Investors are realigning their attention, from looking only at highly profitable companies to invest in, to now also focusing on the impacts of the organization’s operations on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. This has resulted in the growing adoption of ESG principles and the reforming of regulatory requirements.

Considering this backdrop, environmentally conscious investors could consider investing in quality ESG-led stocks: Salesforce, Inc. (CRM), Adobe Inc. (ADBE), and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) to optimize their portfolio.

ESG-compliant companies are gaining more and more attention as they emphasize mapping their operational activities towards reducing environmental pollution and carbon footprint, increasing customer engagement, working towards employee benefit plans, and upkeep with governance requirements.

ESG criteria help in understanding how an organization is conducting itself and integrating environmental, ethical, and sustainable practices. Evolution in the segment can be observed through the recent regulatory developments and changing investing choices.

According to the Investment Company Institute’s monthly surveys, the combined assets of mutual funds and ETFs invested according to ESG criteria was $573.26 billion in October. Under this, broad ESG focus was $241.48 billion, and environmental focus investing was $58.69 billion for the month.

Further, Bloomberg expects global ESG assets to surpass the $40 trillion mark by the year 2030, which is over 25% of the projected $140 trillion assets under management (AUM). Aspects like enhanced scrutiny and stringent regulations will propel ESG adoption worldwide along with rising awareness and improving responsibility and accountability among companies.

Given the changing environment and concerns, investing in quality ESG stocks CRM, ADBE, and NEE could be wise in December.

Let’s discuss the fundamentals of these stocks in detail:

Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)

CRM provides Customer Relationship Management technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. Its service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices.

On December 17, CRM announced Agentforce 2.0: the newest version of Agentforce, the first digital labor platform for enterprises. It is a complete AI system for augmenting teams with trusted, autonomous AI agents in the flow of work. The new advances will allow entities to scale their workforce with customized agents capable of handling complex with even more precision and accuracy.

On November 20, CRM introduced agentic lifecycle management tools to automate Agentforce testing, prototype agents in secure Sandbox environments, and transparently manage usage at scale. The new Agentforce Testing Center will help companies roll out trusted AI agents with no-code tools for testing, deploying, and monitoring in a secure, repeatable way.

The new capabilities consist of AI-generated tests for Agentforce, sandboxes for Agentforce and data cloud, monitoring and observability, and transparent usage monitoring in a digital wallet.

During the third quarter, which ended October 31, 2024, CRM’s total revenues grew 8.3% from the year-ago value to $9.44 billion. The company’s non-GAAP income from operations of $3.12 billion reflects a 14.9% increase from the previous year period. Also, its non-GAAP net income came in at $2.32 billion or $2.41 per share, up 12.2% and 14.2% year-over-year, respectively.

As per the company’s guidance, CRM expects revenue in the range of $9.90 billion and $10.10 billion, up 7% – 9% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.

Also, for the full year FY25, the company raised its low-end revenue guidance to $37.8 billion to $38 billion, up 8% – 9% from the prior year. It has also raised its operating cash flow growth to a range of 24% to 26%.

Analysts expect CRM’s revenue and EPS for the fourth quarter (ending January 2025) to increase 8.1% and 14.2% year-over-year to $10.04 billion and $2.61, respectively. Moreover, the company topped the consensus revenue and EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters.

CRM’s stock has gained 42.9% over the past six months and 28.8% over the past year to close the last trading session at $342.90.

CRM’s robust outlook is reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall rating of B, which translates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors, each weighted to an optimal degree.

The stock has a B grade for Quality. Within the Software – Application industry, CRM is ranked #21 of 126 stocks.

Click here to access additional ratings of CRM for Momentum, Growth, Stability, Sentiment, and Value.

Adobe Inc. (ADBE)

ADBE operates as a diversified software company globally. It operates in three segments: Digital Media; Digital Experience; and Publishing and Advertising. The company offers products, services, and solutions that enable individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content, and Document Cloud, a unified cloud-based document services platform.

On December 10, ADBE and Box, Inc. (BOX), the leading Intelligent Content Management platform, announced a partnership to redefine how digital media is managed, created, and shared in the enterprise. With Adobe Express available as the default image editor in Box, customers will be able to easily create more engaging content without leaving Box’s secure platform.

