Summary of Business and Significant Accounting Policies | Summary of Business and Significant Accounting Policies Description of Business Salesforce (the “Company”) is a global leader in customer relationship management ("CRM") technology that brings companies and customers together. With the Customer 360 platform, the Company delivers a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps and devices to help companies sell, service, market and conduct commerce, from anywhere. Since its founding in 1999, Salesforce has pioneered innovations in cloud, mobile, social, analytics and artificial intelligence (“AI”), enabling companies of every size and industry to transform their businesses in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere era. Fiscal Year The Company’s fiscal year ends on January 31. References to fiscal 2021, for example, refer to the fiscal year ending January 31, 2021. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. Significant estimates and assumptions made by management include the determination of: • the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed for business combinations; • the standalone selling price (“SSP”) of performance obligations for revenue contracts with multiple performance obligations; • the valuation of privately-held strategic investments, including impairments; • the recognition, measurement and valuation of current and deferred income taxes and uncertain tax positions; • the average period of benefit associated with costs capitalized to obtain revenue contracts; • the useful lives of intangible assets; and • the fair value of certain stock awards issued. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the result of which forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. In December 2019, the novel coronavirus and resulting disease (“COVID-19”) was reported and in March 2020 the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operational and financial performance depends on certain developments, including the duration of the pandemic, the impact on the Company’s customers and its sales and renewal cycles, and the impact on the Company’s employees, as discussed in more detail in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” As a result, the estimates and assumptions used by the Company may change, as new events occur and additional information is obtained, and such changes will be recognized in the consolidated financial statements as soon as they become known. Actual results could differ from these estimates and any such differences may be material to the Company’s financial statements. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Segments The Company operates as one operating segment. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. Over the past few years, the Company has completed a number of acquisitions. These acquisitions have allowed the Company to expand its offerings, presence and reach in various market segments of the enterprise cloud computing market. While the Company has offerings in multiple enterprise cloud computing market segments, including as a result of the Company's acquisitions, and operates in multiple countries, the Company’s business operates in one operating segment because most of the Company's service offerings operate on the Customer 360 Platform, most of the Company's service offerings are deployed in a nearly identical way, and the Company’s CODM evaluates the Company’s financial information and resources and assesses the performance of these resources on a consolidated basis. Concentrations of Credit Risk, Significant Customers and Investments The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable. Collateral is not required for accounts receivable. The Company maintains an allowance for its doubtful accounts receivable due to estimated credit losses. This allowance is based upon historical loss patterns, the number of days that billings are past due, an evaluation of the potential risk of loss associated with delinquent accounts and current market conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions to inform adjustments to historical loss patterns. The Company records the allowance against bad debt expense through the consolidated statement of operations, included in general and administrative expense, up to the amount of revenues recognized to date. Any incremental allowance is recorded as an offset to unearned revenue on the consolidated balance sheet. Receivables are written off and charged against the recorded allowance when the Company has exhausted collection efforts without success. No single customer accounted for more than five percent of accounts receivable at January 31, 2021 and January 31, 2020. No single customer accounted for five percent or more of total revenue during fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019. As of January 31, 2021 and January 31, 2020, assets located outside the Americas were 15 percent and 12 percent of total assets, respectively. As of January 31, 2021 and January 31, 2020, assets located in the United States were 82 percent and 87 percent of total assets, respectively. The Company is also exposed to concentrations of risk in its strategic investment portfolio. As of January 31, 2021, the Company held one publicly traded investment with a carrying value that was approximately 35 percent of its total strategic investments, one publicly traded investment with a carrying value greater than 15 percent of its total strategic investments, and one privately held investment with a carrying value that was individually greater than five percent of its strategic investment portfolio. The two publicly held investments represented 53 percent of the total balance of the Company’s strategic investments as of January 31, 2021. As of January 31, 2020, the Company held five investments that were individually greater than five percent of its total strategic investments, of which one was publicly traded and four were privately held. Revenue Recognition The Company derives its revenues from two sources: (1) subscription revenues, which are comprised of subscription fees from customers accessing the Company’s enterprise cloud computing services (collectively, “Cloud Services”), software licenses, and from customers paying for additional support beyond the standard support that is included in the basic subscription fees; and (2) related professional services such as process mapping, project management and implementation services. Other revenue consists primarily of training fees. Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products and services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those products or services. If the consideration promised in a contract includes a variable amount, for example, overage fees, contingent fees or service level penalties, the Company includes an estimate of the amount it expects to receive for the total transaction price if it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur. The Company determines the amount of revenue to be recognized through the application of the following steps: • Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; • Identification of the performance obligations in the contract; • Determination of the transaction price; • Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and • Recognition of revenue when or as the Company satisfies the performance obligations. The Company’s subscription service arrangements are non-cancelable and do not contain refund-type provisions. Subscription and Support Revenues Subscription and support revenues are comprised of fees that provide customers with access to Cloud Services, software licenses and related support and updates during the term of the arrangement. Cloud Services allow customers to use the Company's multi-tenant software without taking possession of the software. Revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term. With the May 2018 acquisition of MuleSoft, Inc. (“MuleSoft”) and the August 2019 acquisition of Tableau Software, Inc. (“Tableau”), subscription and support revenues also include revenues associated with term software licenses. On-premises software licenses purchased by customers provide the customer with a right to use the software as it exists when made available. Revenues from distinct licenses are generally recognized upfront when the software is made available to the customer. In cases where the Company allocates revenue to software updates and support revenue, the allocated revenue is recognized as the updates are provided, which is generally ratably over the contract term. The Company typically invoices its customers annually. Typical payment terms provide that customers pay within 30 days of invoice. