Salesforce stock climbs on growth outlook, rejects AI replacing software as ‘myth’
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The news: Salesforce shares jumped after the company projected more than USD60 billion ($92.5 billion) in annual revenue by fiscal 2030, excluding any contribution from its planned USD8 billion acquisition of data-management company Informatica.
The context: The forecast, revealed at its Dreamforce event, follows a year in which Salesforce’s stock fell 29% and growth dipped into single digits for the first time amid fears that customers were shifting budgets to AI tools from startups instead of traditional application software like Salesforce’s.
Chief financial and operating officer Robin Washington said the belief that application software is dead in the era of generative AI is a “myth”.
The numbers: The company now expects a return to double-digit growth within 12 to 18 months and will repurchase USD7 billion in shares over the next six months.
For fiscal 2026, Salesforce forecast a minimum of USD41.3 billion in revenue, up 9% from the previous forecast.
The stock rose as much as 8.5% in New York, its biggest intraday gain since April.
What they said: Washington told investors at the event Salesforce is targeting USD60 billion in annual revenue by the fiscal year ending January 2030, excluding any contribution from Informatica. That deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026. She also said the company aims to return to double-digit growth within the next 12 to 18 months.
CEO Marc Benioff said: “We remain on track for fiscal 2026 to be a record year with nearly USD15 billion in operating cash flow.” The results, he said, reflects “the success of our customers—like Pfizer, Marriott, and the US Army—who are transforming into agentic enterprises, where humans and AI agents work side by side to reimagine workflows, accelerate productivity and deliver customer success.”
About 12,000 customers are using it’s Agentforce tool, which lets clients use AI to automate some early-stage and customer service workflows, the company reportedly said at the annual conference.
The sources: Salesforce, Bloomberg
