Raises FY23 GAAP Operating Margin Guidance to ~3.8% and Non-GAAP Operating Margin Guidance to ~20.4%

  • First Quarter Revenue of $7.41 Billion, up 24% Year-Over-Year, 26% in Constant Currency
  • Current Remaining Performance Obligation of $21.5 Billion, up 21% Year-Over-Year, 24% in Constant Currency
  • First Quarter Operating Cash Flow of $3.68 Billion, up 14% Year-Over-Year
  • Initiates Second Quarter FY23 Revenue Guidance of $7.69 Billion to $7.70 Billion, up ~21% Year-Over-Year
  • Updates Full Year FY23 Revenue Guidance to $31.7 Billion to $31.8 Billion, up ~20% Year-Over-Year

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced results for its first quarter fiscal 2023 ended April 30, 2022.

“We had another great quarter, delivering $7.4 billion in revenue, up 24% year-over-year,” said Marc Benioff, Co-CEO, Salesforce. “There is no greater measure of our resilience and the momentum in our business than the $42 billion we have in remaining performance obligation, representing all future revenue under contract. While delivering incredible growth at scale, we’re committed to consistent margin expansion and cash flow growth as part of our long-term plan to drive both top and bottom line performance.”

“Our financial results once again demonstrate the strength and durability of our business model as we continue to see strong demand from customers across the entire Customer 360 portfolio,” said Bret Taylor, Co-CEO, Salesforce. “Salesforce has become even more strategic and relevant to our customers as we are providing them with the agility and resilience they need to drive growth and efficiency in these uncertain economic times.”

“Our portfolio of products remains well-positioned to serve our broad set of customers,” said Amy Weaver, President and CFO, Salesforce. “We have been able to deliver strong growth while also driving disciplined decision-making, enabling us to expand our operating margin guidance for the full year.”

Salesforce delivered the following results for its fiscal first quarter:

Revenue: Total first quarter revenue was $7.41 billion, an increase of 24% year-over-year, and 26% in constant currency. Subscription and support revenues for the quarter were $6.86 billion, an increase of 24% year-over-year. Professional services and other revenues for the quarter were $0.56 billion, an increase of 30% year-over-year.

Operating Margin: First quarter GAAP operating margin was 0.3%. First quarter non-GAAP operating margin was 17.6%.

Earnings per Share: First quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.03, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.98. Mark-to-market accounting of the company’s strategic investments benefited GAAP diluted earnings per share by $0.01 based on a U.S. tax rate of 25% and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share by $0.01 based on a non-GAAP tax rate of 22%.

Cash: Cash generated from operations for the first quarter was $3.68 billion, an increase of 14% year-over-year. Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities ended the first quarter at $13.50 billion.

Remaining Performance Obligation: Remaining performance obligation ended the first quarter at approximately $42.0 billion, an increase of 20% year-over-year. Current remaining performance obligation ended the first quarter at approximately $21.5 billion, an increase of 21% year-over-year, 24% in constant currency.

As of May 31, 2022, the company is initiating its second quarter GAAP and non-GAAP earnings (loss) per share guidance, second quarter current remaining performance obligation growth guidance, and second quarter revenue guidance. As of May 31, 2022, the company is updating its full year FY23 revenue guidance, full year FY23 GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share guidance, full year GAAP operating margin guidance, and full year non-GAAP operating margin guidance. As of May 31, 2022 the company is reiterating its full year FY23 operating cash flow guidance.

Management will provide further commentary around these guidance assumptions on its earnings call, which is expected to occur on May 31, 2022 at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

Our guidance assumes no change to the value of the company’s strategic investment portfolio as it is not possible to forecast future gains and losses. In addition, the guidance below is based on estimated GAAP tax rates that reflect the company’s currently available information, and excludes forecasted discrete tax items such as excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation. The GAAP tax rates may fluctuate due to future acquisitions or other transactions.

