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 -2.1% and CRM reads +19.0%; on return on assets, ADBE reads 24.3% and CRM reads 5.2%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's ADBE price has a different growth bar priced in than CRM (-2.1% implied for ADBE vs +19.0% 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 | $242.21 | $229.11 |
| Market cap | $95.8B | $188.1B |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -2.1% | +19.0% |
| P/E | 13.5 | 20.9 |
| P/B | 8.14 | 4.90 |
| P/S | 3.69 | 4.28 |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.0 | 17.3 |
| Revenue growth | +12.0% | +11.2% |
| Gross margin | 88.7% | 76.7% |
| Operating margin | 34.8% | 20.6% |
| Net margin | 28.1% | 13.1% |
| Return on equity | 61.9% | 14.9% |
| Return on assets | 24.3% | 5.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 39.6% | 8.7% |
| FCF yield | 11.1% | 8.1% |
| Debt / equity | 0.54 | 1.02 |
| Current ratio | 0.77 | 0.84 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.53 | 2.35 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 5 / 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.