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⚠ The Definition Moves Every YearModerate threat

Salesforce (CRM) — threat to the moat

Salesforce's eight percent attrition excludes self-service Slack and recent acquisitions, and its definition has changed in most years since 2020.

A stable number is only reassuring if it measures the same thing each year, and Salesforce's attrition rate does not. In fiscal 2020 it excluded Commerce, Integration, Salesforce.org and Tableau1. In fiscal 2021 the method changed to include Marketing and Commerce, and the rate rose to between 9.0% and 9.5%2. In fiscal 2022 it excluded MuleSoft, Salesforce.org, Tableau and Slack and fell to between 7.0 and 7.5 percent3. In fiscal 2024 it excluded Slack but now included MuleSoft and Tableau, at about eight percent4.

What the Salesforce attrition rate excluded, by fiscal yearFY2020: below 9%excl. Commerce, Integration, .org, TableauFY2021: 9.0-9.5%now incl. Marketing and CommerceFY2022: 7.0-7.5%excl. MuleSoft, .org, Tableau, SlackFY2024: about 8%excl. Slack; incl. MuleSoft and TableauFY2026: about 8%excl. Slack self-service, new acquisitionsSalesforce Forms 10-K FY2020-FY2026, attrition disclosures
Five years, five definitions.

The latest version excludes "Slack self-service and current year acquisitions"5. The company explains the general rule: "we exclude service offerings from acquisitions from our attrition calculation until they are fully integrated into our customer success organization"6. That is reasonable, but it means the businesses most likely to churn, the newest and the self-service, sit outside the figure.

Nothing here suggests the number is wrong. It suggests it is a floor for a defined core, not a measure of the whole company, which now includes $388 million of Informatica revenue7 that the rate leaves out.

Fiscal 2023 had its own version. That year the rate, "excluding MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack, was below 7.5 percent"8, and the next year MuleSoft and Tableau were brought back in, which is when the figure settled near eight.

The tell would be another narrowing. If a future 10-K adds a fresh exclusion in the same year the rate holds at eight percent, the stability will owe something to the definition rather than the customers.

References
  1. ReportedIn fiscal 2020 it excluded Commerce, Integration, Salesforce.org and Tableau.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2020 (year ended 31 January 2020) - the Tableau acquisition, employees, attrition and revenue by service offering for fiscal 2018-2020. — FY2020 · publ. March 2020 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIn fiscal 2021 the method changed to include Marketing and Commerce, and the rate rose to between 9.0% and 9.5%.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2021 (year ended 31 January 2021) - employees, attrition and RPO. — FY2021 · publ. March 2021 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn fiscal 2022 it excluded MuleSoft, Salesforce.org, Tableau and Slack and fell to between 7.0 and 7.5 percent.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2022 (year ended 31 January 2022) - the Slack acquisition, the reclassification of Integration and Analytics into a Data line with fiscal 2020-2021 restated, employees, attrition and RPO. — FY2022 · publ. March 2022 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIn fiscal 2024 it excluded Slack but now included MuleSoft and Tableau, at about eight percent.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 (year ended 31 January 2024) - the January 2023 restructuring plan, the renaming of Data to Integration and Analytics, attrition, employees and revenue by service offering for fiscal 2022-2024. — FY2024 · publ. March 2024 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe latest version excludes "Slack self-service and current year acquisitions".
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 31 January 2026) - acquisitions, purchase-price allocations, goodwill and intangible assets. — FY2026 · publ. 2 March 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe company explains the general rule: "we exclude service offerings from acquisitions from our attrition calculation until they are fully integrated into our customer success organization".
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 31 January 2026) - acquisitions, purchase-price allocations, goodwill and intangible assets. — FY2026 · publ. 2 March 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedIt suggests it is a floor for a defined core, not a measure of the whole company, which now includes $388 million of Informatica revenue that the rate leaves out.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 31 January 2026) - acquisitions, purchase-price allocations, goodwill and intangible assets. — FY2026 · publ. 2 March 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThat year the rate, "excluding MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack, was below 7.5 percent", and the next year MuleSoft and Tableau were brought back in, which is when the figure settled near eight.
    Salesforce Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 (year ended 31 January 2023) - the first share repurchase programme, employees, attrition, revenue by service offering and the income statement for fiscal 2021-2023. — FY2023 · publ. March 2023 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 4, 2026