Salesforce, Adobe, and ADP have collectively authorized $56 billion in software stock buybacks over the past five months, a coordinated signal from management that beaten-down share prices represent value, even as the broader AI disruption narrative continues to weigh on the sector.
| Company | Ticker | Buyback Size | % of Shares Outstanding | Consensus Rating | Avg. Price Target Upside |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | CRM | $25B | ~14% | Moderate Buy | ~35% |
| Adobe | ADBE | $25B | ~25% | Hold | ~35% |
| Automatic Data Processing | ADP | $6B | ~6% | Hold | ~13% |
Salesforce Software Stock Buybacks Backed by $25B Debt Raise
The scale of Salesforce’s repurchase is unusual by any measure. Salesforce’s own press release describes it as the largest accelerated share repurchase in history broadly, not just in the company’s history. The program, announced March 16, covers 103 million shares at roughly 80% of what the company expects to repurchase under a broader $50 billion board authorization approved in February 2026.
The financing behind the buyback is aggressive. According to Salesforce’s 8-K filing, the company raised the $25 billion by selling senior notes across eight tranches maturing between 2028 and 2066, generating approximately $24.885 billion in net proceeds, all earmarked for the accelerated share repurchase. Simultaneously, Salesforce executed a new $6 billion five-year unsecured term loan, using those proceeds to retire an existing $4 billion 364-day term loan and a $2 billion three-year term loan.
In short, Salesforce levered up materially to buy back stock near a multi-year low. CRM fell more than 38% from its January 7 YTD high before bottoming on April 10. The stock has recovered about 9.1% since. Of 39 analysts covering the name, 26 rate it Buy, with a consensus Moderate Buy and a 12-month price target implying roughly 35% upside from current levels.
Adobe’s $25B Program Runs to 2030, With a Dilution Caveat
Adobe’s repurchase announcement landed April 21 and targets nearly 25% of shares outstanding, the largest proportional commitment of the three. Per Adobe’s 8-K, the program runs through April 30, 2030, with purchases permitted on the open market or via structured repurchase agreements at management’s discretion on timing and size.
One offset worth tracking: at the same annual stockholder meeting on April 21, shareholders approved an amendment to Adobe’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan adding 12 million shares to the reserve for future stock-based compensation. That partially offsets buyback-driven share count reduction. Adobe CFO Dan Durn framed the repurchase as a direct expression of confidence in the company’s cash flow, per the Adobe investor relations release.
The backdrop is a stock that has lost roughly 28% year-to-date, about 40% over the past year, and more than 50% over five years. Revenue growth slowed from a four-year average of 21.31% (2018-2021) to 10.77% over the past four years. Net cash flow fell from positive $472 million in 2024 to negative $2.2 billion in 2025. ADBE has beaten earnings expectations for 13 straight quarters, but that track record has not been enough to lift the stock. Consensus sits at Hold, with analysts’ average price target implying about 35% upside.
ADP Lifts Its Authorization by $1B Over Prior Program
ADP’s $6 billion repurchase, announced January 14, looks modest next to the $25 billion plans at CRM and ADBE. The context matters: ADP’s press release confirms the new authorization fully replaces the previous 2022 program, which was capped at $5 billion, a $1 billion incremental increase. The company plans to repurchase up to 403 million common shares, or about 6% of shares outstanding.
ADP’s payroll and HR software business has held up better operationally than its peers: the company has beaten earnings estimates for 24 consecutive quarters dating to Q4 FY2020, and 34 of 35 quarters going back to Q4 FY2017. Revenue growth has cooled, falling from a four-year high near 10% in 2022 to just over 7% in 2025. The stock dropped nearly 27% from the announcement date before hitting its April 10 low, then recovered more than 16%.
Analysts are not chasing it. ADP carries a consensus Hold rating with a 12-month price target implying about 13% upside, the narrowest potential return of the three. That gap between management’s capital allocation confidence and analyst conviction is the tension the stock is living in right now.
The next concrete test for all three names: quarterly earnings. Any software stock buybacks story that does not come with revenue reacceleration will keep analyst sentiment anchored at Hold, no matter how large the authorization.
