TIVP044: SALESFORCE (CRM): AGENTFORCE OR AI-NATIVE?

W/ DANIEL MAHNCKE & SHAWN O’MALLEY

TIVP044: SALESFORCE (CRM): AGENTFORCE OR AI-NATIVE? W/ DANIEL MAHNCKE & SHAWN O’MALLEY

02 November 2025

Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley dive into Salesforce — the company that practically invented modern enterprise software and is now trying to reinvent it again through AI. From its origins as the pioneer of the Software-as-a-Service model in the late 1990s, Salesforce has grown into the world’s #1 CRM provider, powering customer relationships for over 90% of the Fortune 500.

In this episode, Daniel and Shawn unpack how Salesforce built one of the most resilient recurring-revenue machines in tech, and how its latest platform, Agentforce, marks the company’s biggest reinvention yet — bringing autonomous AI agents directly into the workflows of global enterprises.

They explore how Salesforce’s massive scale, deep cloud integration, and trusted enterprise relationships give it a unique advantage in the AI race. But they also tackle the key questions investors are asking: can AI-native products disrupt Salesforce’s moat, have Marc Benioff’s expensive acquisitions truly paid off, and can Agentforce reaccelerate Salesforce’s growth?

Join Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley as they find out whether Salesforce deserves a spot in the Intrinsic Value Portfolio.

SUBSCRIBE

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • What exactly Salesforce does
  • How Salesforce dominates the CRM market and revolutionizes AI Agents
  • Who Founder and CEO Marc Benioff is and how he thinks
  • How the management and executives are compensated and incentivized
  • Where Salesforce’s moat comes from and whether it’s sustainable
  • Where Salesforce invests its money
  • Whether Salesforce is fairly valued
  • Whether Shawn & Daniel add CRM to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio
  • And much, much more!

TRANSCRIPT

Disclaimer: The transcript that follows has been generated using artificial intelligence. We strive to be as accurate as possible, but minor errors and slightly off timestamps may be present due to platform differences.

[00:00:00] Daniel Mahncke: The prevailing narrative is that software companies will be killed by AI, but Salesforce is not only deeply embedded in tens of thousands of the largest companies in the world. It’s also the first mover in the AI agents space.

[00:00:13] Shawn O’Malley: The situation reminds me a lot of Adobe, where you’ve had the stock that just gets continually punished despite having very solid fundamental financial performance.

[00:00:22] Shawn O’Malley: Because the market prefers to bet on the potential and excitement of AI rather than looking at actual cash flows.

[00:00:29] Daniel Mahncke: Well, at least it’s a good hunting ground for us. I mean, Salesforce trades at its lowest, multiple, and many, many years while doubling down on free cash flow and margins. But there are some yellow flags as well, and despite great performance in the past, I think the CEO is one of them, and that’s what we will discuss today.

[00:00:51] Intro: You are listening to The Intrinsic Value Podcast by The Investor’s Podcast Network. Since 2014, with over 180 million downloads, we’ve learned directly from the world’s best investors. Now we are applying those lessons to analyze businesses and investment opportunities every week, helping you uncover intrinsic value. And now here are your hosts, Shawn O’Malley and Daniel Mahncke.

[00:01:24] Shawn O’Malley: Today’s episode is about a company that has seen quite the rollercoaster ride in the last few years since the pandemic. In 2020, the stock has had five declines of over 20%. The biggest one coming in 2022 in the stock more than halved, but there’s another big one going on right now. I’m talking about Salesforce.

[00:01:43] Shawn O’Malley: Year to date, the stock is down over 25%. And in your hints last week, Daniel, you joke that we tend to buy companies that are high quality, but for one reason or another we find ourselves looking at companies that are maybe on the top 10 lists of worst performers for the S&P 500 when we actually initiate a position in them.

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