 

Q2 FY23

Guidance

 

Full Year FY23

Guidance

Revenue(1)

$7.69 – $7.70 Billion

 

$31.7 – $31.8 Billion

Y/Y Growth

~21%

 

~20%

FX Impact(2)

~($200M) y/y FX

 

~($600M) y/y FX(3)

GAAP operating margin

N/A

 

~3.8%

Non-GAAP operating margin(4)

N/A

 

~20.4%

GAAP earnings (loss) per share

($0.03) – ($0.02)

 

$0.38 – $0.40

Non-GAAP earnings per share

$1.01 – $1.02

 

$4.74 – $4.76

Operating Cash Flow Growth (Y/Y)

N/A

 

~21% – 22%

Current Remaining Performance Obligation Growth (Y/Y)

~15%

 

N/A

FX Impact(5)

~(3 pts)

 

N/A

(1) Full Year fiscal 2023 revenue guidance includes contributions from Slack Technologies, Inc. of approximately $1.5 billion, net of purchase accounting.

(2) Revenue FX impact is calculated by taking the current period rates compared to the prior period average rates.

(3)~($600M) y/y FX headwind represents an incremental ~($300M) y/y headwind, in addition to the ~($300M) y/y headwind provided as of Q4 fiscal 2022 earnings.

(4) Non-GAAP operating margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to the Appendix for an explanation of non-GAAP financial measures, and why we believe these measures can be useful, as well as a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measures, when applicable.

(5) cRPO FX impact is calculated by taking the current period rates compared to the prior period ending rates. FX impact of ~(3 pts) represents a headwind of 3 points of growth.

The following is a reconciliation of GAAP operating margin guidance to non-GAAP operating margin guidance for the full year:

 

 

Full Year FY23

Guidance

GAAP operating margin(1)

 

~3.8%

Plus

 

 

Amortization of purchased intangibles(2)

 

6.1%

Stock-based compensation expense(2)

 

10.5%

Non-GAAP operating margin(1)

 

~20.4%

(1) GAAP operating margin is the proportion of GAAP income from operations as a percentage of GAAP revenue. Non-GAAP operating margin is the proportion of non-GAAP income from operations as a percentage of GAAP revenue.

(2) The percentages shown above have been calculated based on the midpoint of the low and high ends of the revenue guidance for full year FY23.

The following is a per share reconciliation of GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share to non-GAAP diluted earnings per share guidance for the next quarter and the full year:

 

Fiscal 2023

 

Q2

 

FY23

GAAP earnings (loss) per share range(1)(2)

($0.03) – ($0.02

)

 

$0.38 – $0.40

Plus

 

 

 

Amortization of purchased intangibles

$

0.49

 

 

$

1.92

 

Stock-based compensation expense

$

0.84

 

 

$

3.28

 

Less

 

 

 

Income tax effects and adjustments(3)

$

(0.29

)

 

$

(0.84

)

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share(2)

$1.01 – $1.02

 

$4.74 – $4.76

Shares used in computing basic GAAP net income per share (millions)

 

998

 

 

 

1,001

 

Shares used in computing diluted Non-GAAP net income per share (millions)

 

1,011

 

 

 

1,014

 

(1) The Company’s GAAP tax provision is expected to be approximately 57% for the three months ended July 30, 2022, and approximately 55% for the year ended January 31, 2023. The GAAP tax rates may fluctuate due to discrete tax items and related effects in conjunction with certain provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, future acquisitions or other transactions.

(2) The Company’s projected GAAP and Non-GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share assumes no change to the value of our strategic investment portfolio as it is not possible to forecast future gains and losses. While historically the company’s strategic investment portfolio has had a positive impact on the company’s financial results, that may not be true for future periods, particularly in periods of significant market fluctuations that affect the publicly traded companies within the company’s strategic investment portfolio. The impact of future gains or losses from the company’s strategic investment portfolio could be material.

(3) The Company’s Non-GAAP tax provision uses a long-term projected tax rate of 22.0%, which reflects currently available information and could be subject to change.

For additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures see the reconciliation of results and related explanations below.

