Oracle vs Salesforce, side by side
Both are big US enterprise-software companies that provide software to large organisations on subscriptions, but they grew from different roots. Oracle built its business on databases - the systems that store a company's data - and now runs a fast-growing cloud-infrastructure arm that rents out computing power. Salesforce built its business on customer-relationship-management apps in the cloud, the software sales and service teams use to manage customers.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and quality, and weakest on momentum.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and income, and weakest on momentum.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  Oracle Corporation |  Salesforce, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129.87 | $184.02 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | $374.09B | $150.71B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 21.9 | 20.9 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 1.6% | 1.0% |
| Revenue growth | 20.6% | 13.3% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | -48% | -30% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 11.9 | 11.9 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 25.4% | 18.7% |
| ROE | 53.4% | 16.9% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 1.71 | 1.18 |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
Oracle Corporation is roughly 2.5x the size of Salesforce, Inc. by market value. On our factor screen Salesforce, Inc. currently screens higher on momentum and value. Over the past year the share prices moved -48% (Oracle Corporation) vs -30% (Salesforce, Inc.). Oracle Corporation's shares have historically been the bumpier of the two (beta 1.71 vs 1.18).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
Oracle Corporation, in one line
Oracle is a global technology giant that provides the essential software, cloud infrastructure, and database systems that keep large businesses running.
Read the full Oracle Corporation explainer →Salesforce, Inc., in one line
Salesforce provides cloud-based software that helps businesses manage their customer relationships, sales leads, and marketing campaigns all in one place.
Read the full Salesforce, Inc. explainer →What to weigh
If dividend income matters to you, the yields differ (1.6% Oracle Corporation vs 1.0% Salesforce, Inc.); and if sharp swings bother you, the betas differ (1.71 vs 1.18). These are facts to understand, not a verdict - read each full explainer before deciding anything.
Common questions
How are Oracle and Salesforce different?
Oracle's foundation is databases and, increasingly, cloud infrastructure - renting out raw computing power and storage to other businesses. Salesforce's foundation is ready-to-use CRM applications that teams log into to manage customers and sales. Both provide software to big companies on subscriptions, but Oracle sits closer to the plumbing while Salesforce sits closer to the everyday apps.
Do Oracle and Salesforce compete?
They overlap in places - Oracle also offers business applications, and both chase corporate software budgets - but their main strengths differ. Oracle is strongest in databases and cloud infrastructure; Salesforce is strongest in CRM. A large company might well use both at once, so they are partly rivals and partly complementary.