The billionaire move nobody saw coming: Why Starboard Value abandoned CRM for these 2 stocks

Even Wall Street's most aggressive activist investors eventually walk away from Salesforce when they've squeezed out what they came for.

Starboard Value — the hedge fund that pushed hard on Salesforce's cost structure — just exited their CRM position after forcing a $25 billion buyback and watching earnings beat expectations. Job done. They moved on to other distressed bets.

Here's what that actually tells you: the investment thesis on Salesforce was never "great product." It was "bloated company that can cut costs and inflate the stock price." That's a very different thing.

For you, running ops or marketing at a mid-market company, it's a useful reminder. The platform you've been paying for was built to satisfy institutional investors and grow enterprise contract values — not to make your team's day easier. Every rigid workflow, every consultant dependency, every feature you can't touch without a six-figure implementation project exists inside a business model optimized for shareholder return, not yours.

You've already tried adapting your operations to fit what the software allows. That trade-off costs more than your renewal fee every single year.

The companies that win on customer experience aren't running their business inside someone else's product roadmap.

#CRM #SalesOperations #MidMarket #OperationsLeadership #BusinessGrowth

Original Source

Quick ReadJeff Smith exited CRM after activist pressure delivered a $25 billion buyback and strong EPS beats, then pivoted into distressed LW and ...