Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM | CRM Price Prediction) is a buy. The 24/7 Wall St. price target is $245.23, implying 55.73% upside from $157.47. Confidence is high at 90%, driven by accelerating Agentforce, a re-rated multiple that has absorbed most negative news, and $27.5 billion returned to shareholders in a single quarter.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $157.47 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $245.23 Upside 55.73% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% A Brutal Year Meets a Booming AI Business Salesforce has been punished in 2026. The stock is down 38.15% year to date and 37.63% over the last year, sitting 11% below the 52-week high of $271.70.

Yet the operating story keeps improving. Q1 FY27 delivered EPS of $3.88 versus a $3.13 estimate, a 24.08% beat and the fifth consecutive quarter above consensus. Revenue hit $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year.

Agentforce ARR reached $1.2 billion, up 205% YoY, and combined Agentforce plus Data 360 ARR touched nearly $3.40 billion. Recent coverage flags U.S. small businesses canceling subscriptions to build AI tools in-house, and an IBM warning about budget rotation toward AI infrastructure hit CRM specifically.

The Case for $286 and Above Bulls have ammunition. Salesforce processed 28.6 trillion tokens in the quarter, up 152% Q/Q, and cRPO of $33.6 billion grew 14%, signaling durable forward revenue. Management raised FY27 guidance to $45.90 to $46.20 billion in revenue and reiterated the FY30 revenue target of $63 billion.

The $25 billion accelerated share repurchase retired 103 million shares upfront, materially boosting per-share math. Our bull case scenario points to $286.49, an 81.93% return. Analyst mean target sits at $241.72, with 40 Buy or Strong Buy ratings versus only 2 Strong Sells.

What Could Go Wrong The bear case rests on AI monetization timing and SMB churn. Reports of small business customers building in-house AI alternatives raise questions about seat-based pricing durability. Total liabilities rose materially after the $25B debt issuance, adding interest expense pressure.

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Reddit sentiment sits in bearish territory around 28 to 38. Bulls counter that the debt funded an accretive buyback, and the 90% gross margin plus strong interest coverage give Salesforce ample cushion. Even our bear scenario projects $211.17, a 34.1% return, above today’s price.

How Salesforce Compares to ServiceNow and Monday.com ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) is the cleanest peer for the AI monetization debate. NOW is down 51% from its 52-week high yet posted 22% Q1 subscription revenue growth, well above Salesforce’s growth rate. Investors pay up for that top-line pace, making CRM’s forward P/E of 13 look conservative next to NOW’s premium multiple.

Monday.com (NASDAQ:MNDY) illustrates competitive intensity. MNDY is cutting 20% of its workforce, roughly 630 employees, to redeploy toward an AI Work Platform. That validates the disruption threat but underscores that scaled players like Salesforce, with $6.56 billion in quarterly free cash flow, can outspend upstarts. The peer set makes our $245.23 target look reasonable.

Salesforce Price Prediction 2026-2030 My verdict is buy with 90% confidence. The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $245.23 is anchored by real earnings power, aggressive buybacks, and Agentforce traction showing up in ARR.

The bull path requires Agentforce ARR to keep compounding at triple-digit rates. The bear path plays out if SMB churn spreads into the enterprise book.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $192.00 2027 $245.23 2030 $529.68 These projections assume Salesforce executes on Agentforce and the FY30 $63 billion revenue target. Significant upside or downside could result from AI monetization timing and enterprise IT budget shifts.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the #1 AI CRM, today announced it has granted equity awards under its 2014 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") to new employees who joined Salesforce in connection with the acquisition of Qualified and MeshMesh. The Plan was adopted by the Salesforce Board of Directors in July 2014, in accordance with New York Stock Exchange Rule 303A.08. Under the Plan, Salesforce granted a total of 209,429 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to 158.

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I keep buying Salesforce (NYSE:CRM | CRM Price Prediction) because the crowd screaming “SaaSpocalypse” is looking at a stock chart while I am looking at a receipts book. The stock is down 34.05% year to date while the S&P 500 is up 8.82%, and every time the gap widens, I add more shares. My cost basis keeps working in my favor, and the business underneath keeps compounding.

The Receipts Behind My Conviction Start with what actually happened last quarter. Salesforce delivered EPS of $3.88 against a consensus of $3.1271, a 24.08% beat and the fifth consecutive quarter of exceeding estimates. Revenue landed at $11.13 billion, up 13.27% year over year. Net income jumped 36.73%. These are the numbers of a compounder that the market has decided to price like a melting ice cube.

Then there is the AI receipt in plain view. Agentforce and Data 360 combined ARR reached nearly $3.4 billion, up over 200% year over year. Agentforce alone crossed $1.2 billion in ARR, growing 205%. Customers delivered 3.8 billion Agentic Work Units, and more than 50% of new Agentforce bookings came from existing customers. That is real recurring revenue from enterprises paying to have agents do work inside their systems of record. Industry surveys show over 60% of CIOs prefer upgrading incumbent SaaS vendors rather than replacing them with raw models, citing SOC2 compliance and audit trails that startups cannot match. That is the moat.

The capital return finishes the case. Salesforce executed a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase, taking diluted share count from 970 million to 871 million in a year. Total returned in the quarter: $27.5 billion. With a P/E of 19, a free cash flow yield of 10.12%, and a 1.11% dividend that was raised 5.8% this year, I am buying growth at a value multiple.

Why Not the Obvious Alternatives Readers ask about ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) and HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS). ServiceNow is down 51% from its 52-week high, and CLSA just initiated with an underperform rating and a $72 price target implying 31% downside. HubSpot got cut by Wells Fargo from Overweight to Equal Weight with the target sliced from $300 to $225 on AI transition uncertainty. Salesforce already carries the average Wall Street target of $254.42 against a stock trading at $173.79. Same fear, better fundamentals, cheaper entry.

The Risk I Own Noncurrent debt jumped from $10.4 billion to $39.3 billion to fund the buyback, and Informatica integration is a real execution project. Interest coverage of 27.5x and net debt to EBITDA of 0.78 tell me the balance sheet absorbs it. I am fine with management leaning into a cheap stock.

Marc Benioff called this “an outstanding quarter for Salesforce, record revenue, record deals, and cash flow” and set a $63 billion FY30 revenue target. I will keep buying while the market sells me a compounder at a value multiple.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $156.93, moving -3.72% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.

The customer-management software developer's stock has climbed by 6.7% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.58% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Salesforce in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $3.27, signifying a 12.37% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $11.3 billion, reflecting a 10.44% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $14.12 per share and a revenue of $46.09 billion, signifying shifts of +12.78% and +10.99%, respectively, from the last year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Salesforce. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.14% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Salesforce boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Salesforce is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.55. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.63, so one might conclude that Salesforce is trading at a discount comparatively.

One should further note that CRM currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.64. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Internet - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.01 as of yesterday's close.

The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 152, placing it within the bottom 39% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

Key Takeaways Stocks like AGX, CIEN, HUBS and SMTC were screened for strong liquidity and asset efficiency.The screen narrowed 7,700 stocks to 12, with these four meeting strict efficiency and growth criteria.Each stock also boasts higher asset utilization than its industry average and solid growth attributes. Liquidity measures a company’s capability to meet short-term debt obligations. Investors seeking strong portfolio returns should benefit from adding stocks with sound liquidity, which encourages business growth. Stocks with high liquidity levels have always been in demand, owing to their potential to provide maximum returns.

