Why Salesforce is Borrowing $25 Billion to Buy Its Own Stock
San Francisco, Sunday, 22 March 2026.
Salesforce is taking on $25 billion in debt to aggressively buy back its own shares, signaling executive confidence but raising concerns about financial risk and artificial intelligence competition.
The Mechanics of a Debt-Fueled Buyback
In February 2026, Salesforce established a massive $50 billion share repurchase program [1][2]. Moving swiftly to execute this strategy, the company announced and initiated a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program on March 16, 2026 [1][4][6]. To fund this, Salesforce issued $25 billion in debt [6], prepaying for 103 million shares [3]. By taking on debt to retire equity, Salesforce is actively attempting to lower its weighted average cost of capital [2].