CRM vs. GEN: Salesforce vs. Gen Digital Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN) both belong to the Software industry, though CRM is classified under Application Software while GEN falls under Systems Software.

Company profile comparison for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Profile Item	CRM	GEN
Name	Salesforce, Inc.	Gen Digital Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	Software	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	Application Software	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	175.83 billion USD	17.67 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	June 23, 2004	June 23, 1989
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CRM

GEN

GSPC

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Total Return (1Y)	-9.04%	18.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.64%	18.57%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-6.57%	5.70%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CRM

GEN

GSPC

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	47.53%	43.30%
Beta (5Y)	1.24	1.23
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-58.67%	-48.41%
Avg. Volume (3M)	11.36M	8.39M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CRM and GEN are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.28	0.32
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.45	0.50

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 19.38% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 46.40% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

19.38%

Max: 53.85%
CRM: 19.38%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

46.40%

Max: 53.85%
GEN: 46.40%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their ROE against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Salesforce (CRM) at 21.99% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 23.07% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

21.99%

Max: 41.17%
CRM: 21.99%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

23.07%

Max: 41.17%
GEN: 23.07%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their net margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 21.38% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 37.40% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

21.38%

Max: 46.89%
CRM: 21.38%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

37.40%

Max: 46.89%
GEN: 37.40%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
ROE (TTM)	19.38%	46.40%
ROA (TTM)	5.70%	8.94%
Net Margin (TTM)	21.99%	23.07%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.38%	37.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	77.28%	77.41%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 27.06% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Salesforce (CRM) at 9.58% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GEN.

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 52.43% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Salesforce (CRM) at 22.64% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for GEN.

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.58%	27.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.82%	14.66%
EPS Growth (YoY)	22.64%	52.43%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	233.65%	-10.09%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 0.84 and Gen Digital (GEN) at 0.37 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

0.84

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
CRM: 0.84
Min: 0.03

GEN

Software & Services industry group

0.37

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
GEN: 0.37
Min: 0.03

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their current ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Salesforce (CRM) at 1.10 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Gen Digital (GEN) at 2.96 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

1.10

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
CRM: 1.10
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

GEN

Software & Services industry group

2.96

GEN: 2.96
Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.84	0.37
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.10	2.96
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.40	3.02

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 0.77% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 1.63% yield above their industries’ entire benchmark ranges — high enough that dividend safety, not income, becomes the first question.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

0.77%

CRM: 0.77%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

1.63%

GEN: 1.63%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 15.66% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 25.38% pay out more of their earnings than any of their industry peers — the thinnest cover in their groups, so dividend headroom deserves attention.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

15.66%

CRM: 15.66%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

25.38%

GEN: 25.38%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.77%	1.63%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	15.66%	25.38%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 15.12 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Salesforce (CRM) at 19.55 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for GEN, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

19.55

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
CRM: 19.55
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

GEN

Software & Services industry group

15.12

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
GEN: 15.12
Min: 6.69

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Salesforce (CRM) at 4.00 and Gen Digital (GEN) at 3.38 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

4.00

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
CRM: 4.00
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

GEN

Software & Services industry group

3.38

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
GEN: 3.38
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Salesforce (CRM) at 4.58 and Gen Digital (GEN) at 6.45 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

4.58

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
CRM: 4.58
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

GEN

Software & Services industry group

6.45

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
GEN: 6.45
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

Salesforce (CRM) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CRM	GEN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.55	15.12
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.00	3.38
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.58	6.45
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	10.08%	10.25%