Investors may want to consider adding four top-ranked stocks — Argan, Inc. (AGX - Free Report) , Ciena Corporation (CIEN - Free Report) , HubSpot (HUBS - Free Report) and Semtech Corporation (SMTC - Free Report) — to their portfolios to boost returns.

However, it is important to exercise caution. While high liquidity can indicate that a company is efficiently managing its short-term obligations, it may also suggest underutilization of resources. In some cases, companies with excess liquidity may not be deploying their assets effectively, which could limit growth potential.

Hence, one may consider a company’s efficiency level in addition to its liquidity while identifying prospective winners. A balanced assessment of both liquidity and efficiency can help identify truly promising investment opportunities.

Measures to Identify Liquid StocksCurrent Ratio: It measures current assets relative to current liabilities. The ratio gauges a company’s potential to meet short and long-term debt obligations. A current ratio — the working capital ratio — below 1 indicates that the company has more liabilities than assets. A high current ratio does not always suggest that the company is in good financial shape. It may also indicate that the firm failed to utilize its assets significantly. Hence, a range of 1-3 is considered ideal.

Quick Ratio: Unlike the current ratio, the quick ratio — the “acid-test ratio” or “quick assets ratio” — indicates a company’s ability to pay short-term obligations. It considers inventory, excluding current assets, relative to current liabilities. A quick ratio of more than 1 is desirable, like the current ratio.

Cash Ratio: This is the most conservative ratio among the three, considering cash, cash equivalents and invested funds relative to current liabilities. It measures a company’s ability to meet existing debt obligations using the most liquid assets. Though a cash ratio of more than 1 may suggest sound financials, a higher number may indicate inefficiency in cash utilization.

A ratio greater than 1 is always desirable, but it may not always represent a company’s financial condition.

Screening ParametersTo pick the best of the lot, we have added asset utilization — a widely used measure of a company’s efficiency — as one of the screening criteria. Asset utilization is the ratio of total sales in the past 12 months to the last four-quarter average of total assets. Though this ratio varies across industries, companies with a ratio higher than that of their industry can be considered efficient.

We added our proprietary Growth Score to the screen to ensure these liquid and efficient stocks have solid growth potential.

Current Ratio, Quick Ratio, and Cash Ratio between 1 and 3: While liquidity ratios greater than 1 are desirable, significantly high ratios may indicate inefficiency.

Asset utilization is more significant than the industry average: A higher asset utilization than the industry average indicates a company’s efficiency.

Zacks Rank equal to #1 (Strong Buy): Only Strong Buy-rated stocks can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Growth Score less than or equal to B: Back-tested results show that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B handily beat other stocks when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy).

These criteria have narrowed the universe of more than 7,700 stocks to only 12.

Here are four of the 12 stocks that qualified the screen:

Argan offers comprehensive construction and related services to the power industry through its operations at Gemma Power Systems and Atlantic Projects.

Driven by favorable project timings in the Power segment, AGX reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues of $291 million, up 50% year over year. It ended the quarter with a backlog of $2.8 billion. The Power segment remained the top contributor, accounting for 78% of total revenues.

Increasing demand for energy infrastructure, driven by electrification trends, data center expansion, electric vehicles and grid reliability needs, is creating strong opportunities, positioning Argan well for long-term growth. The company expects to add a “handful” of new projects over the next 10-18 months and believes it can execute 10-12 concurrent jobs.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGX’s fiscal 2027 earnings stands at $12.60 per share, unchanged over the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 40.49%, on average.

Ciena, headquartered in Hanover, MD, is a leading provider of optical networking equipment, software and services. Fiscal second-quarter 2026 revenues rose 39.5% year over year to $1.57 billion, driven by cloud demand and higher adoption of optical networking solutions.

Networking Platforms remained the largest contributor, generating $1.27 billion in revenues and representing 81.1% of total sales. Within the segment, Optical Networking revenues increased to $1.10 billion from $773.6 million a year ago, while Routing and Switching revenues advanced to $174.2 million from $92.7 million.

For fiscal third-quarter 2026, management expects revenues of $1.625 billion (+/- $50 million). Adjusted gross margin is projected at 45% (+/-50 bps), while adjusted operating margin is expected between 19% and 20%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CIEN’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.52 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.45%, on average.

HubSpot is an AI-driven customer relationship management (CRM) platform. The integration of advanced AI tools and state-of-the-art features, such as AI assistance, AI agents, AI insights, and ChatSpot, across its entire product suite and customer platform is delivering greater value to customers. HubSpot added more than 10,800 net new customers during the first quarter, bringing the total customer count to 299,458.

The company is gaining from upmarket momentum as customers consolidate their go-to-market stack. Another major driver is multi-hub adoption and platform consolidation, followed by pricing tailwinds. For 2026, management estimates revenues between $3.7 billion and $3.708 billion, up 18% year over year on a reported basis.

The software-as-a-service vendor’s first-quarter 2026 revenues improved to $881 million, up 23% from the year-ago quarter. Subscription revenues increased 23% year over year to $862.3 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HUBS’ 2026 earnings stands at $13.11 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of A and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.97%, on average.

Semtech Corporation is a semiconductor company that builds high-performance chips for AI data center networking, IoT connectivity and intelligent connected devices.

As for any semiconductor company right now, the most powerful growth driver for Semtech is its data center business. This business delivered record revenues of $71.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, growing 39% year over year. Rising hyperscaler demand for high-speed connectivity solutions, particularly in 800G linear pluggable optics and next-generation 1.6T optical and copper interconnects, bodes well.

The traction seen in LoRa (long range) wireless technology is another catalyst. LoRa revenues grew 14% in the first quarter, and the company expects it to reach an all-time high with more than 15% sequential growth in the fiscal second quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SMTC’s fiscal 2027 earnings stands at $2.66 per share, unchanged in the past seven days. The company has a Growth Score of B and a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.81%, on average.

Key Takeaways Software stocks have faced a rough 2026 but have seen some relief over the past month. AI-driven fears have been the primary driver behind the poor YTD action. Concerns are valid, but these companies' recent results show some nice overall business momentum. Many software stocks have been hit hard in 2026, including Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) , Atlassian (TEAM - Free Report) , and Workday (WDAY - Free Report) . Performance has been weighed down by a huge wave of negative sentiment surrounding AI-related concerns, specifically that their future growth will get negatively impacted. 

But all three have bounced back in a big way over the past month, perhaps a reflection of sentiment finally shifting into a more constructive direction.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

It’s worthwhile to take a closer look at how earnings have been going for these companies, as it’ll at least give us a baseline of how their overall businesses are performing amid the wave of negative sentiment they’ve experienced.

Salesforce Reports Record ResultsThrough Agentforce, its suite of customizable agents and tools, Salesforce brings autonomous AI agents, unified data, and Customer 360 apps together on one integrated platform to help companies connect with customers in a whole new way.

The company posted record results in its latest release, with Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue growing by 200% YoY to nearly $3.4 billion. Its platform also delivered 3.8 billion Agentic Work Units, which are tasks completed by AI agents, growing 111% sequentially.

