Microsoft vs Salesforce: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Microsoft reported $331.8B of revenue in FY2026 and $133.7B of net income. Salesforce reported $41.5B of revenue in FY2026 and $7.5B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Microsoft
- Latest revenue
- $331.8B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $133.7B
- Net margin
- 40.3%
- Revenue growth
- +14.7% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Salesforce
- Latest revenue
- $41.5B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $7.5B
- Net margin
- 18.0%
- Revenue growth
- +19.4% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Financial summary
Microsoft
Microsoft's FY2026 revenue rose 17.8% to $331.8 billion, operating income rose 21% to $155.2 billion, and GAAP net income rose 31% to $133.7 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was $90.0 billion (up 18%) with net income of $35.8 billion, helped by a $3.2 billion gain on its Anthropic investment. Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion in Q4, up 27%. The main pressure point is capital intensity: AI data center spending has pushed free cash flow growth well below earnings growth.
Salesforce
Salesforce grew revenue from $8.4 billion in fiscal 2017 to $41.5 billion in fiscal 2026, helped by acquisitions such as MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack. After activist investors including Elliott and Starboard took stakes in early 2023, the company cut about 10% of staff, disbanded its board M&A committee and shifted to margins and capital returns. Fiscal 2026 brought $7.46 billion of GAAP net income, $14.4 billion of free cash flow and $14.3 billion returned to shareholders. In Q2 fiscal 2027 (ended July 31, 2026) revenue rose 11% to $11.345 billion, and full-year guidance was raised to $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion.
Revenue and profit by year
Microsoft
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $331.8B | $133.7B | 40.3% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2025 | $281.7B | $101.8B | 36.1% | +14.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $245.1B | $88.1B | 36.0% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $211.9B | $72.4B | 34.1% | +6.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $198.3B | $72.7B | 36.7% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $168.1B | $61.3B | 36.5% | +17.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $143B | $44.3B | 31.0% | +13.6% | Source |
| FY2019 | $125.8B | $39.2B | 31.2% | +14.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $110.4B | $16.6B | 15.0% | +14.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $96.6B | $25.5B | 26.4% | — | Source |
Salesforce
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $41.5B | $7.5B | 18.0% | +9.6% | Source |
| FY2025 | $37.9B | $6.2B | 16.4% | +8.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $34.9B | $4.1B | 11.9% | +11.2% | Source |
| FY2023 | $31.4B | $208M | 0.7% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2022 | $26.5B | $1.4B | 5.5% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $21.3B | $4.1B | 19.2% | +24.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $17.1B | $126M | 0.7% | +28.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $13.3B | $1.1B | 8.4% | +26.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $10.5B | $360M | 3.4% | +25.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $8.4B | $323M | 3.8% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Microsoft
- Productivity And Business ProcessesMajor
Office, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics, and related cloud services.
- Intelligent CloudMajor
Azure, server products, enterprise services, and cloud infrastructure.
- More Personal ComputingMajor
Windows, devices, gaming, search, and advertising.
- AI Services And CopilotsGrowth
AI features and model-powered services embedded across Azure, Microsoft 365, GitHub, security, and developer tools.
Salesforce
- Sales cloud subscriptions
- Service cloud subscriptions
- Platform and data subscriptions
- Marketing and commerce subscriptions
- Analytics and integration products
- Professional services
Business model and strategy
Microsoft
How it makes money
Microsoft reports three segments. Intelligent Cloud covers Azure, SQL Server, Windows Server, GitHub, Nuance, and enterprise services; server products and cloud services alone brought in $129.4 billion in FY2026, and Azure passed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
Growth strategy
Microsoft's growth plan centers on AI capacity and AI subscriptions. It is spending heavily on data centers and chips to meet Azure demand that management says remains capacity constrained, and it is selling Microsoft 365 Copilot as a paid add-on, which passed 30 million paid seats by the end of FY2026.
Competitive advantage
Microsoft's main advantage is distribution inside enterprises. Identity (Entra), email and documents (Microsoft 365), collaboration (Teams), developer tools (GitHub, Visual Studio), and cloud infrastructure (Azure) are often bought together, which raises switching costs and lets Microsoft attach new products such as Copilot to existing contracts.
Salesforce
How it makes money
Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce. In fiscal 2026 (ended January 31, 2026), subscription and support revenue was $39.39 billion, about 95% of the $41.53 billion total; professional services added $2.14 billion.
Growth strategy
Salesforce is pushing three levers: Agentforce AI agents priced on consumption or flex credits, Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) to unify customer data, and the Informatica acquisition, closed in November 2025, to add data management and governance. It also cross-sells Slack as the interface for agents and keeps buying back stock under a $50 billion authorization announced in February 2026.
Competitive advantage
Salesforce's advantage is switching cost. Large customers build years of custom objects, workflows, integrations and AppExchange apps on the platform and train administrators on it, so replacing it means re-implementing core sales and service processes. Owning Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau and Informatica also lets Salesforce sell data, integration and collaboration around the CRM record.
Questions about Microsoft vs Salesforce
Which company has higher revenue — Microsoft Corporation or Salesforce, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation reported $331.8B (FY2026), while Salesforce, Inc. reported $41.5B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation is the larger business, with Salesforce, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Microsoft Corporation vs Salesforce, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $3.83T, while Salesforce, Inc.'s is $185.4B. Microsoft Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Salesforce, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Microsoft Corporation or Salesforce, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation generates $1.49M / employee in revenue per employee, while Salesforce, Inc. generates $498k / employee. Microsoft Corporation shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Microsoft Corporation and Salesforce, Inc. make money?
Microsoft Corporation and Salesforce, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Microsoft Corporation: Microsoft reports three segments. Salesforce, Inc.: Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Microsoft Corporation or Salesforce, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Microsoft Corporation trades at 11.5x P/S and Salesforce, Inc. at 4.5x P/S. Microsoft Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Salesforce, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Microsoft Corporation bigger than Salesforce, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Microsoft Corporation ($331.8B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Salesforce, Inc. ($41.5B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Microsoft vs Salesforce overview