CRM: AI Questions Not Yet Fully Answered

Here's our initial take on Salesforce's (NYSE: CRM) fourth-quarter financial report.

Key Metrics

Strong Quarter, but Guidance Disappoints

Salesforce posted nearly 8% revenue growth and 21% growth in earnings per share in the last three months of its fiscal 2025, but the revenue number fell a bit short of expectations. The company, a maker of a range of customer management and related corporate software tools, said it was the highest-cash-flow-quarter in corporate history.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Much of the focus these days is on Agentforce, Salesforce's AI-powered tools that are designed to solve multistep problems without human supervision. The company said since the product's rollout in October, it has closed 5,000 Agentforce deals, including more than 3,000 paid, and said that data cloud and AI annual recurring revenue was up 120% year over year.

But that surge of business does not appear to be enough to meet analyst expectations for the year to come. Salesforce guided for $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending January 2026, slightly below the $41.5 billion Wall Street consensus.

Immediate Market Reaction

The outlook appeared to weigh heavily on investors, with Salesforce shares down as much as 6% in after-market trading immediately following the earnings release. The stock had recouped most of that decline heading into the company's call with investors.

What to Watch

Coming into earnings season, all of the attention on Salesforce was focused on the company's rollout of AI agents. Although the initial customer numbers are impressive, investors are likely to view the slightly worse-than-expectations guidance as a potential worry that the AI products are not yet delivering the revenue growth the market had hoped for.

Expect a lot of questions about the initial success of Agentforce and other AI tools and forecasts about how quickly those tools can hit the bottom line. There is also likely to be commentary about recent changes in the executive ranks and Salesforce's move earlier this month to cut about 1,000 workers.

Salesforce remains a powerful force in the world of corporate software, but investors might have to wait a few more quarters for some key initiatives to spark the company higher from here.

Helpful Resources

• Full earnings report
• Investor relations page

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $328,354!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $46,837!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $527,017!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

Learn more »

*Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2025

Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.