As reflected by the results, the company is actively benefiting from its own deployment of AI. EPS and sales revisions also reflect a high level of positivity, trending higher over recent months.

EPS revisions have been particularly bullish, with the stock sporting a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company also raised its current fiscal year sales guidance, further adding to the positivity.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Workday Sees Continued GrowthWorkday is a cloud-based software platform that helps organizations manage their Human Resources (HR), payroll, and financial operations. It uses embedded artificial intelligence to automate routine tasks, analyze workforce skills, and generate business forecasts.

Importantly, the number of customers using its AI agents more than doubled quarter-over-quarter in its latest release, with its overall subscription backlog seeing 11% YoY growth to $27.3 billion.

Management stated –

‘We had a great Q1, and it makes one thing clear: Workday is ready for this AI moment. Our core business is strong, our AI strategy is working, and we're moving with the speed and focus required to lead’.

While it’s expected for management to remain highly bullish in their comments, continued backlog growth and the growing adoption of its AI agents still help underpin the idea that its offerings remain attractive.

Sales growth has remained steadily strong, as shown below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Atlassian Posts Strong Cloud GrowthAtlassian is a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software, increasingly embedding agentic AI across its platform to transform how enterprise teams work.

Like those above, the company posted solid growth in its latest quarterly release, with Cloud revenue of roughly $1 billion growing by 26% YoY. It also surpassed 3.5 million monthly active users of its AI capabilities, which reflected an impressive 50% sequential growth rate.

Sales growth has accelerated recently, as shown below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

While growth and overall momentum seem to be intact, the company is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), with investors better off waiting until the ranking changes.

Putting Everything Together

While many software names, including Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) , Atlassian (TEAM - Free Report) , and Workday (WDAY - Free Report) , remain deep in the red from a YTD standpoint, their performance over the past month has given some nice relief. A lot of negativity surrounding future growth fears has likely been priced in, but their discounted prices certainly make them stocks all worth keeping tabs on. 

Shares of software giant Salesforce (CRM 1.97%) were falling on Tuesday, down as much as 3.9% in early trading, before recovering slightly to a 2.7% decline as of 1:30 p.m. EDT.

The move was somewhat notable, given that the broader Nasdaq Composite was up by about 1.4% at the same time.

Salesforce was on the receiving end of a Wall Street analyst's downgrade today, along with a big price target cut. That led to a sell-off; however, given the stock's bargain-basement valuation, is the analyst's negativity already baked into the share price?

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Morgan Stanley sours on Salesforce's AI transition Salesforce is facing the same headwinds and uncertainties that all software stocks have experienced since the emergence of powerful AI coding agents from Anthropic and other AI labs at the beginning of this year.

Salesforce, of course, isn't standing still. The company has developed its own agentic AI features and capabilities, which it calls Agentforce. In June, Salesforce made a very interesting acquisition with an eye toward the agentic future: customer service agent software company Fin. Fin has already transformed its business model in the manner Salesforce needs to, including an outcome-based pricing model on its fully autonomous customer service agent, run on a custom AI model independent of the major AI labs.

Still, Adam Wood of Morgan Stanley doesn't think it's enough. The analyst lowered his rating on the shares from "Overweight" to "Equal Weight" and his price target from $287 to $185 today.

Wood is actually bullish on the leading indicators for Agentforce and Salesforce's new agentic AI offerings; however, Wood also acknowledges that this is coming at the expense of some of Salesforce's larger, legacy software subscription services. Moreover, Agentforce's revenue is still small, coming in at just a $3.4 billion annualized run rate last quarter; meanwhile, Salesforce projects about $46 billion in revenue this fiscal year. So Agentforce still accounts for only about 7% of revenue; even if that keeps growing fast, a drag on the larger non-agentic business could cap overall growth.

While he believes Salesforce is making the right moves and could emerge as an AI winner, Wood now thinks the inflection to overall company-level organic growth may take longer than expected. Given the uncertainty, he is bringing down the stock price to reflect a compressed valuation multiple that the market now attributes to much of the software sector.

Image source: Getty Images.

Long-term opportunity in the software sector? It should be noted that Salesforce currently trades at roughly $168 per share, which is still below Wood's new price target and represents a valuation of just 12 times this year's earnings estimates.

That valuation implies little to no growth going forward, which may be warranted given the uncertainties around agentic AI. However, Salesforce is returning lots of cash to shareholders through a large share repurchase program. If the company successfully navigates the agentic AI transition and eventually returns to growth, today's valuation could be a bargain. Still, investors should be prepared to wait a while to find out.

Investors looking for stocks in the Internet - Software sector might want to consider either Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) or Adyen N.V. Unsponsored ADR (ADYEY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Salesforce is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Adyen N.V. Unsponsored ADR has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that CRM has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

CRM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.31, while ADYEY has a forward P/E of 20.82. We also note that CRM has a PEG ratio of 0.68. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ADYEY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.25.

Another notable valuation metric for CRM is its P/B ratio of 4.16. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ADYEY has a P/B of 5.48.

These metrics, and several others, help CRM earn a Value grade of B, while ADYEY has been given a Value grade of D.

CRM sticks out from ADYEY in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that CRM is the better option right now.

Key Takeaways Salesforce leads on AI scale, earnings revisions and valuation, strengthening its investment case.Agentforce ARR surged 205% to $1.2B, while AI and Data ARR more than tripled to $3.4B.Salesforce trades at 2.96 times forward sales versus Adobe's 3.33 after similar stock declines. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) and Adobe Inc. (ADBE - Free Report) are two of the biggest names in enterprise software. Both companies are benefiting from businesses spending more on digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). Salesforce continues to dominate the customer relationship management (CRM - Free Report) market, while Adobe remains the leader in creative software and digital document solutions.

The next phase of growth for both companies depends heavily on AI. Each is investing aggressively to make AI a core part of its products, improve customer experience and create new revenue opportunities. But when it comes to choosing the better stock today, which one stands out? Let’s take a closer look.

The Case for Salesforce StockSalesforce has remained the world's leading CRM provider for years, according to Gartner. However, the company is no longer satisfied with being just a CRM leader. It is steadily transforming itself into a broader enterprise software platform that combines customer data, collaboration and AI.

The company's acquisition strategy reflects this vision. Large deals like Slack and Informatica have expanded Salesforce's enterprise ecosystem, while smaller acquisitions such as Doti AI and Spindle AI strengthen its AI capabilities. These moves show that management is focused on keeping Salesforce ahead in the fast-changing AI race.

AI has become the biggest growth driver for Salesforce. The company has integrated generative AI across its platform to help businesses automate routine tasks, improve decision-making and deliver better customer experiences.

Its newest AI platform, Agentforce, is proving that customers are embracing these capabilities. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Agentforce's annual recurring revenues (ARR) jumped 205% year over year to $1.2 billion. Combined AI and Data ARR, which includes Agentforce, Data 360 and Informatica Cloud, climbed to $3.4 billion, more than three times the level reported a year ago. These numbers suggest that AI is becoming a meaningful revenue contributor rather than just a future opportunity.

Salesforce's financial performance remains equally impressive. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, revenues increased 13% year over year, while non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) surged 50%. The growth momentum is likely to continue as the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues and EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 11% and 12.8%, respectively.

