Salesforce.com Inc.

The stable outlook on Salesforce reflects our expectation for continued strong revenue and cash flow growth supported by its software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model and market share expansion, as well as our view that the company will pursue acquisitions in a manner consistent with the credit ratings. We would consider a lower rating if Salesforce engages in a large debt-funded acquisition that elevates adjusted leverage above 2x on a sustained basis. An $11 billion acquisition of a company with no EBITDA, funded with a combination of cash and debt, would likely trigger adjusted leverage to exceed 2x. Although unlikely, we would consider an upgrade over the longer term if we come to believe that Salesforce is committed to maintaining a conservative

...S&P Global Ratings expects Salesforce to be moderately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. As of fiscal 2020 ended Jan. 31, subscription revenues represent over 90% of Salesforce's total revenues. We view its products as mission critical, especially as digital transformation becomes crucial across the industries in which Salesforce's customers operate, and believe its business to be resilient, although we expect the company, similar to others in the industry, could offer concessions to its customer such as billing deferrals in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Although management has not provided an update on the full year fiscal 2021 guidance due to uncertainty, we believe the company is well positioned to withstand short-term macroeconomic pressures due to its larger exposure to enterprise customers with its upmarket shift over recent years. We now expect fiscal 2021 revenue growth around 17%, versus our prior forecast of 20%, to reflect fewer new customer wins, after higher-than-expected...

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