How to buy Salesforce shares

salesforce.com, inc is a software-application business with stocks listed in the US. Salesforce shares (CRM) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$231.08 – a decrease of -INF% over the previous week. Here's how to invest if you're based in Australia.

How to buy shares in Salesforce

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Salesforce. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: CRM. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Salesforce reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$231.08, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Salesforce, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Salesforce. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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Salesforce share price

Use our graph to track the performance of CRM stocks over time.

Salesforce shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-03-03.

52-week range	US$115.29 - US$284.5
50-day moving average	US$230.9064
200-day moving average	US$239.1907
Target price	US$276.63
PE ratio	48.7374
Dividend yield	N/A (0%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$4.38

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Salesforce stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of salesforce.com, inc by TradingView

Salesforce price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $231.08 on 2021-02-25

1 week (2021-02-26)	6.73%
1 month (2021-02-09)	-2.37%
3 months (2020-12-07)	1.48%
6 months (2020-09-05)	N/A

1 year (2020-03-06)	40.83%
2 years (2019-03-07)	48.51%
3 years (2018-03-07)	84.38%
5 years (2016-03-07)	227.82%

Is Salesforce under- or over-valued?

Valuing Salesforce stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Salesforce's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Salesforce's P/E ratio

Salesforce's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 49x. In other words, Salesforce shares trade at around 49x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Salesforce's PEG ratio

Salesforce's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 3.0884. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Salesforce's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Salesforce's EBITDA

Salesforce's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$3.3 billion (£2.4 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Salesforce's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Salesforce financials

Revenue TTM	US$21.3 billion
Operating margin TTM	2.14%
Gross profit TTM	US$15.8 billion
Return on assets TTM	0.47%
Return on equity TTM	10.8%
Profit margin	19.16%
Book value	45.298
Market capitalisation	US$195.9 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Salesforce shares

There are currently 23.7 million Salesforce shares held short by investors – that's known as Salesforce's "short interest". This figure is 1.8% down from 24.1 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Salesforce shares can be evaluated.

Salesforce's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Salesforce's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Salesforce shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Salesforce shares traded daily (recently around 6.7 million). Salesforce's SIR currently stands at 3.51. In other words for every 100,000 Salesforce shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3510 shares are currently held short.

However Salesforce's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Salesforce shares, or, against the total number of tradable Salesforce shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Salesforce's short interest could be expressed as 0.03% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Salesforce shares in existence, roughly 30 shares are currently held short) or 0.0299% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Salesforce shares, roughly 30 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Salesforce.

Find out more about how you can short Salesforce stock.

Salesforce's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Salesforce.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Salesforce's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 13.24

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Salesforce's overall score of 13.24 (as at 01/01/2019) is excellent – landing it in it in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Salesforce is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Salesforce's environmental score

Environmental score: 0.97/100

Salesforce's environmental score of 0.97 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Salesforce is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Salesforce's social score

Social score: 5.99/100

Salesforce's social score of 5.99 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Salesforce is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Salesforce's governance score

Governance score: 4.28/100

Salesforce's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Salesforce is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Salesforce's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Salesforce scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Salesforce has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

salesforce.com, inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	13.24
Total ESG percentile	5.72
Environmental score	0.97
Environmental score percentile	4
Social score	5.99
Social score percentile	4
Governance score	4.28
Governance score percentile	4
Level of controversy	2

Salesforce share dividends

We're not expecting Salesforce to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Have Salesforce's shares ever split?

Salesforce's shares were split on a 4:1 basis on 18 April 2013. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 4 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Salesforce shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 75% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Salesforce shares which in turn could have impacted Salesforce's share price.

Salesforce share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Salesforce's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$115.29 up to US$284.5. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Salesforce's is 1.1217. This would suggest that Salesforce's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Salesforce overview

salesforce.com, inc. develops enterprise cloud computing solutions with a focus on customer relationship management worldwide. The company offers Sales Cloud to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, and gain insights through analytics and relationship intelligence, as well as deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices. It also provides Service Cloud, which enables companies to deliver personalized customer service and support, as well as a field service solution that enables companies to connect agents, dispatchers, and mobile employees through a centralized platform, which helps to schedule and dispatch work, and track and manage jobs in real-time. In addition, the company offers Marketing Cloud to plan, personalize, and optimize one-to-one customer marketing interactions; and Commerce Cloud, which enables companies to enhance engagement, conversion, revenue, and loyalty from their customers. Further, it provides Customer 360 Platform that offers no-code to pro-code Platform-as-a-Service tools for building, securing, integrating, and managing the business apps; MuleSoft Anypoint Platform enables customers to connect any system, application, data, or device; Quip collaboration platform, which combines documents, spreadsheets, apps, and chat with live CRM data; and Tableau and Einstein Analytics, provides analytical technology to customers. Additionally, the company offers various solutions for financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, consumer goods, government, and philanthropy. The company also provides professional services and education services, including instructor-led and online courses; and support and adoption programs. It provides its services through direct sales; and consulting firms, systems integrators, and other partners. Salesforce and Siemens has a strategic partnership. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Salesforce is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 3.615% of Salesforce shares are held by insiders and 83.468% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Salesforce?

  Salesforce's fiscal year ends in January.

• Where is Salesforce based?

  Salesforce's address is: Salesforce Tower, San Francisco, CA, United States, 94105

• What is Salesforce's ISIN number?

  Salesforce's international securities identification number is: US79466L3024

• What is Salesforce's CUSIP number?

  Salesforce's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 79466L302