The Case for Adobe StockAdobe is also making impressive progress in AI. The company continues to strengthen its Creative Cloud and Acrobat businesses by embedding AI into products that millions of users rely on every day. AI-powered offerings like Firefly and Acrobat AI Assistant are helping Adobe improve productivity while making content creation faster and easier.

Adobe is also introducing conversational and AI agent-based features across Reader, Acrobat and Express. These enhancements simplify everyday tasks for users while making Adobe's software even more valuable for creative professionals. As a result, customer engagement and product adoption continue to improve.

Firefly has become one of Adobe's strongest AI growth engines. The platform is now deeply integrated across major creative applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere while also supporting third-party AI models. New offerings, including Photoshop Mobile and Premiere Mobile with YouTube integration, further strengthen Adobe's ecosystem by allowing creators to produce content from virtually anywhere.

Another important advantage is Adobe's expanding AI partner network. The company has built integrations with leading AI platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI. Firefly also supports models from several AI startups, giving customers greater flexibility when creating content. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Firefly's ARR increased 50% sequentially, highlighting the growing demand for Adobe's AI tools.

Adobe continues to deliver healthy financial results as well. During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues grew 13% year over year, while earnings per share increased 18%. The growth momentum is likely to continue as the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.6% and 16.1%, respectively.

CRM vs. ADBE: Earnings Estimate Revision TrendBoth Salesforce and Adobe are benefiting from rising AI adoption, but analysts appear more optimistic about Salesforce's earnings outlook.

Over the past 60 days, analysts have raised the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce's fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings by 7.13% and 4.87%, respectively. These meaningful upward revisions reflect growing confidence that Salesforce's AI initiatives will continue to support earnings growth.

Adobe is also seeing positive estimate revisions, although the magnitude is relatively smaller. During the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for fiscal 2026 and 2027 earnings has increased by 3.40% and 3.24%, respectively. While this remains encouraging, it suggests that analysts currently see stronger earnings momentum at Salesforce.

CRM vs. ADBE: Price Performance and ValuationBoth stocks have struggled this year as investors rotated away from expensive technology names. Salesforce shares have fallen 34.4% year to date, while Adobe has declined 32.9%. The similar pullback indicates that market sentiment has weighed on both companies despite their solid business fundamentals.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Salesforce also looks more attractive from a valuation perspective. The stock currently trades at 2.96 times forward 12-month sales compared with Adobe's multiple of 3.33. Given Salesforce's improving AI business, stronger earnings momentum and lower valuation, the stock appears to offer a more favorable risk-reward profile.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Conclusion: CRM Has the Edge Over ADBESalesforce and Adobe are both well-positioned to benefit from the rapid adoption of AI, and each company has built a strong competitive position in its respective market. Salesforce is evolving into a broad enterprise AI platform, while Adobe continues to strengthen its leadership in creative software through AI-powered innovation.

However, Salesforce appears to have a slight advantage at current levels. The company is delivering stronger earnings estimate revisions, its AI business is scaling rapidly, and the stock trades at a more attractive valuation than Adobe. While Adobe remains a high-quality long-term investment, Salesforce currently offers the stronger overall investment case.

Salesforce and Adobe each carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Investors are increasingly concerned about the risks that AI poses to Salesforce (CRM +1.80%).

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 18, 2026. The video was published on July 20, 2026.

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA 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. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

HomeInvestingStocksOutside the BoxOutside the BoxThe ‘Mag Seven’ has become the ‘Bag Seven.’ Sharp tech investors are looking elsewhere.July 20, 2026, 9:46 a.m. ET

Companies that are actually using AI and not just talking about it are worth investors’ attention. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphotoThe “Mag Seven” stocks have become the “Bag Seven” — or worse. That was fun while it lasted.

Through the first half of 2026, the group of megacap tech stocks known as the Magnificent Seven (eight if you count SpaceX SPCX) were down from their highs. Meanwhile, the stalwart S&P 500 SPX was up more than 9%. For the AI hyperscalers, “magnificent” has become mediocre and the trade has lost momentum.

Technologické akcie mají za sebou mimořádně silné období, ale podle analytika Patria Finance Branislava Sotáka nejdůležitější investiční příběh posledních let ještě zdaleka nekončí. Přestože se část investorů obává, že už jsme u vrcholu AI boomu, růst rekordních kapitálových výdajů technologických gigantů zatím žádné zásadní ochlazení nenaznačuje. V podcastu Analytický radar vysvětluje, proč dál věří Nvidii, kde vidí nové příležitosti v polovodičovém řetězci a proč začíná být zajímavý i dlouho přehlížený softwarový sektor.

00:32 Cyklické paměťové čipy
08:48 Nvidia zpět v Investičních tipech
16:21 Advanced Packaging jako nové úzké hrdlo
18:43 ASML a podpora ze strany Intelu
21:28 Investiční AI cyklus a inflace
29:33 Návratnost AI investic
34:35 Boj o kapitál
40:35 Software jako nový hedge? 

AI cyklus nekončí, ani nevykazuje známky únavy

Investiční svět se v posledních dvou letech točí kolem umělé inteligence. Zatímco mnozí investoři se už začínají bát vyčerpání růstového příběhu, Branislav Soták podobné obavy zatím nesdílí. „AI investiční cyklus zatím nekončí, nevykazuje žádné známky zpomalení,“ říká otevřeně.

Investice do AI infrastruktury se postupně staly jedním z hlavních motorů americké ekonomiky. „Odhaduje se, že až šest nebo sedm procent amerického HDP letos tvoří investice do AI infrastruktury.“ AI je tak bez nadsázky alfa a omega současného trhu. „Ať se podíváme na výkonnost indexů, nebo na růst zisků firem, všude najdeme AI.“

Paměťové čipy zažívají bezprecedentní boom

Jedním z největších vítězů současného cyklu jsou výrobci paměťových čipů. Trojice Micron, Samsung a SK Hynix těží z extrémního nedostatku výrobních kapacit a tlačí ceny prudce vzhůru. „Tato situace je bezprecedentní. Nic podobného jsme v minulosti neviděli a zatím nic nenasvědčuje tomu, že by měla v dohledné době skončit,“ říká Soták.

Přesto upozorňuje, že právě tento segment zůstává dlouhodobě cyklický. Investoři by proto neměli podlehnout dojmu, že současný boom potrvá věčně. „Paměťový segment byl vždy cyklický a podle mého názoru si tuto povahu zachová i do budoucna.“ První skutečný test současné cenové síly podle něj přijde ve druhé polovině příštího roku, kdy začne Micron zprovozňovat nové výrobní kapacity v americkém Idahu.

Nvidia už není jen výrobce čipů

Jednou z nejzajímavějších změn posledních měsíců bylo opětovné zařazení Nvidie mezi investiční tipy Patria Finance. Důvodů je podle Sotáka hned několik. „Pokud člověk věří, že investiční cyklus do AI nekončí, pak je Nvidia paradoxně velmi levná expozice na tento trend.“

Přestože akcie Nvidie za poslední roky vzrostly o tisíce procent, ocenění firmy není podle něj přehnané. „Valuace Nvidie dnes není vyšší než před pěti lety. Akcie jsou mnohonásobně výše, ale firma je úplně jiná.“

Klíčové navíc je, že Nvidia už dávno není pouze výrobcem grafických procesorů. S novou generací Vera Rubin rozšiřuje své působení směrem k procesorům CPU, síťové infrastruktuře, optickým propojením i softwarové platformě CUDA. Právě tato diverzifikace podle Sotáka výrazně zvyšuje odolnost byznysu. „Je to celý technologický stack, který zákazník kupuje.“

Nové úzké hrdlo?

