Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff expressed admiration for Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) during Tuesday’s Goldman Sachs Communacopia+Technology conference, highlighting the data analytics company’s premium pricing model.
Check out the current price of CRM stock here.
Benioff Praises Palantir’s Market Valuation
“Oh my gosh. I am so inspired by that company,” Benioff told CNBC. “I mean, not just because they have 100 times, you know, multiple on their revenue, which I would love to have that too. Maybe it’ll have 1000 times on their revenue soon.”
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The comments highlight increasing acknowledgment of Palantir’s market position, even though there's a big size gap between the companies. Salesforce brought in over $10 billion in quarterly revenue, maintaining a scale that's 10 times larger than Palantir's.
Growth Rate Disparity Highlights Market Dynamics
Palantir’s 48% growth rate significantly outpaces Salesforce’s 10% expansion, demonstrating investor appetite for high-growth data analytics solutions. This growth differential helps explain market capitalization positioning, with Palantir reaching $406.52 billion compared to Salesforce’s $231.11 billion valuation.
Over the last six months, Palantir's stock has surged by more than 115%, while Salesforce's stock has dropped by about 10.7%.
Benioff acknowledged Palantir’s premium pricing strategy, calling their rates “the most expensive enterprise software I’ve ever seen.” He added, “Maybe I’m not charging enough.”
Competitive Landscape in Government Contracts
Both companies compete for lucrative government deals. Benioff highlighted a recent victory over Palantir for a U.S. Army contract, positioning Salesforce as offering “a very competitive product at a much lower cost.”
Palantir CEO Alex Karp responded to pricing criticisms, stating his company focuses on “value creation” and asks to be “modestly compensated for that value.”
Benioff’s Stock Sales Amid Pricing Strategy Comments
The comments come as Benioff executed multiple stock sales through a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan. SEC filings show he sold Salesforce shares on September 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11, with transactions ranging from approximately $236 to $257 per share. These automated sales were part of a plan adopted on January 9.
Palantir, one of the most commonly traded stocks on Robinhood, is a favorite among retail investors. In contrast, Salesforce, which is part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, has seen its shares drop by 27% this year, experiencing the worst performance among large-cap tech companies, according to the report.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings highlight that CRM has a Growth score of 81.27. Track the performance of other players in this segment.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
