Salesforce's Marc Benioff says he's following 'the Oracle playbook' to improve profits — and Larry Ellison is helping him
Starboard Value, one of the activist investors targeting Salesforce,after it announced its stake admonishing that the company has"not yet produced margins expected from its leadership position." And the investor particularly pointed to Oracle's and Microsoft's 47% 2021 operating margins, noting that they grew margins while also growing revenue.
In its earnings results Wednesday, Salesforce reported a 17% increase in revenue with adjusted operating margins of 22.5%. While that wasn't the Oracle-level profits, Starboard wants, it was a beat over what Salesforce had previously guided for the year: about 21%. Salesforce also beat expectations, and its own guidance, on revenue.However, the nod to the rival still came as a shock to anyone who is familiar with Benioff's and Ellison's long history.
The drama started when Oracle started working on a product that competed with Salesforce, eventually leadingFor years, they made their rivalry public, with much bashing of one another's companies, as Salesforce and Oracle grew into ever-bigger competitors. strategic partnership inked in 2013And now Benioff is publicly thanking Ellison and his Oracle playbook as Salesforce fends off no fewer than five activist investors, all pressuring the company to improve profitability.
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