Salesforce has become one of the most aggressive buyers in a broader deal boom, acquiring companies every week or two. According to Sina Finance, Dealogic data show announced transactions totaled $2.6 trillion year to date, up 66% from the same period last year.
Salesforce’s recent purchases include AI call-center software maker Cresta for $2.7 billion and customer engagement platform Braze for $5.7 billion. It also completed its acquisition of Listen Labs, announced in September with no price disclosed, and bought customer AI agent company Fin for $3.6 billion. Over the past 12 months, Salesforce has spent or committed at least $25 billion across eight acquisitions, nearly all valued above $1 billion. The company has mostly paid cash for its recent deals. Its free cash flow as a share of revenue reached 35% in fiscal 2026, up from 20% in fiscal 2023.
Other deals cited include Marvell and Lumentum, DoorDash and Instacart, Fox’s acquisition of Roku, and the Skydance Media–Warner Bros. Discovery transaction. The article links the deal pace to a currently lenient U.S. antitrust environment, which it says could change after a two-year window. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the company has become better at making acquisitions that add to earnings without diluting shareholders.
The article also highlights election-related risks to data center construction. More than 20 gubernatorial candidates support pausing development, and candidates backing pauses could win in as many as 15 states. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa has proposed a stricter pause than Greg Abbott until lawmakers establish permanent rules. Georgia candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for a pause and an impact review. In Florida, Byron Donalds has received support from political action committees linked to Anthropic and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, while David Jolly supports a pause. Alaska candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has also proposed a pause and AI regulations.
Alex
