Salesforce vs Microsoft
Exactly on the threshold — a graduated blitzscaler. The decelerating giant re-accelerated on AI — Azure +41% and a $37B AI run-rate — while capex at 35% of revenue quietly compresses the free cash flow that funds it.
Microsoft by 8
| Item | Max | Salesforce | Microsoft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blitz Index total | / 100 | 65 | 73 |
| Grade | — | B | B |
| A · Speed | / 25 | 13 | 18 |
| B · Moat | / 60 | 43 | 48 |
| C · Creative destruction | / 15 | 9 | 10 |
| D · Demerits | / 30 | 0 | -3 |
The success line is 65. Demerits (section D) are subtracted; a demerit total of 15 or more flags a company for BlitzFailing watch. Scores as of the 2026 Q4 review.
Verdict — business structure only
Microsoft leads (73 vs 65), and the gap is speed (18 vs 13) plus moat (48 vs 43). Salesforce grows +10.8% YoY at a $43.9B scale — solid, not blitz speed — while Microsoft re-accelerated to +17.8% at $331.8B scale with Azure +41%. The moats are both enterprise lock-ins but different in kind: Salesforce's is AppExchange (6,200+ apps, 10M+ installs) with a 76.6% gross margin, while Microsoft's is a composite of Windows, M365, GitHub and LinkedIn. Creative destruction is close (10 vs 9): Microsoft's Copilot has passed 30M paid seats while Salesforce's cloud displacement is done and agentic AI displacement is in progress. Salesforce is the cleaner of the two on demerits (0 vs −3), but its speed is the anchor — it sits exactly on the 65 success line.
Key figures
| Salesforce | Figure |
|---|---|
| Growth | Q2 FY2027 +10.8% YoY ($11.35B) |
| Gross margin | 76.6% |
| AppExchange | 6,200+ apps, 10M+ installs |
| Microsoft | Figure |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $331.8B scale |
| Growth | +17.8%; Azure +41% |
Key figures are from the companies' published score files (the scorecard's English summary). A figure is shown only where the score file states it.
Full scorecards: Salesforce — Blitz Index 65 · Microsoft — Blitz Index 73
Run your own pairing: open this pair in the interactive compare tool, or pick any two of the 157 scored companies.
How to read this
Both companies passed the same two gates before scoring: real product-market traction (G1), and a ten-year market ceiling of at least ten times current revenue (G2). The Blitz Index then grades speed (25), moat (60) and creative destruction (15), and subtracts BlitzFailing demerits (up to −30) for debt, revenue quality, governance and regulatory cost. The model is frozen at v1.0; past scores are never silently rewritten. Our own pre-registered tests found the score measures business quality — it does not predict stock returns.
Research only — not investment advice. Scores measure blitzscaling strategy from public data. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.