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and in unearned revenue or revenue, depending on whether transfer of control to customers has occurred. Professional Services and Other Revenues The Company’s professional services contracts are either on a time and materials, fixed fee or subscription basis. These revenues are recognized as the services are rendered for time and materials contracts, on a proportional performance basis for fixed price contracts or ratably over the contract term for subscription professional services contracts. Training revenues are recognized as the services are performed. Significant Judgments - Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations The Company enters into contracts with its customers that may include promises to transfer multiple Cloud Services, software licenses, premium support and professional services. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract with a customer to transfer products or services that are distinct. Determining whether products and services are distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately or combined as one unit of accounting may require significant judgment. Cloud Services and software licenses are distinct because such offerings are often sold separately. In determining whether professional services are distinct, the Company considers the following factors for each professional services agreement: availability of the services from other vendors, the nature of the professional services, the timing of when the professional services contract was signed in comparison to the subscription start date and the contractual dependence of the service on the customer’s satisfaction with the professional services work. To date, the Company has concluded that professional services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct. The Company allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation on a relative SSP basis. The SSP is the price at which the Company would sell a promised product or service separately to a customer. Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. The Company determines SSP by considering its overall pricing objectives and market conditions. Significant pricing practices taken into consideration include the Company’s discounting practices, the size and volume of the Company’s transactions, the customer demographic, the geographic area where services are sold, price lists, the Company's go-to-market strategy, historical sales and contract prices. In instances where the Company does not sell or price a product or service separately, the Company determines relative fair value using information that may include market conditions or other observable inputs. As the Company’s go-to-market strategies evolve, the Company may modify its pricing practices in the future, which could result in changes to SSP. In certain cases, the Company is able to establish SSP based on observable prices of products or services sold or priced separately in comparable circumstances to similar customers. The Company uses a single amount to estimate SSP when it has observable prices. If SSP is not directly observable, for example when pricing is highly variable, the Company uses a range of SSP. The Company determines the SSP range using information that may include pricing practices or other observable inputs. The Company typically has more than one SSP for individual products and services due to the stratification of those products and services by customer size and geography. Costs Capitalized to Obtain Revenue Contracts The Company capitalizes incremental costs of obtaining non-cancelable Cloud Services subscription, ongoing Cloud Services support and license support revenue contracts. For contracts with on-premises software licenses where revenue is recognized upfront when the software is made available to the customer, costs allocable to those licenses are expensed as they are incurred. Capitalized amounts consist primarily of sales commissions paid to the Company’s direct sales force. Capitalized amounts also include (1) amounts paid to employees other than the direct sales force who earn incentive payouts under annual compensation plans that are tied to the value of contracts acquired, (2) commissions paid to employees upon renewals of subscription and support contracts, (3) the associated payroll taxes and fringe benefit costs associated with the payments to the Company’s employees, and (4) to a lesser extent, success fees paid to partners in emerging markets where the Company has a limited presence. Costs capitalized related to new revenue contracts are amortized on a straight-line basis over four years, which is longer than the typical initial contract period, but reflects the estimated average period of benefit, including expected contract renewals. In arriving at this average period of benefit, the Company evaluated both qualitative and quantitative factors which included the estimated life cycles of its offerings and its customer attrition. Additionally, the Company amortizes capitalized costs for renewals and success fees paid to partners over two years. The capitalized amounts are recoverable through future revenue streams under all non-cancelable customer contracts. The Company periodically evaluates whether there have been any changes in its business, the market conditions in which it operates or other events which would indicate that its amortization period should be changed or if there are potential indicators of impairment. Amortization of capitalized costs to obtain revenue contracts is included in marketing and sales expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. During fiscal 2021, the Company capitalized $1.6 billion of costs to obtain revenue contracts and amortized $1.1 billion to marketing and sales expense. During fiscal 2020, the Company capitalized $1.1 billion of costs to obtain revenue contracts and amortized $0.9 billion to marketing and sales expense. During fiscal 2021 the Company offered its direct sales force a partial minimum commission guarantee that would pay the greater of actual commissions earned or a fixed amount of their variable compensation that would have otherwise been paid during the three months ended April 30, 2020 if incremental new business had not been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As these payments were guaranteed, and not a cost to obtain a revenue contract, the amounts were immediately expensed and are reflected in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations for fiscal 2021. Costs