Zatímco investoři se dlouhé měsíce soustředili na nedostatek výpočetních čipů a pamětí, Soták upozorňuje na další potenciálně kritické místo celého řetězce. Takzvaný advanced packaging. Jde o závěrečnou fázi výroby čipů, kdy se jednotlivé komponenty skládají do jednoho funkčního systému.

„Advanced packaging je úzkým hrdlem polovodičového řetězce už poměrně dlouho a zatím nic nenasvědčuje tomu, že by se to mělo změnit.“

Z tohoto trendu podle něj mohou těžit nejen společnosti typu Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), ale také výrobci specializovaných zařízení jako ASML, Applied Materials nebo BE Semiconductor.
ASML zůstává evropskou jedničkou

Právě ASML patří mezi firmy, které Soták považuje za dlouhodobě mimořádně atraktivní v Evropě. Nizozemská společnost je prakticky monopolním dodavatelem strojů pro výrobu nejpokročilejších čipů na světě. „ASML je podle mě jedna z nejlepších evropských akcií pro dlouhodobé držení.“

Investory u ní sice v posledních měsících znepokojily informace o odkladu nasazení nejmodernější generace výrobních strojů ze strany TSMC. Soták však upozorňuje, že prostor rychle zaplnil Intel. „Vypadá to, že hozenou rukavici zvedl Intel, který už nejmodernější stroje ASML nasadil do výroby.“

Inflace největším krátkodobým rizikem

Ačkoli se většina technologických investorů soustředí na AI, Soták upozorňuje, že trhy stále velmi citlivě reagují na vývoj inflace. „Nejhorší dny pro technologický sektor v prvním pololetí přišly ve chvílích, kdy se připomněla inflační hrozba.“

Vyšší inflace totiž tlačí vzhůru dlouhé výnosy dluhopisů, což následně zvyšuje diskontní sazby používané při oceňování akcií. A nejcitlivější jsou právě růstové technologické firmy. „Rychle rostoucí společnosti mají větší část očekávaných cash flow v budoucnosti, a proto na růst sazeb doplácejí nejvíce.“

Podle Sotáka však ani případné vyšší náklady financování nemusí zásadně ohrozit AI investice. „O investicích nebude rozhodovat jejich cena, ale návratnost a konečná poptávka. A tam zatím žádné problémy nevidíme.“

IPO OpenAI a Anthropic? Krátkodobé zemětřesení, nikoliv konec příběhu

Velkým tématem příštích měsíců budou také očekávané veřejné nabídky akcií firem OpenAI a Anthropic. Podle Sotáka může jít krátkodobě o významný faktor pro trh. „Pravděpodobně půjde hlavně o problém absorbovat nové množství kapitálu, které na trh přijde.“

Naopak z dlouhodobého pohledu zůstává hlavní otázka stále stejná. „Nejdůležitější je, kde jsme v rámci AI cyklu a jestli bude pokračovat. A zatím nevidíme žádné známky, že by se měl zlomit.“

Právě tato jednoduchá teze podle Branislava Sotáka vysvětluje nejen vývoj technologických akcií, ale i většiny globálních finančních trhů. Dokud totiž nepřijde důkaz, že poptávka po AI infrastruktuře slábne, zůstává umělá inteligence dominantním investičním příběhem současnosti.

Přehlížená příležitost roku?

Zatímco výrobci čipů a infrastruktury kralují trhu, softwarový sektor letos výrazně zaostal. Právě to však podle Sotáka vytváří příležitost. „Brutální propad softwarových akcií byl podle mě překvapivý i pro celý trh.“

Firmy jako ServiceNow, Salesforce nebo FactSet nyní podle něj paradoxně nabízejí kombinaci nižšího ocenění a vysoké schopnosti generovat hotovost. „Free cash flow yield je u řady těchto společností dvojciferný. Připomíná to velké technologické firmy před nástupem AI investiční horečky.“

Zajímavé je podle něj i chování těchto titulů během tržních výkyvů. Když investoři zpochybní tempo AI investic, výrobci čipů obvykle prudce klesají. Softwarové společnosti naopak mnohdy rostou. „Software se poslední dobou chová trochu jako hedge vůči hardwaru.“

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Stock to Watch: Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) Salesforce is the leading provider of on-demand Customer Relationship Management (CRM - Free Report) software, which enables organizations to better manage critical operations, such as sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, document management, analytics and custom application development. Its offerings are delivered on the Agentforce 360 Platform, which connects customer data with integrated AI across systems, apps and devices.

CRM is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 11.87; value investors should take notice.

16 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2027. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.97 to $14.12 per share. CRM boasts an average earnings surprise of +17.3%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, CRM should be on investors' short list.

Salesforce stock is showing exceptional strength. What’s behind CRM gains? A Rebound Attempt In A Risk-Off Tech TapeThe move looks more like a technical bounce than a sector‑driven rally, with CRM pushing back above its 20‑day average and trying to recover ground lost after the June swing low. With Technology down 2.5% on the day, the relative strength points to stock‑specific positioning rather than broad sector flows.

Even with CRM in the green, the wider market is still leaning defensive, with Energy up 3.30% and Technology sitting at the bottom of the sector rankings. Market breadth is positive with an advance‑decline ratio of 1.8, but the major growth index Nasdaq remains under pressure, which makes sustained follow‑through in tech names more difficult.

CRM’s Chart: A Bounce Inside a Larger DowntrendCRM trades 6.5% above its 20-day SMA at $160.29, but it remains 1.2% below its 50-day SMA at $172.68 and 18.7% below its 200-day SMA at $209.93, which keeps the longer‑term trend pointed lower. The bearish alignment of moving averages, with the 20‑day below the 50‑day and the 50‑day below the 200‑day, shows this is still a recovery attempt inside a broader downtrend.

RSI is the cleaner momentum read at the moment. At 54.35, it sits in neutral territory, which signals the recent bounce is not stretched. RSI tracks how heated buying or selling has become, and a mid-50s reading usually lines up with range‑bound trading rather than a runaway trend.

Key resistance sits at $187.50, a nearby ceiling that matches a prior stall zone and lines up with the declining intermediate trend area. Key support sits at $146.50, a floor near the 52-week low zone at $146.32 where buyers previously stepped in.

The Benzinga Edge Scorecard Isn’t Buying The Bounce YetBelow is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Salesforce, showing how it stacks up against the broader market.

The Verdict: Salesforce’s Benzinga Edge signal shows weak readings across momentum, growth, value and quality, which fits a stock still trying to repair a damaged longer‑term chart. For longer‑term bulls, the cleaner setup would be reclaiming the 50-day area and holding above the 20‑day line while the broader Technology tape stops weakening.

CRM Shares Are Moving HigherCRM Price Action: Salesforce shares were up 4.46% at $170.60 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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It's been a tough year for Salesforce (CRM +0.51%), with the stock down nearly 40% year to date. The stock has been caught in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sell-off, and investors worry about its position in an artificial intelligence (AI) world as its overall revenue growth has been stuck in a tight range.

