Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) ended the regular session on Monday, December 22, 2025 with a solid gain, and the stock is largely steady in after-hours trading—a setup that puts the focus on two things heading into Tuesday’s open: whether today’s AI-driven software momentum can carry through in thin holiday liquidity, and whether macro headlines (especially fresh U.S. data) shift risk appetite before the bell.
Salesforce stock after hours: where CRM stands tonight
Salesforce shares finished the regular session around $264.56, up about 1.79%, and were slightly lower in late after-hours trading near $264.08 (as of 6:59 p.m. ET). [1]
For context on how the day developed, CRM traded in a wide intraday band between roughly $258.41 and $264.63, and volume came in around 5.64 million shares, below its recent average. [2]
That “up during the day, flat-to-fractionally-down after the bell” profile typically signals no major new company-specific catalyst hit the tape after 4 p.m. ET—and that traders are setting up for Tuesday’s macro and sector flow rather than reacting to a surprise headline.
Why Salesforce climbed on Dec. 22: a software “AI trade” tailwind plus an Evercore spotlight
CRM’s move wasn’t in isolation. U.S. equities broadly rose to open a holiday-shortened week, with technology continuing a rebound that began late last week, according to Reuters. [3]
The most direct CRM-specific narrative thread today: Evercore highlighted Salesforce as one of its “top enterprise software picks for 2026,” pointing to sustained AI adoption and infrastructure demand. In the same note, Evercore called out improving momentum around Salesforce’s AI strategy and argued the stock’s free-cash-flow valuation improves the “risk-reward” profile—language that tends to travel quickly across trading desks and software investors. [4]
This matters because in late December, especially near holidays, “one strong research catalyst + thin liquidity” can be enough to push large-cap software names through short-term technical levels even without fresh earnings news.
The bigger tape: holiday-thinned markets can amplify moves (in both directions)
Reuters also flagged two conditions that traders are taking seriously into Tuesday:
- Trading volumes were already light on Monday and are expected to thin further into Christmas. [5]
- U.S. stock markets are scheduled to close early (1 p.m. ET) on Wednesday and be closed Thursday for Christmas, which often compresses positioning into fewer sessions. [6]
In other words, CRM could see outsized swings on modest news flow—not because Salesforce suddenly changed overnight, but because there may be fewer participants providing liquidity.
What to watch before the market opens Tuesday, Dec. 23
Here are the most practical “pre-bell” items investors and traders are tracking for Salesforce stock tomorrow:
1) Macro data and rates: growth stocks still trade with yields
Salesforce is a mega-cap growth/quality software name, and these stocks can be sensitive to changes in rate expectations. Reuters noted that key economic releases are scheduled for this week, including a preliminary reading of third-quarter GDP, consumer confidence, and weekly jobless claims. [7]
If Tuesday’s data pushes yields higher, software leaders can face multiple compression even when company fundamentals are intact. If data supports easing expectations, the opposite can happen—especially in a holiday tape.
2) Follow-through (or fade) on the Evercore “top pick” catalyst
Today’s Evercore note helped frame Salesforce as a 2026 enterprise software AI beneficiary—a narrative that can persist for several sessions if broader markets cooperate. [8]
Before the open, traders will watch:
- whether other banks echo the call with fresh upgrades/targets,
- whether software peers (Oracle, Microsoft, other large-cap application software) stay bid,
- whether futures are risk-on enough to support continuation.
3) Key price levels from today’s tape
With CRM finishing around $264.6, the market effectively has a clear near-term reference range:
- Near-term resistance: today’s highs in the mid-$264s
- Near-term support: today’s lows in the high-$258s
Those levels matter because they’re where many short-term stop orders and systematic strategies cluster after a trending day.
Also notable for technically focused investors: MarketBeat lists Salesforce’s 200-day moving average near $279.44 (well above tonight’s price) and a 50-day moving average near $239.86 (well below). That often gets interpreted as a stock that has rebounded meaningfully but may still be working through longer-term resistance overhead. [9]
4) Short interest and positioning: not an obvious “crowded short” squeeze story
MarketBeat puts Salesforce short interest at about 1.82% of float, with a “days to cover” figure around 2.15, and notes short interest has recently declined. [10]
That doesn’t rule out sharp moves, but it suggests Tuesday’s action is more likely to be driven by macro/sector flows than a classic short squeeze dynamic.
