Why Salesforce Stock Topped the Market on Thursday

By Eric Volkman – Mar 12, 2026 at 7:02PM ESTKey PointsIt's seeking $25 billiion in financing.This comprises eight tranches of varying coupons and maturities.After market close Wednesday, Salesforce (CRM +2.36%) priced a bond offering that will provide the monies for a massive share repurchase program. Since investors like such programs, particularly when they're huge, they snapped up the customer relationship management (CRM) company's stock the following day. It closed Thursday up nearly 3% in price. A seller and a buyer Salesforce divulged that the $25 billion in senior notes it is floating will comprise eight tranches. The coupons range from 4.5% to 6.7%, with the earliest note maturing on March 15, 2028, and the latest on March 15, 2066. The interest on all notes is to be paid semi-annually. Image source: Getty Images. All proceeds the specialized tech company receives from the issue will be devoted to share repurchases. Such buys will be made under an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) arrangement, under which unnamed investment banks are contracted to purchase Salesforce stock aggressively. The company added that the prepayment and initial share delivery under the ASR agreement is to occur by this coming Monday, March 16. ExpandNYSE: CRMSalesforceToday's Change(2.36%) $4.59Current Price$198.72Key Data PointsMarket Cap$179BDay's Range$193.15 - $204.8452wk Range$174.57 - $296.05Volume1MAvg Vol11MGross Margin75.28%Dividend Yield0.86% That's a lot of red ink While large-scale (not to mention accelerated) share buyback programs can give a stock a nice boost when announced, I'd be a bit cautious here. $25 billion in debt is a significant amount to take on at once, even if some of those notes are very long-term, and the company has the resources to retire those borrowings over time. Personally, I like to see companies use large chunks of capital to improve their businesses rather than fund monster-scale share buyback initiatives. Still, this wouldn't dissuade me from owning Salesforce stock, as the company is a powerhouse in the CRM world and likely to remain so.Read NextMar 12, 2026 •By Adam LevyThis Longtime SaaS Bear Now Sees Value in the Beaten-Down Software Sector -- Here's What They Say Investors Are Getting WrongMar 11, 2026 •By Keith Speights3 Beaten-Down Tech Stocks That Could Soar 40% or More, According to Wall StreetMar 10, 2026 •By Manali Pradhan, CFA1 Number From Salesforce's Earnings That Changes the AI NarrativeMar 3, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPASalesforce Stock Is Near a 3-Year Low. Is Now the Time to Buy?Mar 2, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerIs It Time to Buy Beaten-Down Salesforce?Feb 26, 2026 •By Daniel SparksIs Salesforce Stock a Buy After a Strong Earnings Report?About the AuthorEric Volkman is a contributing Motley Fool finance and stock market analyst. Previously, Eric was an equities analyst at European investment bank Raiffeisen Capital and Investment. He’s also been a freelance finance writer since 1995. He studied at Susquehanna University.TMFVolkmanStocks MentionedSalesforceNYSE: CRM$198.72(+2.36%)+$4.59*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.