ADOBE INC. vs Salesforce, Inc., two Software stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ADBE and CRM diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), ADBE reads -2.3% and CRM reads +6.3%; on return on invested capital, ADBE reads 38.3% and CRM reads 9.2%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's ADBE price has a different growth bar priced in than CRM (-2.3% implied for ADBE vs +6.3% for CRM); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What ADBE's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What CRM's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ADBE | CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $223.70 | $163.36 |
| Market cap | $90.0B | $142.3B |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -2.3% | +6.3% |
| P/E | 12.8 | 18.9 |
| P/B | 7.82 | 4.16 |
| P/S | 3.57 | 3.32 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.8 | 13.8 |
| Revenue growth | +11.5% | +10.9% |
| Gross margin | 89.2% | 76.9% |
| Operating margin | 33.8% | 21.1% |
| Net margin | 28.7% | 15.6% |
| Return on equity | 62.8% | 19.5% |
| Return on assets | 24.1% | 6.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 38.3% | 9.2% |
| FCF yield | 11.4% | 10.3% |
| Debt / equity | 0.58 | 1.15 |
| Current ratio | 0.75 | 0.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.18 | 1.90 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.