5) Insider activity: a confidence signal, but not a standalone catalyst
One data point in the background: MarketBeat reported mixed insider activity—including a director purchase (David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares at an average $258.64, roughly a $500k buy) alongside a large insider sale (co-founder/executive Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares at $234.70, roughly $31.6 million). [11]
Investors sometimes view director buying as a valuation vote of confidence, but the “mixed” picture limits how far this alone can move a mega-cap stock. Still, in a thin week, sentiment signals can matter at the margin.
Wall Street forecasts: where the Street thinks CRM could go (and what that implies)
If you’re looking for the most widely circulated “forecast” numbers referenced in today’s coverage:
- MarketBeat lists a consensus price target of about $326.68 with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and broad analyst coverage (dozens of analysts). [12]
- The same MarketBeat data shows target dispersion (a wide spread between low and high targets), which is typical for large software names where investors disagree on how fast AI monetization will show up in revenue and margins. [13]
The key takeaway for Tuesday: targets aren’t a near-term catalyst, but they shape the market’s willingness to “buy dips” in names perceived as durable AI/platform winners.
Fundamentals refresher: what Salesforce last told investors (and why it still matters tonight)
Even though there was no earnings release today, Salesforce’s most recent quarterly report remains the anchor for most institutional models.
In its Q3 fiscal 2026 results (for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2025), Salesforce reported:
- Revenue of about $10.3 billion (up year over year)
- Remaining performance obligation (RPO) of $59.5 billion and current RPO of $29.4 billion
- Free cash flow of about $2.2 billion in the quarter and $4.2 billion returned to shareholders (including repurchases and dividends) [14]
On the AI strategy that continues to drive the stock’s narrative, Salesforce highlighted:
- Agentforce + Data 360 ARR near $1.4 billion (up 114% year over year)
- Agentforce ARR surpassing $0.5 billion (up 330% year over year)
- Over 18,500 Agentforce deals since launch, with over 9,500 paid deals
- More than 3.2 trillion tokens processed through its LLM gateway [15]
And importantly for valuation debates, Salesforce provided guidance that still frames expectations into fiscal year-end:
- Q4 FY26 revenue guidance of $11.13–$11.23 billion
- Full-year FY26 revenue guidance of $41.45–$41.55 billion
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance for Q4 of $3.02–$3.04 [16]
That’s why “AI adoption and execution” remains the crux: the Street is watching for evidence that AI agents expand wallet share without eroding margins.
Today’s company messaging: Salesforce doubles down on the “Agentic Enterprise” story
On Dec. 22, Salesforce also published a year-in-review style recap emphasizing that 2025 was the year it translated its Agentforce vision into what it calls the “Agentic Enterprise”—highlighting platform strategy, partnerships, and the push toward AI agents as an operating model, not a feature. [17]
For the stock, this kind of messaging generally matters in two ways:
- It supports the long-duration narrative that helps institutions underwrite premium software valuations.
- It keeps attention on near-term datapoints investors can measure—deployments, bookings, and ARR growth—rather than only on broad AI hype.
What’s next on the calendar: the next true “binary” catalyst isn’t tomorrow
Between now and Tuesday’s open, there’s no scheduled Salesforce earnings event. Looking further out, the next big catalyst is the next earnings report—but the exact date is not firmly set by the company yet, and third-party calendars vary. Nasdaq notes its vendor has not provided an upcoming earnings report date. [18]
That makes tomorrow’s session more about:
- macro data and index sentiment,
- sector rotation (software/AI),
- and whether today’s bullish catalyst (Evercore’s note) keeps traction.
Bottom line for Tuesday’s open
Salesforce stock goes into the Dec. 23 open with fresh upward momentum from Monday’s session, a supportive sell-side spotlight (Evercore’s 2026 top-pick framing), and after-hours trading that looks calm rather than reactive. [19]
The main “before the bell” risk is that macro data or rates flip the broader market tone in a holiday-thinned tape—conditions that can exaggerate intraday moves for mega-cap software leaders. [20]
References
1. www.marketbeat.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.tradingview.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.tradingview.com, 9. www.marketbeat.com, 10. www.marketbeat.com, 11. www.marketbeat.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. investor.salesforce.com, 15. investor.salesforce.com, 16. investor.salesforce.com, 17. www.salesforce.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.reuters.com
