CRM
Salesforce, Inc.
stock NYSE

You've identified a real divergence. Let me pull the numbers:
**ADBE 8-Quarter Margin Trends:**
| Quarter | Revenue | Gross Margin | Op Margin |
|:--------|--------:|-------------:|----------:|
| Q4 2024 | $5.6B | 89.0% | 34.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.7B | 89.1% | 37.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.9B | 89.1% | 35.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.0B | 89.3% | 36.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.2B | 88.9% | 36.5% |
Revenue growing 10% YoY, margins stable at 89% gross / 36% operating. Fundamentals are fine.
**ADBE vs Software Peers:**
| Ticker | P/E | Gross Margin | Op Margin |
|:-------|----:|-------------:|----------:|
| ADBE | 17.7x | 88.6% | 36.6% |
| NOW | 18.4x | 79.2% | 12.4% |
| CRM | 35.3x | 77.2% | 19.0% |
| INTU | 39.5x | 80.8% | 26.1% |
| ORCL | 42.8x | 70.5% | 30.8% |
ADBE is **cheapest in the sector** with **highest margins**. That's unusual.
**Why the discount:**
1. AI narrative: market thinks Canva/Figma + AI kills Adobe. Reality: Enterprise customers aren't switching mid-project.
2. Figma deal failed: $20B acquisition blocked, seen as strategic miss.
3. No AI hype premium: Adobe Firefly exists but isn't getting NVDA-style multiple expansion.
**The opportunity:**
At 17.7x with 89% gross margins and 10% growth, you're paying less than CRM (35x) for a more profitable business. If AI narrative shifts (Adobe integrates AI well), multiple expansion to 25x = 40% upside.
**Risk:** If AI tools genuinely commoditize design, Adobe's moat weakens. Watch Creative Cloud churn rates in Q1 2026.

Observability absolutely needed more in an Agentic AI world - DDOG is very well positioned to grow profits rapidly.
CRM is a tough one. Do they “own” the customer records ? Or can clients use Claude Code to personalize their own CRM system ?
ADBE has users trained on its systems, has shifted the model Away from seats (good), has their own agentic offering, and gives enterprise users the ability to audit their content and be sure they are not crossing IP lines.
Their 10-K just came out. This past year revenues grew in the low double digits, free cash flows in the teens And they’ve been buying back a lot of stock.
All make a strong case for upside from this price. Yes some lower end users may switch to image/ video generators from AI startups, but their core is in enterprise users that benefit from the breadth of their offerings.

Right now? Value wise Adobe is #1 then CRM. Microsoft is looking juicy but I dont like the whole connection to ai with Scam Altman. Microsoft is also fairly priced so idk

Sale on SAAS. $ADBE, $CRM, $NOW, and $CSU

Fall is because of Claude desktop. Be careful. But any company with entrenched systems of record will be hard to displace. That’s CRM, WDAY, no zen desk and adobe.

NFLX and RACE look good atm... Not really sure about CRM as it could endup as a Nasdaq zombie stock due to AI disruption

Saas - WDAY NOW CRM

AMZN, ADBE, CRM. You can look at some of that historic multiple data via a Morningstar subscription, Zach’s or Gurufocus.

This is a solid breakdown and lines up with how I’ve been thinking about CRM lately. The big shift isn’t “more sales seats,” it’s CRM becoming the operating layer for workflows, data, and AI-driven execution. The market punished them for legacy narratives, but the revenue mix change is real and already showing up in margins and bookings. I still think execution risk is there, but if they pull off the consumption + platform story, the downside looks pretty protected compared to the upside.

I don't have any interest in buying ADBE at all. I wouldn't buy CRM either. Do I think ADBE is a zero? No, but I also don't see how some don't think that ADBE going forward is going to be more challenged than it ever has been. With CRM you get management by the real life version of Gavin Belson, who's paying McConaughey $10M+ per year as a "creative advisor" while the stock has gone nowhere for half a decade. Hype on the conference calls feels more than a bit disconnected from meh guidance.
Names can absolutely get oversold and bounce, but unless I have a thesis for something I'm not buying. I don't want to buy something simply because it appears cheap.
Cheap can get cheaper or stay cheap: this is the third year in a row people have tried to call the bottom on PYPL on here despite all indications (peers cratering as well) that the fintech theme isn't what it once was. FINX is -36% in the last 5 years. What is IGV's performance record going to be over the next 5 years?
NOW is somewhat interesting and there's a couple of others (the Constellation complex in Canada for example and perhaps a cybersecurity name) but without a thesis/catalyst there's not urgency just to buy because it's down.

Judging from the activity here, you should apparently buy ADBE or PYPL, NVO or CRM.

From todays prices? (2026-01-19)
META, PYPL, NU, MELI, BN, AMZN, DELL, ADBE, CRM, CSU among others

I would definetly choose Adobe. First of all its still cheaper on TTM and FWD bases. Second of all i would argue that Adobe has bigger MOAT in terms of whole ecosystem etc. IT also applies to CRM, but i still think that there is bigger competition in crm as a secotr than in what ADOBE does. I am sure you will argue about Da vinci, Figma etc. But its one part of bigger ecosystem and switches are made by smaller companies or indivuduals.

Well the reprice is certainly there, problem is that while many of the SaaS companies are being repriced from "perfection" to fairly valued. Adobe has been beaten down from "perfection" to "Dying"
And i would argue that Adobe has much stronger moat then lets say CRM services.

CRM, WDAY, ORCL

And what are those SaaS companies that are “useless and replaceable by excel sheet” in your opinion ? How is “smart” excel sheet going to be replacing Hubs, CRM, or Now ?

I've been vibe coding for a few months now and recent break through in Claude really excel my interest in using AI tools such as Claude, Wispr Flow along with Gemini as legitimate ways to find identify edges in trading and investing. I spend a few hours with Claude to come up with a list of my personal metrics which help me find success in 2025 ( 187%). Essentially, identify company with wide moats, good fundamentals and temporary/short terms set back due to overreaction or underestimate the company's ability to overcome. This is a report that I have Gemini put together for CRM, i hope it provides values for anyone who is interested in the stock. I'm personally leaning toward the bull case and will be buying in increments base on historically price level.

Regardless of what the differing opinions are in regard to the future of AI effects on software, my belief is the risk vs reward is worth a small position in my portfolio.
Disclosure: Long ADBE, MSFT & looking to open a position in CRM.

CRM

CRM has AgentForce an AI implementation