Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $995.95 EPS

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The CRM provider reported $999.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $995.95, Zacks reports. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $6.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.19. 13,740,141 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,887,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $174.57 and a 52-week high of $313.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $227.77 and a 200-day moving average of $239.19.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus is on Agentforce converting from hype to measurable revenue — Q4 results tonight are framed as the “defining moment” that will determine whether AI agents drive durable top-line growth. Salesforce Faces Its Defining Moment as Agentforce Moves From Hype to Hard Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Sector uplift after Anthropic announcements lifted software names; Anthropic demos included Salesforce use cases (Slack) that reduce timelines, supporting a relief rally in AI-linked software stocks. US software stocks climb as Anthropic announcement sparks relief rally
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” stance and highlights enterprise agent use cases; supportive analyst views increase odds of positive investor reaction if results show execution on AI. Wedbush says Anthropic demos strong, software-replacement hype overdone
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership news: Navatar launched an AI-powered CRM operating model built on Salesforce for alternative-asset managers — a sign of platform demand and ecosystem monetization. Navatar Launches AI-Powered CRM Operating Model On Salesforce
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is expanding AI capabilities (Momentum acquisition, Slackbot/Agentforce integrations) — these strategic moves support long-term monetization of agentic AI. Salesforce Inc (CRM) Expands AI Capabilities With Momentum Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street preview pieces and model updates emphasize a big post-earnings move is likely; analysts have adjusted forecasts ahead of tonight’s print. Salesforce Gears Up For Q4 Print; Recent Forecast Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves: KeyCorp trimmed its price target (still overweight), while other firms keep high targets — implies disagreement on tempo of recovery even if long-term views remain bullish. Benzinga: KeyCorp price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrade(s) knocked the stock lower and pushed shares to a 52-week low, adding downside risk into earnings if guidance disappoints. Salesforce Shares Down Following Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Technical pressure: options/technical commentary notes CRM at a new 52-week low and short-term momentum is weak — earnings will need to be clearly positive to reverse trend. Options Corner: CRM

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 1,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. State Street Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,732,966,000 after buying an additional 159,739 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24,056.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 47,189,352 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 582,314 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,903,151 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,828,714,000 after purchasing an additional 170,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,588,104 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.56.

About Salesforce

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.