The stock recently got more cold water poured on it when KeyBanc downgraded the stock from "overweight" to "sector weight," with analyst Jackson Ader saying that its agentic AI platform, Agentforce, hasn't been growing as expected. The analyst said the biggest issues appear to be that its customers' data is a mess and that the product isn't yet good enough. He added that in its surveys, CIOs expected to deprioritize Salesforce within their IT budgets in the coming year.

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Now Salesforce is trying to fix these issues. First, it introduced Data 360, which employs zero-copy technology to extract data from a variety of sources, both within an organization and also from cloud providers and data warehouses, without dealing with the costs and time of transferring it. It also acquired master data management company Informatica to clean up and organize this data to make it more useful for agentic AI and to serve as a foundation for Agentforce.

More recently, the company has agreed to acquire Fin for $3.6 billion. Fin's main solution is a customer service AI agent, powered by its proprietary Apex AI model, that can help resolve complex customer issues across various channels. As a customer relationship management (CRM) solutions company, first and foremost, improving its offering in this area is a huge priority for the company. The deal is expected to close in Salesforce's fiscal Q4, which ends January 2027.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Is the stock a buy? The downturn in Salesforce stock has driven its valuation down to a pretty inexpensive level. It now trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of under 3 based on fiscal 2027 analyst estimates and a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.5 times. Meanwhile, the company has consistently grown its revenue in the low double-digit range.

In a vacuum, this looks like a pretty attractive entry point; however, Salesforce will need to show accelerating revenue growth for the stock to really rebound from here. It hopes its prior acquisition of Informatica lays the foundation to clean up its customers' data to make it usable for AI agents, and that its pending acquisition of Fin gives it a better front end. If these acquisitions can solve these issues and help accelerate its revenue growth, then the stock looks like an undervalued bargain.

Shares of enterprise software giant Salesforce (CRM +1.65%) fell 40.9% in the first half of 2026, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Salesforce, like many other software-as-a-service stocks, experienced a violent sell-off to start 2026, despite reporting relatively solid financial results. This was due to the first quarter's "SaaS-pocalypse," in which the rapid adoption of Anthropic's Claude Code tools and open-source agents such as OpenClaw ushered in the era of agentic AI.

Agentic AI's improving capabilities spurred investors to sell software stocks, as fears emerged that these new AI leaders could disrupt traditional enterprise software.

However, Salesforce countered the threat with a slew of acquisitions and a massive buyback program.

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How Salesforce is countering the agentic threat At first glance, it's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why Salesforce fell as much as it did. Salesforce beat revenue and earnings expectations on each of its earnings reports during the first half. Moreover, the company raised the lower end of fiscal 2027 guidance, remaining performance obligations continued to rise, and management even provided a long-term fiscal 2030 revenue guidance of $63 billion. That's about 37% above this year's revenue outlook of $46 billion, and would amount to roughly an 11% annualized growth rate over three years.

Investors appeared to doubt that long-term projection, however, as artificial intelligence labs released ever-more powerful models. In February, Anthropic released industry-specific plugins for its latest Claude model. These advanced tools indicated Anthropic was muscling into the territory of traditional software. The result was widespread selling across the software sector, from which Salesforce wasn't spared.

But there are several ways Salesforce is pivoting to the new agentic AI reality. First, Salesforce introduced its own AI agents back in late 2024, a suite of automation tools called Agentforce. Agentforce has grown rapidly, already reaching a $3.4 billion annualized run rate. However, that total still only accounts for about 7.5% of this year's revenue guidance. So while Agentforce's growth is positive, it's still relatively small, and wouldn't necessarily offset deterioration in the rest of the business.

To augment its AI capabilities, Salesforce also made several "tuck-in" acquisitions during the first half of the year. In February, Salesforce announced the acquisition of Momentum Boost, a platform that enables the ingestion and analysis of unstructured data, including Zoom Communications video calls. In June, Salesforce announced the acquisition of M3ter, a metering and billing company that facilitates consumption-based pricing. If agents begin replacing more humans in corporate environments, one way software companies can continue to grow will be through consumption-based pricing, rather than "seat" based subscription pricing. So the M3ter buy could be consequential to that transition.

But the most consequential acquisition of the first half was Salesforce's $3.6 billion acquisition of Fin, a software company formerly known as Intercom. Fin is a customer service AI chatbot, and the company has already successfully pivoted from a traditional software subscription business to an agentic AI business that charges customers only for successful, fully automated outcomes. Moreover, Fin has built its own custom model, Apex, specifically for the customer service vertical, freeing Fin from having to pay Anthropic or OpenAI for its underlying intelligence.

Image source: Getty Images.

Despite the decline, management remains confident Will all these efforts enable Salesforce to adapt and thrive in an AI future? Only time will tell. However, Salesforce appears confident. During the first half, CEO Marc Benioff repeatedly said, in interviews and on earnings calls, that AI presents a massive growth opportunity for Salesforce rather than a disruption risk.

Not only did Benioff sound confident, but he and Salesforce's management team backed that sentiment up with a massive $25 billion accelerated share repurchase in March, part of a $50 billion total repurchase authorization. That repurchase quickly reduced Salesforce's shares outstanding by 10% over just a few days, though it also increased the company's debt load.

Despite a slight recent bounce in the stock, Salesforce shares still trade at less than 12 times this year's adjusted earnings per share estimates. That's a bargain if Salesforce can continue to survive and grow in the AI era; however, the answer to that overhanging question won't be answered for quarters, if not years.

KeyBanc Sees Limited Signs Of RecoveryKeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader downgraded Salesforce to Sector Weight from Overweight. The analyst said recent financial results and customer feedback do not point to a meaningful recovery.

Ader wrote that, aside from Salesforce’s valuation, there is little evidence to support the stock as an attractive buying opportunity, saying it is “difficult to find evidence” of meaningful future upside.

The analyst also said recent quarterly results have been disappointing. In addition, channel checks remain soft, while feedback from Agentforce customer events suggests the product still needs further development.

As a result, Ader said expectations for faster revenue growth, current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) and bookings appear difficult to support.

Salesforce Expands Defense BusinessThe downgrade came one day after Salesforce announced a new federal contract.

The company said the U.S. Air Force’s 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron has adopted Salesforce Missionforce National Security to manage its $13.5 billion fleet of more than 84,000 vehicles.

Salesforce said the platform will modernize fleet management, streamline logistics and improve operational readiness, expanding the company’s presence in the defense sector.

Technical Picture Remains WeakSalesforce continues to trade below key long-term technical levels.

The stock sits about 23% below its 200-day simple moving average and roughly 6% below its 50-day moving average. Although it is trading slightly above its 20-day moving average, that short-term strength has not changed the broader downtrend.

The relative strength index stands at 46.3, indicating neutral momentum. The reading suggests the stock is neither overbought nor oversold.

Traders are watching resistance near $187.50, while support is around $146.50, close to the stock’s 52-week low.

Salesforce Price ActionCRM Stock Price Activity: Salesforce shares were down 2.09% at $163.10 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Salesforce Inc. CRM shares fell 2.5% on Thursday after KeyBanc downgraded the software company, citing concerns that its Agentforce artificial intelligence platform may take longer than expected to become a meaningful growth driver.