capitalized to obtain a revenue contract, net on the Company's consolidated balance sheets totaled $2.9 billion as of January 31, 2021 and $2.3 billion as of January 31, 2020. There were no impairments of costs to obtain revenue contracts for fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are stated at fair value. Marketable Securities The Company considers all of its marketable debt securities as available for use in current operations, including those with maturity dates beyond one year, and therefore classifies these securities within current assets on the consolidated balance sheets. Securities are classified as available for sale and are carried at fair value, with the change in unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, reported as a separate component on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income until realized. Fair value is determined based on quoted market rates when observable or utilizing data points that are observable, such as quoted prices, interest rates and yield curves. Securities with an amortized cost basis in excess of estimated fair value are assessed to determine what amount of the excess, if any, is caused by expected credit losses, as required by new accounting pronouncement, Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13 (“ASU 2016-13”), discussed in further detail below. Expected credit losses on securities are recognized in other income (expense), net on the consolidated statements of operations, and any remaining unrealized losses, net of taxes, are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders' equity. For the purposes of computing realized and unrealized gains and losses, the cost of securities sold is based on the specific-identification method. Interest on securities classified as available for sale is included as a component of investment income within other expense. Strategic Investments The Company holds strategic investments in privately held debt and equity securities and publicly held equity securities in which the Company does not have a controlling interest. Privately held equity securities which the Company does not have a controlling financial interest in but does exercise significant influence over the investee are accounted for under the equity method. Privately held equity securities not accounted for under the equity method are recorded at cost and adjusted for observable transactions for same or similar investments of the same issuer (referred to as the measurement alternative) or impairment. All gains and losses on privately held equity securities, realized and unrealized, are recorded through gains on strategic investments, net on the consolidated statement of operations. Privately held debt securities are recorded at fair value with changes in fair value recorded through comprehensive income on the consolidated balance sheet. Valuations of privately held securities are inherently complex and require judgment due to the lack of readily available market data. The carrying value is not adjusted for the Company's privately held equity securities if there are no observable price changes in a same or similar security from the same issuer or if there are no identified events or changes in circumstances that may indicate impairment, as discussed below. In determining the estimated fair value of its strategic investments in privately held companies, the Company utilizes the most recent data available to the Company. The Company assesses its privately held debt and equity securities in its strategic investment portfolio at least quarterly for impairment. The Company’s impairment analysis encompasses an assessment of both qualitative and quantitative factors including the investee's financial metrics, market acceptance of the investee's product or technology and the rate at which the investee is using its cash. If the investment is considered impaired, the Company recognizes an impairment through the consolidated statement of operations and establishes a new carrying value for the investment. Publicly held equity securities are measured at fair value with changes recorded through gains on strategic investments, net on the consolidated statement of operations. Fair Value Measurement The Company measures its cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and foreign currency derivative contracts at fair value. In addition, the Company measures its strategic investments, including its publicly held equity securities, privately held debt securities and privately held equity securities for which there has been an observable price change in a same or similar security, at fair value. The additional disclosures regarding the Company’s fair value measurements are included in Note 4 “Fair Value Measurement.” Derivative Financial Instruments The Company enters into foreign currency derivative contracts with financial institutions to reduce foreign exchange risk. The Company uses forward currency derivative contracts to minimize the Company’s exposure to balances primarily denominated in the Euro, British Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen. The Company’s foreign currency derivative contracts, which are not designated as hedging instruments, are used to reduce the exchange rate risk associated primarily with intercompany receivables and payables. The Company’s derivative financial instruments program is not designated for trading or speculative purposes. The Company generally enters into master netting arrangements with the financial institutions with which it contracts for such derivative contracts, which permit net settlement of transactions with the same counterparty, thereby reducing credit-related losses in the event of the financial institutions' nonperformance. Outstanding foreign currency derivative contracts are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets. Foreign currency derivative contracts are marked-to-market at the end of each reporting period with gains and losses recognized as other expense to offset the gains or losses resulting from the settlement or remeasurement of the underlying foreign currency denominated receivables and payables. While the contract or notional amount is often used to express the volume of foreign currency derivative contracts, the amounts potentially subject to credit risk are generally limited to the amounts, if any, by which the counterparties’ obligations under the agreements exceed the obligations of the Company to the counterparties. The notional amount of foreign currency derivative contracts as of January 31, 2021 and 2020 was $5.3 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of those assets as follows: Computers, equipment and software 3 to 9 years Furniture and fixtures 5 years Leasehold improvements Shorter of the estimated lease term or 10 years Buildings and building improvements 10 to 40 years When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from their respective accounts and any loss on such retirement is reflected in operating expenses. Leases The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception and classifies its leases at commencement. Operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and current and noncurrent operating lease liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Assets recognized from finance leases (also referred to as “ROU” assets) are included in property and equipment, accrued expenses and other liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities, respectively, on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. ROU assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term. The corresponding lease liabilities represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The Company does not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for leases with a term of 12 months or less for any asset classes. Lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement, net of any future tenant incentives. The Company has lease agreements which contain both lease and non-lease components, which it has elected to combine for all asset classes. As such, minimum lease payments include fixed payments for non-lease components within a lease agreement, but exclude variable lease payments not dependent on an index or rate, such as common area maintenance, operating expenses, utilities, or other costs that are subject to fluctuation from period to period. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease. Periods beyond the noncancellable term of the lease are included in the measurement of the lease liability when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise the associated extension option or waive the termination option. The Company reassesses the lease term if and when a significant event or change in circumstances occurs within the control of the Company. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the net present value of future minimum lease payments is determined using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. The Company's incremental borrowing rate is an estimate of the interest rate the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis with similar terms and payments, in the economic environment where the leased asset is located. The lease ROU asset is recognized based on the lease liability, adjusted for any rent payments or initial direct costs incurred or tenant incentives received prior to commencement. Lease expenses for minimum lease payments for operating leases are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Amortization expense of finance lease ROU assets is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, and interest expense for finance lease liabilities is recognized based on the incremental borrowing rate. Expense for variable lease payments are recognized as incurred. On the lease commencement date, the Company also establishes assets and liabilities for the present value of estimated future costs to retire long-lived assets at the termination or expiration of a lease. Such assets are included in property and equipment and are amortized over the lease term to operating expense. The Company has entered into subleases or has made decisions and taken actions to exit and sublease certain unoccupied leased office space. Similar to other long-lived assets discussed below, management tests ROU assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. For leased assets, such circumstances would include the decision to leave a leased facility prior to the end of the minimum lease term or subleases for which estimated cash flow do not fully cover the costs of the associated lease. Intangible Assets Acquired through Business Combinations Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Each period, the Company evaluates the estimated remaining useful life of its intangible assets and whether events or changes in circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining period of amortization. Management tests for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment Assessment The Company evaluates intangible assets and long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. This includes but is not limited to significant adverse changes in business climate, market conditions or other events that indicate an asset's carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverability of these assets is measured by comparing the carrying amount of each asset to the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate. If the undiscounted cash flows used in the test for recoverability are less than the carrying amount of these assets, the carrying amount of such assets is reduced to fair value. The Company evaluates and tests the recoverability of its goodwill for impairment at least annually during its fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more often if and when circumstances indicate that goodwill may not be recoverable. In fiscal 2021 the Company recorded approximately $216 million of impairments to assets associated with real estate leases in select locations it has decided to exit. There were no other material impairments of intangible assets, long-lived assets or goodwill during fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Business Combinations The Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to assign fair value to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date. The Company’s estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. During the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company may record adjustments to the fair value of these tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. In addition, uncertain tax positions, tax-related valuation allowances and pre-acquisition contingencies are initially recorded in connection with a business combination as of the acquisition date. The Company continues to collect information and reevaluates these estimates and assumptions quarterly and records any adjustments to the Company’s preliminary estimates to goodwill provided that the Company is within the measurement period. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the Company’s consolidated statement of operations. In the event the Company acquires an entity with which the Company has a preexisting relationship, the Company will generally recognize a gain or loss to settle that relationship as of the acquisition date within operating income on the consolidated statements of operations. In the event that the Company acquires an entity in which the Company previously held a strategic investment, the difference between the fair value of the shares as of the date of the acquisition and the carrying value of the strategic investment is recorded as a gain or loss and recorded within net gains (or losses) on strategic investments in the consolidated statement of operations. Stock-Based Expense Stock-based expenses are measured based on grant date at fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model for stock options and the grant date closing stock price for restricted stock awards. The Company recognizes stock-based expenses related to stock options and restricted stock awards on a straight-line basis, net of estimated forfeitures, over the requisite service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting term of four years. Stock-based expenses related to the Company’s Amended and Restated 2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP” or “2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan”) are measured based on grant date at fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company recognizes stock-based expenses related to shares issued pursuant to the 2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan on a straight-line basis over the offering period, which is 12 months. The ESPP allows employees to purchase shares of the Company's common stock at a 15 percent discount from the lower of the Company’s stock price on (i) the first day of the offering period or on (ii) the last day of the purchase period and also allows employees to reduce their percentage election once during a six-month purchase period (December 15 and June 15 of each fiscal year), but not increase that election until the next one-year offering period. The ESPP also includes a reset provision for the purchase |