Quarterly Conference Call

Salesforce plans to host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. (PT) / 5:00 p.m. (ET) to discuss its financial results with the investment community. A live webcast and replay details of the event will be available on the Salesforce Investor Relations website at www.salesforce.com/investor.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

“Safe harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements about the company’s financial and operating results, which may include expected GAAP and non-GAAP financial and other operating and non-operating results, including revenue, net income, earnings per share, operating cash flow growth, operating margin, expected revenue growth, expected current remaining performance obligation growth, expected tax rates, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles, shares outstanding, market growth, environmental, social and governance goals, expected capital allocation, including mergers and acquisitions, capital expenditures and other investments, and expected contributions from acquired companies. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements it makes.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include — but are not limited to — risks associated with the impact of, and actions we may take in response to, the COVID-19 pandemic, related public health measures and resulting economic downturn and market volatility; our ability to maintain security levels and service performance meeting the expectations of our customers, and the resources and costs required to avoid unanticipated downtime and prevent, detect and remediate performance degradation and security breaches; the expenses associated with our data centers and third-party infrastructure providers; our ability to secure additional data center capacity; our reliance on third-party hardware, software and platform providers; the effect of evolving domestic and foreign government regulations, including those related to the provision of services on the Internet, those related to accessing the Internet, and those addressing data privacy, cross-border data transfers and import and export controls; current and potential litigation involving us or our industry, including litigation involving acquired entities such as Tableau Software, Inc. and Slack Technologies, Inc., and the resolution or settlement thereof; regulatory developments and regulatory investigations involving us or affecting our industry; our ability to successfully introduce new services and product features, including any efforts to expand our services; the success of our strategy of acquiring or making investments in complementary businesses, joint ventures, services, technologies and intellectual property rights; our ability to complete, on a timely basis or at all, announced transactions; our ability to realize the benefits from acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures and investments, including our July 2021 acquisition of Slack Technologies, Inc., and successfully integrate acquired businesses and technologies; our ability to compete in the markets in which we participate; the success of our business strategy and our plan to build our business, including our strategy to be a leading provider of enterprise cloud computing applications and platforms; our ability to execute our business plans; our ability to continue to grow unearned revenue and remaining performance obligation; the pace of change and innovation in enterprise cloud computing services; the seasonal nature of our sales cycles; our ability to limit customer attrition and costs related to those efforts; the success of our international expansion strategy; the demands on our personnel and infrastructure resulting from significant growth in our customer base and operations, including as a result of acquisitions; our ability to preserve our workplace culture, including as a result of our decisions regarding our current and future office environments or work-from-home policies; our dependency on the development and maintenance of the infrastructure of the Internet; our real estate and office facilities strategy and related costs and uncertainties; fluctuations in, and our ability to predict, our operating results and cash flows; the variability in our results arising from the accounting for term license revenue products; the performance and fair value of our investments in complementary businesses through our strategic investment portfolio; the impact of future gains or losses from our strategic investment portfolio, including gains or losses from overall market conditions that may affect the publicly traded companies within our strategic investment portfolio; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; our ability to develop our brands; the impact of foreign currency exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations on our results; the valuation of our deferred tax assets and the release of related valuation allowances; the potential availability of additional tax assets in the future; the impact of new accounting pronouncements and tax laws; uncertainties affecting our ability to estimate our tax rate; uncertainties regarding our tax obligations in connection with potential jurisdictional transfers of intellectual property, including the tax rate, the timing of the transfer and the value of such transferred intellectual property; uncertainties regarding the effect of general economic and market conditions; the impact of geopolitical events; uncertainties regarding the impact of expensing stock options and other equity awards; the sufficiency of our capital resources; our ability to comply with our debt covenants and lease obligations; the impact of climate change, natural disasters and actual or threatened public health emergencies; and our ability to achieve our aspirations, goals and projections related to our environmental, social and governance initiatives.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in the reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and in other filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Financials section of the company’s website at http://investor.salesforce.com/financials/.

