Salesforce went on a hot mergers and acquisitions (M&A) streak last year, taking over nine companies – including a considerable $8B Informatica purchase. So far in 2026, the company has acquired agentic commerce business Cimulate and conversational insights and revenue orchestration platform Momentum.
But Salesforce’s latest Q4 and Full Year FY26 results contained an interesting detail – which investors noticed – suggesting that the CRM company might be leaning away from its M&A-heavy strategy.
‘We Understand How to do Acquisitions Better Now’
In its Q4 and FY26 results, Salesforce announced a $50B share repurchase program authorization, replacing all previously unused authorizations.
The company also increased quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share of outstanding common stock, up 5.8% Y/Y. Salesforce returned $14.3B to shareholders, including $12.7B in share repurchases and $1.6B in dividends.
During the new “earnings show” format, broadcast live from Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, Brent Thrill, from Jefferies, asked about the $50B buyback. He said that many people were asking why Salesforce does not lean harder into acquiring technology instead of buying stock back, given the “fall off in big multiples”.
Salesforce Founder and CEO Marc Benioff said that there are “many uses of cash”, with the number one use being dividends, and other options including “traditional buybacks” and acquisitions.
He also referenced a “new formula” Salesforce is using for acquisitions, telling investors: “We’ve done quite a few acquisitions using that new formula, and it’s been great – I wish I had used it actually throughout the entire history of Salesforce.”
Benioff added that the Salesforce team now has a far greater understanding of how to do acquisitions that are accretive to the business but not dilutive to investors – specifically mentioning Slack and Tableau as having diluted investors.
SF Ben has asked Salesforce for clarification on what exactly Benioff meant by this “new formula”.
A Salesforce spokesperson referenced the company’s “responsible M&A framework” which Robin Washington, President, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, and Director, referred to in a May 28, 2025 (Q1 FY26) earnings call.
Robin said that the framework was a key pillar of Salesforce’s capital allocation strategy, focused on three areas: customer success / strategic fit, acceleration, and value.
Robin told investors: “Our acquisition strategy is methodical. It’s patient and it’s decisive, targeting transformative assets like Informatica when the calculus aligns to maximize customer success.”
At last year’s Dreamforce, we also spoke to Brent Hayward, Head of Competitive Intelligence at Salesforce, about what exactly the company looks for in M&A deals. Brent mentioned powering Agentforce, boosting data capabilities, specific solutions that can be broadened, whether a technology was complementary to Salesforce’s suite, and shared values.
Final Thoughts
So, cash being diverted towards a $50B share repurchase program, combined with a new M&A strategy for Salesforce, could mean that we see fewer acquisitions in 2026 than in previous years.
As Benioff says, there are many uses of cash. Amid all this talk of a ‘SaaSpocalypse’, it does seem prudent to keep investors onside and reward them for sticking with Salesforce, despite the hype around AI ‘killing off’ SaaS.
