Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $995.88 EPS

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The CRM provider reported $999.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $995.88, Zacks reports. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. Salesforce updated its FY 2027 guidance to 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance to 3.250-3.270 EPS.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $1.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.86. 16,950,055 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,883,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $278.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.63 and a 200-day moving average of $211.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,732,966,000 after purchasing an additional 159,739 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 24,056.7% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,552,896,000 after purchasing an additional 47,189,352 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,839,178 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,076,678,000 after purchasing an additional 582,314 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,903,151 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,828,714,000 after purchasing an additional 170,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,588,104 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,215,435,000 after purchasing an additional 446,656 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shares are moving up ahead of earnings as traders and analysts look for signs that Salesforce can stabilize growth and reassure investors that AI will support, rather than disrupt, the enterprise software model.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects an in-line quarter and sees revenue and current remaining performance obligations rising, which supports the view that underlying demand remains solid. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy rating and set a $255 price target, suggesting meaningful upside if the company delivers a constructive outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish commentary argues Salesforce is undervalued and that AI-related products are beginning to drive stronger monetization and cash flow, which could help sentiment if the company confirms progress on the call.
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders are expecting a large post-earnings move, so the stock may stay volatile after results as investors react to guidance more than just the headline numbers.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish AI-related research from Bank of America highlights a key investor concern: AI could be a growth risk for Salesforce if customers shift spending patterns or adoption fails to meaningfully accelerate. Article Title

Salesforce announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.12.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.