Adobe vs Salesforce

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Adobe and Salesforce side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:

Salesforce is the larger business, with $41.5B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $23.8B for Adobe, about 1.7 times as much.
Adobe grew revenue faster (10.5%, against 9.6%).
Adobe kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (36.6% operating margin, against 20.1%).
Adobe turned more of its sales into free cash flow (41.5% FCF margin, against 34.7%).
Adobe earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (65.9%, against 10.8%).
Investors pay more for each dollar of Salesforce’s earnings: a P/E of 22.6x against 14.4x for Adobe.

Who comes out ahead

Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.

Adobe

ADBE

9/11

Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change

Salesforce

CRM

1/11

5-year growth

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	ADBE FY25	CRM FY26
Size
Market cap	$102.3B	$203.3B
Revenue	$23.8B	$41.5B
Free cash flow	$9.9B	$14.4B
Net income	$7.1B	$7.5B
Growth
Revenue growth	10.5%	9.6%
5-year growth	13.1%	14.3%
Share count change	−5.1%	−1.9%
Profitability
Gross margin	89.3%	77.7%
Operating margin	36.6%	20.1%
Net margin	30.0%	18.0%
FCF margin	41.5%	34.7%
Return on capital	65.9%	10.8%
Return on equity	55.4%	12.4%
Balance sheet
Net debt	−$385M	$5.4B
Net debt / EBITDA	−0.0x	0.6x
Dividends and buybacks	$11.3B	$14.2B
Valuation & quality
P/E	14.4x	22.6x
Piotroski F-score	7	7

Ten years

Revenue

FY17

ADBE $7.3B

CRM $8.4B

FY18

ADBE $9.0B

CRM $10.5B

FY19

ADBE $11.2B

CRM $13.3B

FY20

ADBE $12.9B

CRM $17.1B

FY21

ADBE $15.8B

CRM $21.3B

FY22

ADBE $17.6B

CRM $26.5B

FY23

ADBE $19.4B

CRM $31.4B

FY24

ADBE $21.5B

CRM $34.9B

FY25

ADBE $23.8B

CRM $37.9B

FY26

ADBE —

CRM $41.5B

FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

ADBE CRM

Operating margin

FY17

ADBE 29.7%

CRM 2.6%

FY18

ADBE 31.5%

CRM 4.3%

FY19

ADBE 29.3%

CRM 4.0%

FY20

ADBE 32.9%

CRM 1.7%

FY21

ADBE 36.8%

CRM 2.1%

FY22

ADBE 34.6%

CRM 2.1%

FY23

ADBE 34.3%

CRM 3.3%

FY24

ADBE 31.4%

CRM 14.4%

FY25

ADBE 36.6%

CRM 19.0%

FY26

ADBE —

CRM 20.1%

FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

ADBE CRM

Free cash flow

FY17

ADBE $2.7B

CRM $1.7B

FY18

ADBE $3.8B

CRM $2.2B

FY19

ADBE $4.0B

CRM $2.8B

FY20

ADBE $5.3B

CRM $3.7B

FY21

ADBE $6.9B

CRM $4.1B

FY22

ADBE $7.4B

CRM $5.3B

FY23

ADBE $6.9B

CRM $6.3B

FY24

ADBE $7.9B

CRM $9.5B

FY25

ADBE $9.9B

CRM $12.4B

FY26

ADBE —

CRM $14.4B

FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

ADBE CRM

Return on capital

FY17

ADBE 37.9%

CRM 3.8%

FY18

ADBE 35.6%

CRM 5.0%

FY19

ADBE 29.0%

CRM 4.9%

FY20

ADBE 38.7%

CRM 0.7%

FY21

ADBE 40.0%

CRM 1.5%

FY22

ADBE 39.1%

CRM 1.1%

FY23

ADBE 44.4%

CRM 0.9%

FY24

ADBE 47.7%

CRM 7.4%

FY25

ADBE 65.9%

CRM 10.7%

FY26

ADBE —

CRM 10.8%

FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

ADBE CRM

Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.