The downgrade came despite Salesforce's strong position in enterprise software and follows the company's better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results reported in late May.

Investors have remained focused on whether the company's AI investments can translate into sustained revenue growth as competition in enterprise artificial intelligence intensifies.

KeyBanc downgraded Salesforce to Sector Weight from Overweight on Thursday, with analyst Jackson Ader pointing to customer feedback and channel checks that suggest Agentforce adoption remains in its early stages.

According to the brokerage, Salesforce continues to benefit from its position as an incumbent platform provider, but evidence indicates that meaningful growth acceleration from Agentforce is further away than previously expected.

The firm said it attends more Salesforce partner and customer events than any other company in its coverage universe.

Customer feedback has been consistent in two areas, according to KeyBanc.

Customers' data is not yet organized to support meaningful AI work, while Agentforce itself is still not ready for broad deployment.

The brokerage added that implementation partners are only now beginning to convert Agentforce proof-of-concept projects into pipeline deals.

KeyBanc also said its survey found that more chief information officers expect to deprioritize Salesforce within their IT budgets over the next 12 months than prioritize it.

The brokerage further noted that it has struggled to find evidence in Salesforce's financial disclosures showing that net-new annual contract value is growing faster than overall annual contract value growth, despite management's comments.

"What we can piece together in the disclosed numbers does not signal building momentum," Ader said.

Ader also acknowledged the timing of the downgrade saying it could be at a poor time.

"But at some point, we have to ask ourselves, why gather the evidence if we’re not going to use it," he added.

AI growth remains under scrutinyThe downgrade comes after Salesforce reported stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings in late May, supported by demand for its AI-powered products, including Agentforce.

The company said it closed 98 deals worth more than $1 million in annual contract value during the quarter.

Publicly disclosed Agentforce customers include PepsiCo, Falabella and Singapore Airlines.

However, Salesforce's second-quarter revenue guidance came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, raising concerns that rapidly advancing AI products from rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic continue to pressure demand for enterprise software.

KeyBanc noted that it had previously pushed back against negative sentiment surrounding software-as-a-service companies, highlighting the advantages that incumbent platforms such as Salesforce possess.

However, the firm's latest customer checks prompted it to revise its view.

On Wednesday, Salesforce announced that the US Air Force 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron (VSCOS) had begun using the company's Missionforce National Security platform to manage a fleet of more than 84,000 vehicles across nearly 389 locations.

Despite Thursday's decline, Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive.

More than 70% of analysts covering Salesforce rate the stock a Buy, with an average price target of $241.08, implying roughly 45% upside from Wednesday's closing price of $166.58.

Still, Salesforce has struggled this year. The stock has fallen 35% in 2026.

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

Considering buying CRM stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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Stock futures are trading higher this morning, as investors attempt to piece together ongoing updates out of the Middle East, with Iran reportedly wanting to make a deal following the U.S.' most recent attacks. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are flat, flirting with either side of breakeven this morning, while a continued recovery in chip stocks is giving the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) a healthy boost. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell to 215,000 in its latest reading, missing the 218,000 estimate.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

The first-half "Top Stocks" update you've been waiting for. Bull note flashing for struggling copper stock. Plus, downgrade dings CRM; PepsiCo reports earnings; and Jeep maker suffers bear note.

5 Things You Need to Know Today The Cboe Option Exchange saw roughly 2.2 million call contracts and 1.9 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.90, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.  Shares of Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) are 4.5% lower ahead of the bell, after the cloud name suffered a downgrade to "sector weight" from "overweight" at KeyBanc. The brokerage cited disclosed company figures and uncertain upside. CRM has struggled in 2026, off 37% so far. PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) stock is down 2% ahead of the open, after the Coca-Cola (KO) rival shared mixed second-quarter results. Earnings of $2.24 per share missed estimates, while its revenue exceeded expectations at $21.18 billion. Should these losses hold, PEP will slide further below its year-to-date breakeven level. Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA) is sinking 1.5% in electronic trading, after J.P. Morgan Securities downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight," saying the Jeep maker would need more than a year to see benefits from its recovery efforts. STLA has shed roughly 50% in both 2025 and over the last 12 months, now trading at six-year lows. Today brings the last of this week's economic data.

European Markets Trade Mixed Asian markets are lower as investors digest comments from the Reuters NEXT Asia conference in Singapore, and U.S. investors eye Friday's debut for SK Hynix on the Nasdaq. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% while Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.4%. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 1.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.7%.

European bourses are mostly higher, as investors weigh France’s emergency support for fertilizer purchases and domestic production amid rising costs fueled by Middle East tensions. London’s FTSE 100 is off by 0.5%, Germany’s DAX is up 0.3%, and France’s CAC is 0.5% higher, at last glance.

SAN FRANCISCO & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the #1 AI CRM, today announced that the U.S. Air Force 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron (VSCOS) is now using Missionforce National Security to manage its $13.5 billion fleet of over 84,000 vehicles across nearly 389 locations. VSCOS manages the Air Force's vehicle fleet, helping ensure global mission readiness. Faced with the sunsetting of its legacy fleet management system, the 85-person squadron needed a scala.

It doesn't matter your age or experience: taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for all investors. Luckily, Zacks Premium offers several different ways to do both.

The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.

It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

For instance, a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one that boasts Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings forecast, and a much greater likelihood its share price will decline as well.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) Salesforce is the leading provider of on-demand Customer Relationship Management (CRM - Free Report) software, which enables organizations to better manage critical operations, such as sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, document management, analytics and custom application development. Its offerings are delivered on the Agentforce 360 Platform, which connects customer data with integrated AI across systems, apps and devices.

CRM is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. CRM has a Growth Style Score of B, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 12.8% for the current fiscal year.

For fiscal 2027, 17 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.97 to $14.12 per share. CRM boasts an average earnings surprise of +17.3%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, CRM should be on investors' short list.

Key Takeaways Salesforce sees Informatica strengthening its enterprise AI and data management position.Salesforce's AI and data ARR, including Agentforce, Data 360 and Informatica Cloud, jumped 200% to $3.4B.CRM raised the low end of fiscal 2027 revenue guidance after strong first-quarter momentum. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is betting that the integration of Informatica will strengthen its position in enterprise AI and data management. The enterprise software maker acquired Informatica last year for $8 billion. As companies increasingly rely on trusted data to power AI applications, Informatica's capabilities could become a key growth catalyst for Salesforce in fiscal 2027 and beyond.

Informatica enhances Salesforce's Data 360 platform by adding advanced data integration, governance, quality and metadata management capabilities. These tools help businesses organize information from multiple sources, making AI agents more accurate and reliable. By combining Informatica with Agentforce and Data 360, Salesforce aims to offer customers a complete platform for building AI-powered business workflows.

The strategy is already showing encouraging signs. During the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Salesforce reported that combined AI and data annual recurring revenues (ARR), including Agentforce, Data 360 and Informatica Cloud, reached $3.4 billion. This reflects a whopping 200% year-over-year surge. Management also noted that Informatica's business contributed to first-quarter revenue outperformance and that revenue synergies have started to emerge following the acquisition.

