The Clorox Company (CLX) vs Salesforce, Inc. (CRM): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-09-17, CLX is overvalued at $84, with a DCF intrinsic value of $69 and a margin of safety of -22%. CRM is overvalued at $245, with an intrinsic value of $158 and a margin of safety of -55%. Of the two, CLX has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★The Clorox Company has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
- ★The Clorox Company scores 75/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
- ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
- ★Gross margin of 77.3% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Free cash flow has grown at a 31.6% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
- ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $5.53 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
Risks
- ⚠High leverage (21.65x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
- ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 4.8x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
- ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 24.2% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.
Key Valuation Metrics
Learn more →Historical Fundamentals
Learn more →Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
$1 Retained Earnings Test
Learn more →> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
Learn more →Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth
Learn more →What growth rate is the market pricing in at $84?
The market implies +10.7% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.
Standard FCF implies a more demanding +16.6%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.
What growth rate is the market pricing in at $245?
The market implies +9.1% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.
Standard FCF implies a more demanding +1.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. Margin Stability is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.
Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.
Forensic Accounting
Learn more →M-Score Trend
M-Score Trend
Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
Ownership Breakdown
Learn more →High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
Insider Buying Activity
Learn more →Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.
Insider Selling Activity
Learn more →Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.
🎭 Mr. Market's Mood
Learn more →"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"
"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
⚖️ Buffett Signal
Learn more →The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
Frequently Asked Questions: CLX vs CRM
Is The Clorox Company or Salesforce, Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, CLX trades at a -22.2% margin of safety (intrinsic value $69 vs. price $84), compared to CRM's -55.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $158 vs. $245).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, The Clorox Company or Salesforce, Inc.?▼
CLX scores 75/100 (Wide moat), while CRM scores 58/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Is The Clorox Company in financial distress?▼
CLX's Altman Z-Score of 2.0 places it in the Grey zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. CRM scores 3.4 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.
Which company has better free cash flow, The Clorox Company or Salesforce, Inc.?▼
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) generates a 8.8% free cash flow yield, compared to The Clorox Company's 4.0%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.
Which stock has higher return on invested capital, The Clorox Company or Salesforce, Inc.?▼
CLX earns 11.7% ROIC versus CRM's 9.2%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.
Which dividend is safer, The Clorox Company's or Salesforce, Inc.'s?▼
CRM's dividend earns a safety score of 88/100 (Very Safe), compared to CLX's 24/100 (Unsafe). CRM has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.