Franklin Street Advisors Dumps Salesforce Shares as AI Competition Heats Up
Key Points
Franklin Street Advisors sold 77,826 Salesforce shares during the third quarter in an estimated $19.6 million transaction.
The trade represented 1.1% of 13F reportable assets under management for the period ended September 30.
The fund's Salesforce stake now represents just 0.03% of fund assets.
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Franklin Street Advisors disclosed in a Thursday regulatory filing that it sold Salesforce shares in an estimated $19.6 million transaction during the third quarter.
What Happened
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released Thursday, Franklin Street Advisors sold 77,826 shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in the third quarter. The estimated transaction value was $19.6 million based on the average share price for the period ended September 30. Following the sale, the fund held 1,924 shares, with a reported value of $455,988 at quarter's end.
What Else to Know
The sale reduced the Salesforce stake to just 0.03% of Franklin Street Advisors’ 13F reportable assets under management as of September 30.
Top holdings after the filing:
- NVDA: $132.2 million (7.6% of AUM)
- MSFT: $115.2 million (6.6% of AUM)
- AAPL: $110.4 million (6.4% of AUM)
- GOOGL: $91.2 million (5.3% of AUM)
- AMZN: $72.5 million (4.2% of AUM)
As of Thursday afternoon, Salesforce shares were priced at $244.73, down 15% over the past year, far underperforming the S&P 500 by 31 percentage points during the same period.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $39.5 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | $6.7 billion |
| Dividend Yield | 0.7% |
| Price (as of Thursday afternoon) | $244.73 |
Company Snapshot
- Salesforce delivers cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, including the Customer 360 platform, Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Tableau analytics, MuleSoft integration, and Slack collaboration tools.
- The company provides enterprise software and related services to organizations worldwide.
- It serves customers in financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, and other industries.
Salesforce, Inc. is a global leader in CRM software, leveraging a comprehensive suite of cloud-based applications to drive digital transformation for its clients. Its scale and broad product portfolio reinforce its position in the enterprise software market. The company's strategy centers on deepening customer engagement and expanding its platform ecosystem to maintain market leadership and sustain long-term growth.
Foolish Take
Franklin Street Advisors’ decision to nearly liquidate its Salesforce position—with a $19.6 million sale reducing holdings to just 0.03% of assets—reflects a sharp pivot away from one of tech’s weaker performers this year. Salesforce shares are down 15% over the past 12 months, while the fund’s top holdings—NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon—have each notched double-digit gains, underscoring the widening divide between AI winners and software incumbents still proving their growth story.
In its latest quarterly earnings release, Salesforce reported revenue of $10.2 billion, up 10% year-over-year, and a GAAP operating margin of 22.8%, its 10th straight quarter of margin expansion. Net income climbed to $1.9 billion, or $1.96 per share, as strong demand for Data Cloud and AI offerings lifted recurring revenue. However, investors have grown cautious amid slowing overall growth and mounting competition in enterprise AI integration.
CEO Marc Benioff called the quarter “outstanding,” highlighting the company’s vision for “agentic enterprises” blending human and AI workflows. Yet with steep competition, Salesforce may need to show faster innovation—and reignite investor enthusiasm—to reclaim its former momentum.
Glossary
13F reportable assets: Assets that institutional investment managers must report quarterly to the SEC, showing their holdings.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Transaction value: The total dollar amount received or paid in a specific buy or sell of securities.
Stake: The portion or percentage of ownership an investor or fund holds in a company.
Top holdings: The largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, typically ranked by market value.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Software and strategies used by companies to manage interactions with customers and prospects.
Platform ecosystem: The network of products, services, and partners built around a company’s core software platform.
Dividend yield: The annual dividend payment divided by the stock’s current price, expressed as a percentage.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
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Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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