salesforce.com (CRM 1.06%) has been a compounding machine. Shares are up 900% over the past 10 years, supported by more than a 12-fold increase in revenue and a 500% jump in earnings per share over this same time frame. While growth has slowed in recent years, the company is still consistently delivering impressive quarterly results.
The software-as-a-service company's fiscal third quarter of fiscal 2020 was no exception. The company beat analysts' estimates for both revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share during the period, fueled by broad-based growth across the company's cloud offerings and geographic regions.
To better understand Salesforce's momentum, consider some of these key quotes from management's fiscal third-quarter earnings call.
Salesforce Chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff. Image source: Salesforce.com.
Salesforce's acquisition of MuleSoft is paying off handsomely
With its acquisition of information technology company MuleSoft now more than a year in the rearview mirror, management can look back and reflect on whether the $6.5 billion price tag was worth it. Based on management's optimistic commentary about the acquisition, it was.
"MuleSoft has been an incredibly successful acquisition, allowing our customers to unlock and unify data across their enterprises," said Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block. "It's strategic to every conversation we've been having, and adoption continues to accelerate."
During fiscal Q3, MuleSoft revenue grew 77% year over year, significantly higher than the company's consolidated revenue growth of 21% (when excluding revenue from recent acquisitions that weren't in the year-ago period) over the same time frame.
Management is excited about its Tableau acquisition
Mergers and acquisitions have been key to Salesforce's continued success. So it wasn't surprising when the company announced another big acquisition this year.
In June, Salesforce agreed to purchase analytics company Tableau in a deal valued at $15.7 billion. Less than two months later, Salesforce closed the deal and completed its acquisition of Tableau.
During Salesforce's fiscal third-quarter earnings call, Block said he sees an opportunity for Salesforce to accelerate Tableau's business the same way it did MuleSoft's.
"We are just beginning this integration process," Block said about the tech company's acquisition of Tableau, "but we have clear synergies from a distribution, product development and cultural standpoint, and our customers are very, very excited and so are we."
Einstein is a key catalyst for Salesforce
Management also said that one of its biggest differentiators is its Einstein artificial intelligence capabilities, which can serve personalized product recommendations and facilitate the ordering process.
"We also saw ... 9% of digital orders during Cyber Week driven by our Einstein product recommendations -- that is incredible to see the velocity of Einstein," said Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff.
Though MuleSoft, Tableau, and Einstein represent only a small portion of Salesforce's total business, they highlight key competitive advantages and important growth opportunities for the company.