Salesforce, Inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

© 2022 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved. Salesforce and other marks are trademarks of Salesforce, Inc. Other brands featured herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Salesforce, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in millions, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

 

2022

 

 

 

2021

 

Revenues:

 

 

 

Subscription and support

$

6,856

 

 

$

5,536

 

Professional services and other

 

555

 

 

 

427

 

Total revenues

 

7,411

 

 

 

5,963

 

Cost of revenues (1)(2):

 

 

 

Subscription and support

 

1,440

 

 

 

1,122

 

Professional services and other

 

605

 

 

 

433

 

Total cost of revenues

 

2,045

 

 

 

1,555

 

Gross profit

 

5,366

 

 

 

4,408

 

Operating expenses (1)(2):

 

 

 

Research and development

 

1,318

 

 

 

951

 

Marketing and sales

 

3,372

 

 

 

2,544

 

General and administrative

 

656

 

 

 

559

 

Total operating expenses

 

5,346

 

 

 

4,054

 

Income from operations

 

20

 

 

 

354

 

Gains on strategic investments, net

 

7

 

 

 

288

 

Other expense

 

(56

)

 

 

(38

)

Income (loss) before benefit from (provision for) income taxes

 

(29

)

 

 

604

 

Benefit from (provision for) income taxes

 

57

 

 

 

(135

)

Net income

$

28

 

 

$

469

 

Basic net income per share

$

0.03

 

 

$

0.51

 

Diluted net income per share

$

0.03

 

 

$

0.50

 

Shares used in computing basic net income per share

 

991

 

 

 

921

 

Shares used in computing diluted net income per share

 

1,001

 

 

 

940

 

(1) Amounts include amortization of intangible assets acquired through business combinations, as follows:

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

2022

 

2021

Cost of revenues

$

275

 

$

168

Marketing and sales

 

237

 

 

120

(2) Amounts include stock-based compensation expense, as follows:

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

2022

 

2021

Cost of revenues

$

112

 

$

82

Research and development

 

279

 

 

173

Marketing and sales

 

291

 

 

238

General and administrative

 

94

 

 

71

 

Salesforce, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(As a percentage of total revenues)

(Unaudited)

 

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

2022

 

2021

Revenues:

 

 

 

Subscription and support

93

%

 

93

%

Professional services and other

7

 

 

7

 

Total revenues

100

 

 

100

 

Cost of revenues (1)(2):

 

 

 

Subscription and support

20

 

 

19

 

Professional services and other

8

 

 

7

 

Total cost of revenues

28

 

 

26

 

Gross profit

72

 

 

74

 

Operating expenses (1)(2):

 

 

 

Research and development

18

 

 

16

 

Marketing and sales

45

 

 

43

 

General and administrative

9

 

 

9

 

Total operating expenses

72

 

 

68

 

Income from operations

0

 

 

6

 

Gains on strategic investments, net

0

 

 

5

 

Other expense

0

 

 

(1

)

Income (loss) before benefit from (provision for) income taxes

0

 

 

10

 

Benefit from (provision for) income taxes

0

 

 

(2

)

Net income

0

%

 

8

%

(1) Amounts include amortization of intangible assets acquired through business combinations as a percentage of total revenues, as follows:

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

2022

 

2021

Cost of revenues

4

%

 

3

%

Marketing and sales

3

 

 

2

 

(2) Amounts include stock-based compensation expense as a percentage of total revenues, as follows:

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

2022

 

2021

Cost of revenues

1

%

 

1

%

Research and development

4

 

 

3

 

Marketing and sales

4

 

 

4

 

General and administrative

1

 

 

1

 

 

Salesforce, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in millions)

 

 

April 30, 2022

 

January 31, 2022

Assets

(unaudited)

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

6,859

 

 

$

5,464

 

Marketable securities

 

6,644

 

 

 

5,073

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

3,952

 

 

 

9,739

 

Costs capitalized to obtain revenue contracts, net

 

1,478

 

 

 

1,454

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

1,478

 

 

 

1,120

 

Total current assets

 

20,411

 

 

 

22,850

 

Property and equipment, net

 

2,868

 

 

 

2,815

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets, net

 

2,913

 

 

 

2,880

 

Noncurrent costs capitalized to obtain revenue contracts, net

 

2,323

 

 

 

2,342

 

Strategic investments

 

4,936

 

 

 

4,784

 

Goodwill

 

48,319

 

 

 

47,937

 

Intangible assets acquired through business combinations, net

 

8,559

 

 

 

8,978

 

Deferred tax assets and other assets, net

 

2,693

 

 

 

2,623

 

Total assets

$

93,022

 

 

$

95,209

 

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities

$

4,603

 

 

$

5,470

 

