Salesforce shares jump on strong earnings, raised FY27 outlook
Salesforce shares surged 23% after strong Q2 results, higher guidance and accelerating AI adoption. Agentforce ARR jumped 240%, while its expanded Anthropic partnership strengthened the company’s AI growth outlook and eased concerns about AI disruption to traditional enterprise software.
Salesforce shares jumped 22.6% on Thursday, marking the company’s second-biggest one-day gain ever. The rally followed better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results, higher full-year guidance and an expanded AI partnership with Anthropic.(Sources: Reuters, Yahoo Finance, Motley Fool)
Non-GAAP earnings per share surged 103% year over year to $5.90, compared with analysts’ expectations of around $3.27. GAAP diluted EPS rose 119% to $4.29.
A major factor behind the sharp jump in reported earnings was Salesforce’s investment portfolio. Gains on strategic investments contributed $2.53 of the $5.90 in adjusted EPS, including a substantial gain from its investment in AI company Anthropic.
Salesforce’s AI offerings continued to expand rapidly. Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reached nearly $3.9 billion, while Agentforce ARR alone climbed to about $1.5 billion, rising more than 240% year over year.
Salesforce and Anthropic expanded their partnership with Claudeforce, integrating Anthropic’s Claude AI models with Salesforce’s enterprise data, workflows and business processes. The initial offering includes dozens of prebuilt AI sales skills.
Salesforce raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion, from its previous $45.9 billion-$46.2 billion range. Adjusted EPS guidance was raised sharply to $16.67-$16.71, from $14.06-$14.12 previously.
Current remaining performance obligations rose 14% year over year to $33.5 billion. Operating cash flow increased 71% to $1.3 billion, while free cash flow jumped 81% to $1.1 billion in the quarter.
Salesforce’s results offered investors evidence that AI could complement rather than simply disrupt traditional enterprise software. The Anthropic partnership, accelerating Agentforce adoption and stronger guidance helped ease concerns around the so-called AI-driven threat to SaaS companies.
