Salesforce management check
CRM · Information Technology · Application Software · CEO Marc Benioff
Filings as of
5 good · 1 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $94, against $257 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.82 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.7% of net income$49.4m of reported pay in fiscal 2026, against $7.5bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are buying1 insider bought $999k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.2m.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.4% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 8.5% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
10 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Marc Benioff. 10 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2023.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 91 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 65 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 80 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 68 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 75 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Application Software, by management score. Salesforce is 24th of 73 in its sector.
- 72PLTRPalantir Technologies78
- 186FICOFair Isaac70
- 202CRMSalesforce68
- 264ADBEAdobe Inc.64
- 343DDOGDatadog59
- 350INTUIntuit58
- 405TYLTyler Technologies52
- 430ORCLOracle Corporation49
- 445CDNSCadence Design Systems47
- 456ADSKAutodesk44
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 16, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Marc Benioff | $49.4m | −$49.2m | $16.4m | $94 | $257 | $7.5bn |
| 2025 | — | $55.1m | $87.1m | $18.8m | $151 | $198 | $6.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $39.6m | $100.6m | $13.8m | $125 | $151 | $4.1bn |
| 2023 | — | $29.9m | −$15.6m | $15.9m | $74 | $97 | $208.0m |
| 2022 | — | $28.6m | $31.5m | $14.0m | $103 | $125 | $1.4bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Relative TSR. Its other key measures: Margin & Growth, Non-GAAP Income from Operations, Subscription and Support Revenue, Agentforce & Data 360 ARR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
1 insider bought $999k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.2m.
- BoughtDavid Blair KirkDirector$999kSep 18, 2026
- SoldCraig ConwayDirector$1.2mSep 4, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 1, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 5, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 28, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 1, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 9, 2025, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $35.2bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 181% of net income, and $15.5bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $26.5bn | $31.4bn | $34.9bn | $37.9bn | $41.5bn |
| Net income | $1.4bn | $208.0m | $4.1bn | $6.2bn | $7.5bn |
| Stock-based pay | $2.8bn | $3.3bn | $2.8bn | $3.2bn | $3.5bn |
| Buybacks | $0 | $4.0bn | $7.6bn | $7.8bn | $12.6bn |
| Dividends | — | $0 | $0 | $1.5bn | $1.6bn |
| Diluted shares | 974m | 997m | 984m | 974m | 956m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.