The Buyout Case for Salesforce Is Real, but Marc Benioff Stands in the Way

• Salesforce (CRM) dropped 30% year-to-date to $184.29 and trades at a forward P/E of 14x.

• Salesforce generated $2.18B in free cash flow during Q3 and repurchased $3.8B in stock.

• Agentforce closed over 200 deals after its October 2025 launch as Salesforce hired 1,400 account executives.

• A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here.

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) stock has shed almost 30% year-to-date, closing at $184.29 on February 17, 2026, down sharply from the $264.91 year-end close. That discount raises a question investors rarely ask about dominant software franchises: could Salesforce go private?

Salesforce fits a classic leveraged buyout profile. The company generated $2.18 billion in free cash flow in Q3 FY2026 alone, with non-GAAP operating margins of 34.1%. Annual revenue stands at $40.3 billion, driven by predictable subscription income and 8.6% quarterly revenue growth.

At a market cap of $175 billion, the stock trades at a forward P/E of 14x, well below the analyst consensus price target of $323. That gap creates opportunity for financial buyers. Private equity firms like Vista Equity Partners and Thoma Bravo have built empires on this exact playbook: acquire undervalued software assets, optimize operations, then exit at higher multiples.

Management’s own actions signal that shares are cheap. Salesforce repurchased $3.8 billion in stock during Q3 alone, returning $4.2 billion total to shareholders, including dividends.

The primary obstacle to any go-private scenario is the CEO. Marc Benioff co-founded Salesforce and maintains significant influence. On the Q3 earnings call, he framed the company’s AI strategy in generational terms: “We are witnessing the emergence of digital labor. For the last 25 years, Salesforce has assisted companies in managing and sharing information… Recently, we’ve created a brand-new market – the market for digital labor.”

That’s not the language of a founder preparing to sell. Benioff is betting on Agentforce, the company’s AI platform that closed over 200 deals shortly after its October 24, 2025, launch, with 1,400 account executives being hired globally to capture demand.

Institutional ownership stands at 84.0%, but there’s no visible activist pressure. Director G. Mason Morfit purchased 96,000 shares at $260.58 on December 5, 2025, a $25 million vote of confidence at prices well above current levels.

The Q4 FY2026 earnings report on February 25, 2026, is the next inflection point. Analysts expect $3.03 EPS and $11.17 billion in revenue, with prediction markets assigning an 83% probability of a beat.

If results disappoint, activists may surface demanding board seats, cost cuts, or strategic reviews. Watch for 13D filings above 5%, board changes, or public shareholder letters as signals that outside pressure is building.

For now, Salesforce remains too large, too founder-controlled, and too focused on AI transformation for a near-term buyout. The ingredients exist: depressed valuation, strong cash generation, and a consolidating software market. The question isn’t whether Salesforce fits the profile. It’s whether anyone can convince Marc Benioff to consider it.

Most Americans drastically underestimate how much they need to retire and overestimate how prepared they are. But data shows that people with one habit have more than double the savings of those who don’t.

And no, it’s got nothing to do with increasing your income, savings, clipping coupons, or even cutting back on your lifestyle. It’s much more straightforward (and powerful) than any of that. Frankly, it’s shocking more people don’t adopt the habit given how easy it is.