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Aslan Research · AI software

Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)

Data as of 2026-08-21 · 28 quarters · filed in USD

Committed obligations of $41.9 billion are close to reported debt of $39.3 billion, while Salesforce generated $42.4 billion of trailing-year revenue. Revenue grew 15% per year against 9% annual expense growth, and the backlog reached 1.6x one year of revenue.

Revenue, last 12 mo $42B to 2026-04-30
Spend, last 12 mo $31B cost + R&D + admin + tax
Debt they report $39B balance-sheet borrowings
Money promised $42B debt + leases + purchases
Unrealized revenue $20B + $68B signed backlog
Due in next 5 years $37B the obligation wall

Earned, collected early, and merely signed

signed backlogdeferredrevenue (qtr)Q3 '19Q2 '21Q1 '23Q3 '24Q2 '26$38B$76B

Reports $39B of debt; has promised $42B

Leases add $2.6 billion to the $39.3 billion of reported debt, bringing total committed obligations to $41.9 billion. The filings also describe material leases not yet commenced and infrastructure service commitments outside reported debt balances.

promisedreported debtQ3 '19Q2 '21Q1 '23Q3 '24Q2 '26$22B$44B

What the promised total is made of, latest quarter

debtleasespurchase deals
today
94%

Spending, by reported line

Cost of revenueR&DSelling & adminTax
2020
25%
16%
56%
2021
28%
19%
61%
2022
27%
17%
56%
2023
28%
17%
54%
2024
29%
17%
52%
2025
27%
17%
51%
2026
27%
17%
50%

When the promises come due

The next five years include $37.2 billion of commitments against $67.9 billion of future revenue promised for that period. That places due commitments at 0.5x the revenue promised over the same five years.

$37Bnext 5 years$0years 5–10$0beyond 10$0after yr 5, undated$68Brevenue promised to them

The rates that matter

Revenue growth /yr 15% 2020-Q2 → 2026-Q2
Expense growth /yr 9%
Promised money /yr 33%
Reported debt /yr 47%
Deferred revenue /yr 17%
Quarters re-stated 10 of 28 by cited reconciliation

Expenses as filed vs after cited reconciliation

$8.5Bfiled2019$8.5Breality2019$14Bfiled2020$14Breality2020$24Bfiled2021$24Breality2021$30Bfiled2022$29Breality2022$29Bfiled2023$27Breality2023$31Bfiled2024$30Breality2024$33Bfiled2025$29Breality2025$19Bfiled2026$15Breality2026

6 patterns worth a second look

The filings changed the scope of contractual commitments from mainly leases to broader enforceable agreements, including infrastructure service providers. They also report Informatica acquisition consideration of approximately $9.6 billion and $6.0 billion drawn under associated credit facilities, while Informatica later contributed $388 million of subscription and support revenue after acquisition financing.

circular financing · 1

The FY2026 filing reports Informatica revenue after the company financed part of the Informatica acquisition through associated credit facilities.

off balance sheet · 1

The filings repeatedly report material leases not yet commenced and substantial commitments under infrastructure service agreements outside reported debt balances.

one time dressing · 1

The FY2023 filing separately identifies $828 million of restructuring charges and $4.0 billion of share repurchases alongside operating commitments and performance metrics.

redefinition · 1

The filings change the reported scope of contractual commitments from primarily lease commitments to broader enforceable agreements including infrastructure service providers.

related party exposure · 1

The filings report recurring or substantial transactions and commitments involving Salesforce Foundation and insider equity arrangements.

subsequent event · 1

The FY2025 filing is followed by the Informatica acquisition, including approximately $9.6 billion of consideration and $6.0 billion drawn under associated credit facilities.

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