Salesforce Stock vs Competition: Who Wins?
Salesforce‘s stock has underperformed over the past year, but how does it truly stack up against peers navigating the evolving enterprise software landscape? A closer look reveals solid profitability and strong free cash flow generation, coupled with a moderate valuation, yet its revenue growth is more tempered amidst fierce competition from rapidly scaling niche cloud and SaaS pure-plays.
- Profitability: CRM’s 22.0% operating margin, while solid, trails MSFT’s 46.7%, reflecting MSFT’s diversified cloud and software dominance.
- Growth: CRM’s 8.4% revenue growth lags peers, indicating slower AI monetization and cautious enterprise spending impacting core CRM.
- Valuation: CRM’s stock fell 43.2%, underperforming MSFT/ORCL, and at 24.2 PE, signals investor concern over AI monetization and growth.
Here’s how Salesforce stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| CRM | MSFT | ORCL | ADBE | NOW | HUBS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 174.7 | 2,949.1 | 441.0 | 108.6 | 110.0 | 13.0 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 40.3 | 305.5 | 61.0 | 23.8 | 13.3 | 3.1 |
| PE Ratio | 24.2 | 24.7 | 28.6 | 15.2 | 63.0 | 282.6 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 8.4% | 16.7% | 11.1% | 10.5% | 20.9% | 19.2% |
| LTM Operating Margin | 22.0% | 46.7% | 31.9% | 36.6% | 13.7% | 0.4% |
| LTM FCF Margin | 32.0% | 25.3% | -21.6% | 41.4% | 34.1% | 18.4% |
| 12M Market Return | -43.2% | -2.1% | -10.7% | -43.4% | -46.3% | -69.5% |
For more details on Salesforce, read Buy or Sell CRM Stock. Below we compare CRM’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | 8.4% | 8.7% | 11.2% | 18.3% |
| MSFT | 16.7% | 14.9% | 15.7% | 6.9% |
| ORCL | 11.1% | 8.4% | 6.0% | 17.7% |
| ADBE | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| NOW | 20.9% | 20.9% | 22.4% | 23.8% |
| HUBS | 19.2% | 19.2% | 21.1% | 25.4% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | 22.0% | 20.2% | 17.2% | 5.9% |
| MSFT | 46.7% | 45.6% | 44.6% | 41.8% |
| ORCL | 31.9% | 31.5% | 30.3% | 27.6% |
| ADBE | 36.6% | 36.6% | 36.0% | 34.3% |
| NOW | 13.7% | 13.7% | 12.4% | 8.5% |
| HUBS | 0.4% | 0.4% | -2.4% | -4.8% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | 24.2 | 41.1 | 78.7 | 1255.0 |
| MSFT | 24.7 | 35.3 | 35.5 | 38.7 |
| ORCL | 28.6 | 43.7 | 43.7 | 33.4 |
| ADBE | 15.2 | 20.9 | 35.8 | 50.2 |
| NOW | 63.0 | 90.9 | 153.1 | 83.3 |
| HUBS | 282.6 | 458.5 | 7705.1 | -176.0 |
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