Operating lease liabilities, current

 

658

 

 

 

686

 

Unearned revenue

 

13,636

 

 

 

15,628

 

Debt, current

 

1,002

 

 

 

4

 

Total current liabilities

 

19,899

 

 

 

21,788

 

Noncurrent debt

 

9,595

 

 

 

10,592

 

Noncurrent operating lease liabilities

 

2,730

 

 

 

2,703

 

Other noncurrent liabilities

 

1,922

 

 

 

1,995

 

Total liabilities

 

34,146

 

 

 

37,078

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

Common stock

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

51,780

 

 

 

50,919

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

(310

)

 

 

(166

)

Retained earnings

 

7,405

 

 

 

7,377

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

58,876

 

 

 

58,131

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

93,022

 

 

$

95,209

 

 

Salesforce, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in millions)

(Unaudited)

 

Three Months Ended April 30,

 

 

2022

 

 

 

2021

 

Operating activities:

 

 

 

Net income

$

28

 

 

$

469

 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

906

 

 

 

685

 

Amortization of costs capitalized to obtain revenue contracts, net

 

394

 

 

 

314

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

776

 

 

 

564

 

Gains on strategic investments, net

 

(7

)

 

 

(288

)

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of business combinations:

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

5,805

 

 

 

4,616

 

Costs capitalized to obtain revenue contracts, net

 

(399

)

 

 

(355

)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets and other assets

 

(409

)

 

 

(17

)

Accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

(1,222

)

 

 

(1,093

)

Operating lease liabilities

 

(202

)

 

 

(216

)

Unearned revenue

 

(1,994

)

 

 

(1,451

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

3,676

 

 

 

3,228

 

Investing activities:

 

 

 

Business combinations, net of cash acquired

 

(414

)

 

 

(425

)

Purchases of strategic investments

 

(223

)

 

 

(277

)

Sales of strategic investments

 

45

 

 

 

556

 

Purchases of marketable securities

 

(2,572

)

 

 

(1,809

)

Sales of marketable securities

 

441

 

 

 

581

 

Maturities of marketable securities

 

445

 

 

 

498

 

Capital expenditures

 

(179

)

 

 

(171

)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(2,457

)

 

 

(1,047

)

Financing activities:

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of debt, net of issuance costs

 

0

 

 

 

(10

)

Proceeds from employee stock plans

 

274

 

 

 

225

 

Principal payments on financing obligations

 

(72

)

 

 

(49

)

Repayments of debt

 

(1

)

 

 

(1

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

201

 

 

 

165

 

Effect of exchange rate changes

 

(25

)

 

 

3

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

 

1,395

 

 

 

2,349

 

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

 

5,464

 

 

 

6,195

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$

6,859

 

 

$

8,544

 

 

Salesforce, Inc.

Additional Metrics

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

April 30,

2022

 

January 31,

2022

 

October 31,

2021

 

July 31,

2021

 

April 30,

2021

 

January 31,

2021

Full time equivalent headcount

 

 

77,810

 

 

73,541

 

 

69,530

 

 

65,595

 

 

59,895

 

 

56,606

Financial data (in millions):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities

 

$

13,503

 

$

10,537

 

$

9,391

 

$

9,650

 

$

15,023

 

$

11,966

Strategic investments

 

 

4,936

 

 

4,784

 

 

4,004

 

 

4,105

 

 

3,944

 

 

3,909

Principal due on the Company’s outstanding debt obligations

 

 

10,685

 

 

10,686

 

 

10,698

 

 

11,551

 

 

2,689

 

 

2,690

 

Supplemental Revenue Analysis

Remaining Performance Obligation

Remaining performance obligations (“RPO”) represents contracted revenue that has not yet been recognized, which includes unearned revenue and unbilled amounts that will be recognized as revenue in future periods. RPO is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the timing of renewals, average contract terms and foreign currency exchange rates. Unbilled portions of RPO denominated in foreign currencies are revalued each period based on the period end exchange rates.

Contacts

Evan Goldstein

Salesforce

Investor Relations

415-819-2987

evan.goldstein@salesforce.com

Carolyn Guss

Salesforce

Public Relations

415-536-4966

cguss@salesforce.com

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