TLDR: Salesforce reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, but its shares declined sharply due to a cautious third-quarter revenue forecast. Despite significant investments and the expansion of its AI agent platform, Agentforce, investors remain concerned about the pace of AI-driven growth and the overall economic uncertainty impacting customer spending.
Salesforce (CRM) announced its second-quarter fiscal 2026 results, surpassing analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue. The cloud software giant reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.91, outperforming the consensus estimate of $2.77. Revenue for the quarter reached $10.24 billion, exceeding average projections by $100 million.
Despite these strong performance metrics, Salesforce’s stock experienced a significant decline, falling approximately 6-7% following the announcement. The market’s reaction was primarily driven by the company’s conservative third-quarter revenue guidance, which overshadowed the positive earnings beat. Salesforce projected third-quarter revenue to be between $10.24 billion and $10.29 billion. The midpoint of this forecast fell below analysts’ average estimate of $10.29 billion, signaling a slower growth trajectory than anticipated.
Investors are closely scrutinizing Salesforce’s ability to translate its substantial investments in artificial intelligence into accelerated growth. The company has been aggressively rolling out AI across its cloud services, notably with the commercial launch of ‘Agentforce,’ an AI agent platform designed to automate tasks and streamline operations. Salesforce reported closing 12,500 Agentforce deals, including 6,000 paid contracts, with 40% of bookings originating from existing clients. However, analysts and investors are concerned that the growth from these AI initiatives is not yet robust enough to significantly boost the company’s full-year revenue outlook, which remains between $41.1 billion and $41.3 billion.
J.P. Morgan analysts noted, “Growth has not inflected yet and investors are thus not seeing an imminent need to revise their thought process.” This sentiment reflects broader market concerns about delayed returns on AI investments, especially amidst ongoing economic uncertainty that has led customers to temper their spending. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, however, dismissed AI-related fears as ‘nonsense,’ emphasizing an ongoing ‘great transformation’ in software.
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In an effort to stabilize its share price and demonstrate confidence, Salesforce also announced a $20 billion increase to its existing share buyback program. Despite this, the stock’s performance has been challenging, with shares down about 24-27% in 2025, making it one of the worst performers among large-cap technology companies this year. Additionally, in May, Salesforce acquired data management platform Informatica for approximately $8 billion, aiming to further enhance its offerings and profitability.
