CRM · News · 20260923N

Capital Return Program

Salesforce, Inc. · 2026-09-23 · Importance 81 · Surprise 58 · Contradicted

Salesforce reportedly executed a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase, reducing its diluted share count by approximately 15%. The transaction was accompanied by a significant increase in total debt, which exceeded $42 billion. The higher leverage lowered Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 free-cash-flow growth outlook, while management’s strategy reportedly depends partly on a potential sale of its Anthropic stake to repay the new debt.

Key facts

Impact estimates

metricdirectionstageexpectedbasis
assetsnegativerealized-22.8%Salesforce executed a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase.
liabilitynegativerealized—Salesforce's total debt increased to over $42 billion concurrent with the accelerated share repurchase.
cashnegativeprobable—The share repurchase lowered Salesforce's fiscal 2027 free cash flow growth outlook.