Salesforce delivered strong financial results in the first quarter. Revenues increased 13% year over year to $11.13 billion, while current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) rose about 14% to $33.6 billion. Encouraged by this momentum, the company raised the lower end of its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $45.9-$46.2 billion from $45.8-$46.2 billion projected earlier.

The integration also expands Salesforce's cross-selling opportunities by allowing existing CRM customers to adopt enterprise-grade data management solutions. As more businesses move AI projects into large-scale production, the combined platform could drive higher customer spending, improve retention and create a stronger foundation for long-term revenue growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues is currently pegged at $46.09 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of approximately 11%.

CRM Faces Intense AI Competition From Microsoft and OracleSalesforce is no longer competing only in the traditional customer relationship market. As enterprises accelerate spending on AI-powered software, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) are emerging as two of its biggest rivals. Both companies are using their large enterprise customer bases, cloud platforms and expanding AI portfolios to win a greater share of enterprise AI budgets.

Microsoft remains one of Salesforce's strongest competitors, thanks to its broad ecosystem spanning Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. The company is rapidly embedding AI copilots across its productivity and business applications, enabling customers to automate sales, customer service and business workflows. This integrated approach gives Microsoft a meaningful advantage, as enterprises can adopt AI within the software they already use.

The momentum is evident in its financial performance. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Azure and other cloud services revenues grew 40% year over year, while Microsoft's AI business surpassed a $37 billion annual revenue run rate, soaring 123% from the prior year. With its vast installed base and deep AI investments, Microsoft poses a significant competitive threat to Salesforce's Agentforce platform.

Oracle is also becoming a more formidable player in enterprise AI. The company is expanding AI capabilities across Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (“OCI”), Fusion ERP, customer experience and database offerings, enabling businesses to automate a wide range of enterprise processes. Strong demand for AI infrastructure is already translating into faster cloud growth.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Oracle's total cloud revenues rose 47% year over year to $9.9 billion, while OCI revenues surged 93% to $5.8 billion. Combined with Oracle's long-standing relationships with large enterprises, this cloud momentum strengthens its ability to compete with Salesforce as organizations increasingly invest in AI-driven business applications.

Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Salesforce have plunged 37.3% year to date, while the Zacks Internet – Software industry has fallen 11.1%.

Salesforce YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, significantly below the industry’s average of 26.32.

Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 12.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised upward over the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways Data 360 is becoming a key growth driver for Salesforce as enterprises invest more in AI and connected data.CRM's combined AI and data ARR surged 200% YoY to $3.4 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.Informatica fortifies Salesforce's Data 360 with better integration, governance and management capabilities. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is strengthening its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy by expanding Data 360, its unified data platform that helps businesses connect customer information across applications. As enterprises invest more in AI, high-quality and connected data has become essential, making Data 360 an increasingly important growth driver for Salesforce in fiscal 2027.

The platform is benefiting from the company’s broader AI initiatives, especially Agentforce. During the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Salesforce reported that combined AI and data annual recurring revenues (ARR), including Agentforce, Data 360 and Informatica Cloud, reached $3.4 billion. This reflects a whopping 200% year-over-year surge. The company also noted that 50% of Agentforce and Data 360 bookings came from existing customers expanding their spending, highlighting strong cross-selling opportunities within its installed customer base.

The recently completed Informatica acquisition further strengthens Salesforce’s Data 360 by improving data integration, governance and management capabilities. Management expects the combination to help customers move AI projects from pilot stages to enterprise-wide deployment, creating additional revenue opportunities. The company also stated that Informatica contributed to first-quarter revenue outperformance and that integration synergies are already emerging.

Salesforce’s financial performance reflects this momentum. First-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues increased 13% year over year to $11.13 billion, while current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) climbed about 14% to $33.6 billion. Management also raised the lower end of its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $45.9-$46.2 billion from $45.8-$46.2 billion projected earlier.

With enterprises increasingly linking AI success to trusted data, Data 360 is becoming a key differentiator for Salesforce. Continued adoption, combined with deeper customer expansion and AI demand, could support stronger revenue growth throughout fiscal 2027 and beyond. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues is currently pegged at $46.09 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of approximately 11%.

How Do Rivals Fare Against CRM in AI Enterprise Space?Two major competitors of Salesforce in the AI-powered enterprise software market are Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) . Both are aggressively investing in AI to capture enterprise spending.

Microsoft is leveraging its strong position in cloud computing and business software through Dynamics 365 and its partnership with OpenAI. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Microsoft’s Azure and other cloud services revenues grew 40% year over year, while its AI business surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $37 billion, surging 123% year over year.

The company continues to embed AI copilots across its software portfolio, helping customers automate sales, service and workflow processes. Microsoft’s massive installed base of Office and Azure customers provides a strong channel for AI adoption, making it a formidable competitor to Salesforce’s Agentforce platform.

Oracle is also strengthening its AI capabilities through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Fusion applications. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Oracle’s total cloud revenues increased 47% year over year to $9.9 billion. OCI revenues surged 93% to $5.8 billion, reflecting strong demand for AI workloads and enterprise applications.

Oracle is integrating AI agents across its ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), customer experience and database products, allowing customers to automate business functions. Its growing cloud business and deep enterprise relationships position Oracle as a key challenger as companies increase spending on AI-driven software solutions.

Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Salesforce have plunged 38.4% year to date, while the Zacks Internet – Software industry has fallen 12.8%.

Salesforce YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, significantly below the industry’s average of 25.65.

Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 12.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have remained unchanged over the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Salesforce drew a bullish upgrade from Guggenheim analyst John Difucci, who said the stock’s sharp decline has created an attractive entry point for investors.

Guggenheim Sees Valuation UpsideDifucci upgraded Salesforce to Buy from Neutral and set a $228 price forecast.

The analyst said Salesforce trades at 3.7 times recurring revenue and 11 times enterprise value to next-12-month consensus free cash flow. At the same time, the new forecast implies a 5.0x multiple on enterprise value to next-12-month recurring revenue and about 46% upside.

AI Risk Looks OverpricedDifucci said AI remains a major risk and that Salesforce could face pressure from agentic AI, but he believes the stock already prices in an overly negative outcome.

The analyst said Salesforce may struggle to grow much, but the current valuation implies a permanent 5% decline, which he views as too harsh.

Technical AnalysisEven with Wednesday’s pop, CRM is still in a longer-term downtrend: it’s trading about 22.7% below its 200-day SMA ($212.65) and remains below its 50-day SMA ($174.82) and 100-day SMA ($181.38). The bearish crossover setup reinforces that—its 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA, and the 50-day SMA is below the 200-day SMA.

Earnings & Analyst OutlookLooking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the September 2, 2026 (estimated) earnings report.

EPS Estimate: $3.09 (Up from $2.91 YoY) Revenue Estimate: $11.31 Billion (Up from $10.24 Billion YoY) Valuation: P/E of 18.2x (Suggests fair valuation relative to peers) Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $245.00. Recent analyst moves include:

Guggenheim: Upgraded to Buy (Forecast $228.00) (July 1) Needham: Buy (Maintains Forecast to $400.00) (June 16) Canaccord Genuity: Buy (Maintains Forecast to $225.00) (June 16) Top ETF ExposureSignificance: Because CRM carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Price ActionCRM Stock Price Activity: Salesforce shares were up 4.75% at $164.10 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo: Shutterstock

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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