We recently published an article titled Top 12 Stocks to Buy According to Citadel Investment Group. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) stands against the other stocks.
Citadel Investment Group was officially founded by Ken Griffin on November 1, 1990, with $4.2 million in assets under management. By the end of 2013, the fund had expanded to $16 billion, a remarkable growth driven by a combination of advanced computer algorithms, complex financial models, and a highly secretive approach in its initial years. Griffin was an early adopter of quantitative, technology-driven investment strategies, implementing sophisticated methods long before many firms had even integrated basic digital tools. His reliance on cutting-edge technology and data-driven decision-making positioned Citadel as a leader in the hedge fund industry, setting it apart from traditional investment firms. As of Q4 2024, it holds approximately $577.87 billion in 13F securities in its highly diversified portfolio.
Known more commonly as Ken Griffin, Kenneth Cordele Griffin was born in 1968. His interest in finance began early, and while still a student, he started investing from his Harvard dorm room. In 1986, he launched a small hedge fund that leveraged emerging quantitative analytics to guide investment decisions. A year after he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics from Harvard College in 1989, Griffin founded Citadel, which has since become one of the world’s most successful alternative investment firms. In addition to leading Citadel, Griffin serves as the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities, a major global market maker.
Citadel was built on the principle that exceptional talent, combined with advanced quantitative analytics and powerful technology, could unlock significant opportunities in capital markets. The firm’s culture emphasizes continuous learning, innovation, and meritocracy, earning it a reputation as one of the best places to work on Wall Street. Today, Citadel manages over $60 billion in investment capital, consistently ranking among the most profitable hedge funds worldwide. Its success has benefited a range of institutional investors, including pension funds, university endowments, hospital systems, and foundations, contributing to impactful advancements in fields such as medical research and scientific discovery.
Citadel Investment Group employs a diverse range of investment strategies, with a strong focus on fixed income, macro, and quantitative trading. Its fixed income and macro strategy, one of the firm’s longest-running approaches, targets interest rate swaps, sovereign bonds, inflation, currencies, emerging markets, equities, commodities, and credit. By leveraging macro and relative value strategies, the firm integrates quantitative modeling, deep macroeconomic insights, and monetary policy expertise to identify opportunities. The research and trading teams work collaboratively, applying both qualitative and quantitative analysis to generate and refine investment ideas.
Additionally, Citadel’s Global Quantitative Strategies (GQS), established in 2012, has rapidly grown into a major force in the industry. Utilizing advanced statistical and quantitative modeling techniques, its agile teams of researchers, engineers, and traders develop and execute investment strategies with precision. Specialization, collaboration, and centralized operations drive efficiency, allowing the firm to run complex strategies at scale. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep expertise, Citadel continues to expand its capabilities and strengthen its competitive position in global markets.
Beyond finance, Griffin has made a profound impact through philanthropy, donating over $2 billion to education, healthcare, and social initiatives. His philanthropic efforts, now coordinated through Griffin Catalyst, have expanded educational access, strengthened medical and research institutions, and supported cultural organizations. His strategic insights also played a key role in the development of Operation Warp Speed, accelerating COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Whether in business or philanthropy, Griffin’s commitment to data-driven decision-making and transformative impact remains a defining characteristic of his career.
Our Methodology
The stocks discussed below were picked from Citadel Investment Group’s Q4 2024 13F filings. They are compiled in the ascending order of the hedge fund’s stake in them as of December 31, 2024. To assist readers with more context, we have included the hedge fund sentiment regarding each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A customer service team in an office setting using the company’s Customer 360 platform to communicate with customers.
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 162
Citadel Investment Group’s Equity Stake: $548.18 Million
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), an American cloud-based software company, reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and issued a disappointing forecast. The company posted earnings per share of $2.78, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $2.61, but revenue came in at $9.99 billion, falling short of the anticipated $10.04 billion. While revenue grew 7.6% year-over-year for the quarter ending January 31, net income increased to $1.71 billion, up from $1.45 billion in the same period last year. Despite the revenue miss, Salesforce continues to experience steady financial growth.
Of the company’s Subscription and Support revenue segments, Service emerged strongest even though it underperformed analyst expectations, reaching a revenue of $2.33 billion. In the sales category, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) achieved revenue of $2.13 billion. Both figures marked an 8% increase but still fell short of consensus estimates of $2.33 billion and $2.37 billion respectively. A key development in the quarter was the launch of Salesforce’s second-generation AI tool, Agentforce, which integrates with Slack to assist employees. Since October, over 3,000 paid deals have been completed for Agentforce, and it has participated in 380,000 customer service interactions, with human intervention required in only 2% of cases. CEO Marc Benioff highlighted Salesforce’s ability to scale AI capabilities, differentiating it from competitors.
For fiscal 2026, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) projects adjusted earnings per share between $11.09 and $11.17, with revenue ranging from $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion, reflecting a 7.4% growth rate. However, these figures fell short of analyst expectations, which estimated adjusted earnings per share of $11.18 and revenue of $41.35 billion. The lower-than-expected forecast suggests potential challenges in maintaining revenue momentum, despite Salesforce’s ongoing investments in AI and cloud services. While the company remains on a growth trajectory, investors may be cautious about its ability to meet market expectations in the coming fiscal year.
Mar Vista Global Quality Strategy stated the following regarding Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Investors cheered a solid fiscal year Q3 performance from Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), with results driven by strength in subscription revenues, current remaining performance obligations (CRPO), and operating margin. Both the Sales and Service Clouds returned to double-digit growth, fueled by strong adoption of multi-cloud and vertical-specific solutions. These results highlight Salesforce’s ability to address diverse customer needs and sustain growth across its core offerings.
Management expressed significant excitement about Agentforce, an organically developed generative AI product that is garnering enthusiasm from both system integrator partners and customers alike. This innovation underscores Salesforce’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions that enhance customer engagement and drive productivity. While Agentforce’s contributions to subscription revenues and CRPO bookings are still immaterial for now, the growing pipeline provides a solid foundation for optimism around Salesforce’s ability to productize and monetize its generative AI offerings.”
Overall CRM ranks 12th on our list of the top stocks to buy according to Citadel Investment Group. While we acknowledge the potential for CRM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.