Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 18, 2024.Halil Sagirkaya | Anadolu | Getty Images Salesforce shares soared 14% in extended trading Wednesday after the cloud software provider reported results and issued guidance that beat Wall Street projections. Here’s how the company fared relative to the LSEG consensus: Earnings per share: $5.90 adjusted Revenue: $11.35 billion vs. $11.32 billion expected Salesforce’s revenue rose 11% from a year ago in the fiscal second quarter, which ended July 31, according to a filing. Net income of $3.53 billion, or $4.29 per share, rose 87% from $1.89 billion, or $1.96 per share, a year ago. The company noted a $2.6 billion gain in strategic investments from a stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. In May, Anthropic said it had raised equity funding that valued the company at $965 billion. Salesforce’s free cash flow rose 81% to $1.1 billion, well above StreetAccount’s $643.2 million consensus. In recent weeks, Alphabet and Microsoft have also posted profits after investing in Anthropic. For the fiscal third quarter, Salesforce said revenue should range between $11.42 billion and $11.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast $11.41 billion. Salesforce now forecasts between $46.1 billion and $46.4 billion in full-year revenue, implying 11% growth in the middle of the range. The LSEG consensus was $46.11 billion. In May, forecasts called for between $45.9 billion and $46.2 billion in revenue. Also on Wednesday, Salesforce announced Claudeforce, a plugin for Anthropic’s Claude that can compose emails on behalf of sellers, provide them with information, and update records via chat. During the quarter, Salesforce announced a $1.6 billion contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and revealed plans to acquire customer service startup Fin for $3.6 billion. Annualized revenue from Agentforce AI products exceeded $1.5 billion, an increase of 240% year over year. The growth rate of the previous quarter exceeded 200%. Salesforce said it had $33.5 billion in current remaining performance obligations, a measure of revenue that is expected to be recognized next year. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount expected $33.22 billion. As of Wednesday’s close, Salesforce shares were down 22% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index gained 12% in the same period. Investors have been going back and forth about how big a threat generative AI models pose to serious software companies. Executives will discuss the results with analysts in a conference call beginning at 5 p.m. ET. WATCH: Options Action: Software Earnings Disappoint. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
