Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff acknowledged that Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) pricing strategies have prompted him to reconsider his company’s own pricing model, calling Palantir’s forward-deployed engineer concept “very cool” during an interview published on Thursday.
Benioff Impressed by Palantir’s Premium Pricing
“Have you seen their price list? It’s out there online. Like, whoa, these prices. I’m like, whoa, my prices are too low,” Benioff said during the podcast interview 20VC with Harry Stebbings.
The Salesforce CEO noted that his company automates entire government operations, including the Veterans Administration, at significantly lower rates than Palantir charges.
Benioff expressed admiration for Palantir's $310 billion market valuation, despite its over $4 billion in annual revenue guidance compared with Salesforce's $41 billion guidance.”How do I get that hundred times revenue multiple? That’s awesome,” he said.
Forward-Deployed Engineers Capture Industry Attention
The discussion centered on Palantir’s signature Forward-Deployed Engineer model, which embeds technical experts directly with clients before contracts are finalized. Benioff praised this approach as innovative compared to traditional enterprise software sales processes.
“We don’t have that kind of branding of these are our forward-deployed engineers, where now we’re going to start building your product before we’ve really signed a deal,” Benioff explained. “I think that idea is very cool.”
Government Contracts Drive Competition
Both companies compete heavily in federal contracting, with Benioff noting that the U.S. federal government represents Salesforce’s largest customer. The company recently secured a major U.S. Army contract, defeating Palantir in the process, according to Benioff.
However, Palantir’s premium pricing strategy has proven effective in specialized government and enterprise markets. Former Palantir CFO Colin Anderson previously warned that the FDE model requires capital discipline, calling smaller contracts under $100,000 “lighting equity on fire.”
Market Performance Validates Different Strategies
Palantir shares have surged over 409% in the past year, trading at $157.58 with a price-to-earnings ratio of 525.46. The company raised 2025 revenue guidance to $3.89-3.90 billion while projecting adjusted free cash flow between $1.6-1.8 billion.
Salesforce trades at $254.53 with a more conservative price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78 and a market capitalization of $237.09 billion, reflecting its established position in customer relationship management software.
PLTR outpaces CRM on growth and momentum in Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, though both stocks score weakly on value. See the full comparison.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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