On December 3, ADBE and Amazon’s (AMZN) AWS expanded their strategic partnership to make Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) available on AWS to empower brands in deepening customer relationships with precise personalization. AEP delivers an actionable view of customers across every channel, with AI-driven insights ensuring timely and relevant customer experiences.

During the fourth quarter, which ended November 29, 2024, ADBE’s total revenue increased 11.1% from the prior year’s quarter to $5.61 billion. The company’s gross profit grew 13% from the year-ago value to $4.99 billion. The company’s non-GAAP operating income of $2.60 billion indicates growth of 10.8% over the previous year.

Furthermore, the company reported non-GAAP net income of $2.13 billion and $4.81 per share, up 8.8% and 12.6% from the prior-year quarter, respectively.

Buoyed by its strong financial performance, the company provided its targets for fiscal year 2025. ADBE projects total revenue of $23.30 billion to $23.55 billion. Its Digital Media segment revenue is set at $17.25 billion to $17.40 billion, and its Digital Experience segment revenue at $5.80 billion to $5.90 billion. Also, the company expects non-GAAP EPS between $20.20 and $20.50.

Further, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, ADBE’s total revenue target is between $5.63 billion and $5.68 billion. It expects its Digital Media segment revenue to range from $4.17 billion to $4.20 billion and Digital Experience segment revenue to range from $1.38 billion to $1.40 billion. The company’s non-GAAP EPS is projected at $4.95 to $5.00.

Street expects ADBE’s revenue and EPS for the first quarter (ending February 2025) to increase 9.3% and 11% year-over-year to $5.66 billion and $4.97, respectively. Furthermore, the company has topped the consensus EPS and revenue estimates in all four trailing quarters, which is remarkable.

Shares of ADBE have plunged 13.7% over the past month to close the last trading session at $446.74.

ADBE’s POWR Ratings reflect its sound fundamentals. The stock has an overall rating of A, which translates to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system.

ADBE has an A grade for Quality. It also has a B grade for Growth. It is ranked #11 out of 126 stocks in the Software – Application industry.

In addition to the POWR Ratings we’ve stated above, we also have ADBE ratings for Momentum, Value, Stability, and Sentiment. Get all ADBE ratings here.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE)

NEE generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers. It generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and other clean energy.

On October 18, NEE’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly common stock dividend of $0.515 per share. The dividend was paid on December 16, 2024, to shareholders of record on November 22, 2024.

NEE has raised its dividends for 29 consecutive years. Its annual payout of $2.06 translates to a yield of 2.87% at the current share price. Its four-year average dividend yield is 2.31%. And the company’s dividend payouts have increased at a CAGR of 10.5% over the past five years.

During the nine months that ended September 30, 2024, NEE reported operating revenues of $19.37 billion, and its operating income was $6.54 billion for the period. The company’s adjusted earnings grew 11% year-over-year to $5.97 billion. Also, the company’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.90, up 9% from the prior period.

In addition, as of September 30, 2024, the company’s total assets totaled $186.01 billion versus $177.49 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Street expects NEE’s EPS to grow 1.1% year-over-year to $0.53 for the fourth quarter ending December 2024. Also, its revenue for the ongoing quarter is expected to increase 15.7% year-over-year to $7.96 billion. Moreover, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history as it surpassed the consensus EPS estimates in all four trailing quarters.

Over the past year, the stock has gained 20.4% to close the last trading session at $72.49.

NEE’s POWR Ratings reflect its bright prospects. NEE has a B grade for Momentum. It is ranked #40 among 57 stocks within the Utilities – Domestic industry.

To see the other ratings of NEE for Value, Sentiment, Growth, Quality, and Stability, click here.

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CRM shares were trading at $344.43 per share on Tuesday afternoon, up $1.53 (+0.45%). Year-to-date, CRM has gained 31.62%, versus a 27.70% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Rjkumari Saxena

Rajkumari started her career as a writer but gradually shifted her focus to financial journalism, leveraging her educational background in Commerce. Fascinated by the interplay of business and economic shifts in equities, she aspires to evolve as an analyst. With a knack for simplifying complex financial concepts, her mission is to empower investors with insights that lead to profitable decisions. More...

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