3x based on an enterprise value of $375.2B and operating earnings of $23.1B. Oracle has the lowest multiple, while Salesforce has the highest among these three companies. This results in CRM’s multiple being 25.3x against a peer median of 20.5x (peers: 24.7x and 16.3x) — 23.6% above the median. This comparison would shift if the companies' capital structures diverged significantly or if differences in operating margins—driven by product mix or efficiency—were to narrow or widen relative to one another.
FS-Score
A 10-check read on financial health, across profitability, balance-sheet stability and operating momentum.
FS-Score
9/10
This company scores high on profitability, stability, and momentum.
Section 1
Current Profitability
3/3
This section is Strong, with the company demonstrating positive returns and high-quality earnings supported by cash flow.
- Return on Assets of 6.64% indicates the business is generating positive profit relative to its asset base.
- Free Cash Flow to Total Assets reached 12.82%, showing significant cash generation capacity.
- A CFO / Net Income ratio of 2.01 suggests that accounting profits are fully backed by cash flow from operations.
The score reflects high current earning power, which would only weaken if net income fell into negative territory or if cash flows began to lag significantly behind reported profits.
Return on Assets (ROA > 0)
PassFree Cash Flow to Total Assets (FCFTA > 0)
PassAccruals (CFO / Net Income > 1)
PassSection 2
Stability
2/3
This section is Mixed, as a minor increase in debt levels was offset by share buybacks and a specialized adjustment for the company's subscription model.
- Leverage rose slightly from 0.08 to 0.09, resulting in a failed check for debt stability.
- Liquidity improved under the framework's exemption, as current assets cover non-deferred obligations 2.2 times over despite a raw current ratio of 0.76.
- Net dilution was negative as the annual weighted average share count decreased from 974.0 million shares to 956.0 million shares.
Financial stability here is defined by the management of share counts and cash obligations, and would improve further if long-term debt were reduced relative to total assets.
Change in Leverage (↓ or unchanged)
FailChange in Liquidity (↑ Current Ratio)
PassCustomers pay in advance here: 66% of what this company owes within the year is revenue it has already collected but not yet delivered, not money it has to pay out. A current ratio below 1 is how this business model works, not a warning sign — setting that revenue aside, current assets cover the remaining obligations 2.2 times over.
Net Dilution (annual diluted weighted-average shares, this year vs last)
PassSection 3
Recent Operational Improvements
4/4
This section is Strong, showing year-over-year gains in every operational metric tracked by the score.
- Return on Assets improved from 6.02% to 6.64%, indicating increased efficiency.
- Free Cash Flow to Total Assets trended upward from 12.08% to 12.82%.
- Gross Margin expanded from 77.19% to 77.68%, suggesting better cost control or pricing power.
- Asset Turnover increased from 0.37 to 0.37, showing more revenue generated per dollar of assets.
These results indicate a business that is becoming more efficient over time, a trend that would reverse if margins compressed or asset utilization slowed.
Change in ROA (↑)
PassChange in FCFTA (↑)
PassChange in Gross Margin (↑)
PassChange in Asset Turnover (↑)
PassFramework conclusion
The total score of 9/10 indicates strong financial stability, driven by high profitability and consistent operational improvements. This high score suggests that the company’s current financial health is robust, meaning any perceived cheapness in the stock is more likely to be a result of market mispricing than fundamental business deterioration. The score provides a snapshot of current health and recent trends but does not predict future market performance or account for external economic shifts.
- Return on Assets improved year-over-year to 6.64%.
- Cash-backed earnings are strong with a CFO / Net Income ratio of 2.01.
- Shareholders are being concentrated as diluted shares fell to 956.0 million.
- The business model carries a current ratio of 0.76 due to deferred revenue, but maintains high underlying liquidity.
Intrinsic Value (DCF)
A 10-year discounted cash flow, then the bridge from business value to value per share.
Reported cash flow → unlevered free cash flow
Free Cash Flow (reported)
$15.2B
+ After-Tax Interest Expense
$271.7M
= Unlevered Free Cash Flow
$15.4B
Business value (10-year DCF)
PV of Years 1–10
$135.8B
PV of Terminal Value
$223.6B
= Business Value
$359.4B
Terminal value share
62.21%
Business value → share value
Intrinsic Value (business)
$359.4B
+ Cash & Equivalents
$8.3B
− Debt
$39.3B
= Shareholders' Value
$328.4B
÷ Diluted Shares
821.0 million
= Fair Value / Share
$400.05
Divided by 821.0 million diluted shares — the weighted-average diluted count from the most recent quarterly income statement, for the quarter ended 2026-07-31.
Risk bucket → discount rate
low (9%)
Year-1 FCF
$15.4B
Trailing twelve months.
FY2024 $9.5B · FY2025 $12.4B · FY2026 $14.4B
Growth rate (yrs 1–10)
8%
Terminal growth (after yr 10)
3%
AI Analysis
The 9% discount rate is applied based on a low-risk classification, reflecting the company’s dominant enterprise software position, consistent recurring revenue streams, and predictable cash flow generation. The 8.00% growth rate applied over the next decade balances the company’s strong history of free cash flow compounding against the reality of scaling over a long period. This forecast begins with a fixed Year-1 unlevered free cash flow of $15.4B. The terminal growth rate is 3%, which is fixed for every company in this model rather than chosen, to represent a conservative long-term economic assumption. Because the terminal value accounts for 62.2% of the total business value, the majority of this estimate relies on expectations for the far future. After accounting for the business's cash and debt, the computed fair value per share is $400.05. Compared to the current price of $231.50, the upside to fair value is 72.81%. The model indicates a margin of safety of 42.1%, which serves as the buffer the estimate carries for potential forecasting errors. Given the high share of the total value derived from the terminal period, this result is most sensitive to the growth rate assumption, as any variation in that long-term percentage significantly shifts the terminal value calculation.
Overall Verdict
How the five signals above stack up together, then the full synthesis.
Earnings Yield
5.08% vs ~4-5% bond-yield benchmark
Return on Capital
Capital-free operations — negative invested capital, positive EBIT
Acquirer's Multiple
25.3x against a peer median of 20.5x (peers: 24.7x and 16.3x) — 23.6% above the median.
FS-Score
9/10 — Financial rockstar
Intrinsic Value
72.81% upside to fair value
Salesforce displays a tension between its operational performance and its market pricing. The FS-Score of 9/10 and the green signal for Return on Capital reflect efficient operations, specifically characterized by capital-free operations where EBIT is generated despite negative invested capital. In contrast, the valuation metrics provide a mixed view: the Earnings Yield of 5.08% sits in the yellow, closely aligned with the 4-5% bond-yield benchmark, while the Acquirer's Multiple of 25.3x stands 23.6% above the 20.5x peer median. Simultaneously, the Intrinsic Value check suggests a 72.81% upside to fair value, with a calculated margin of safety of 42.1%. These metrics measure the divergence between the firm's underlying financial strength and the current premium applied to its enterprise value relative to peers. A shift in the Acquirer's Multiple would most significantly alter this overall picture, as it currently acts as the primary constraint on an otherwise favorable set of operational and intrinsic value readings.
Comments
Notes from readers on CRM — one each. Comments stay with the company, so they carry across to a later snapshot, and each one shows the date it was written.
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