Late Friday in New York (Dec. 26, 2025), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) shares were hovering around $266 after the post-Christmas session wrapped with U.S. equities sitting near record territory.
That broader market backdrop matters for CRM investors heading into the final trading days of 2025: Friday’s holiday-thinned session ended almost flat, snapping a five-day rally, while strategists pointed to the start of the “Santa Claus rally” window and the potential for light volume to amplify moves. [1]
With U.S. stock markets closed through the weekend, the next major price discovery moment for Salesforce stock will come when the NYSE core session reopens Monday at 9:30 a.m. ET. [2]
Salesforce stock price: where CRM stands heading into the next session
Salesforce stock’s latest trade around the mid-$260s puts the company back at the center of a familiar tug-of-war: bulls argue that enterprise demand for AI “agents” is becoming measurable in bookings and recurring revenue, while skeptics question how quickly AI features will translate into durable, paid adoption across large customer bases.
Key context for investors watching CRM into year-end:
- Market mood: U.S. indexes are near highs, but trading conditions are thin and headline-sensitive heading into the last few sessions of 2025. [3]
- Company narrative: Salesforce is leaning hard into “agentic” AI—especially Agentforce—and tying that story to both raised guidance and a large capital-return program. [4]
- Street expectations: A widely-cited analyst consensus compiled by MarketBeat shows an average 12‑month price target around $326.68, with targets ranging from $221 to $430. [5]
The headline catalyst: Salesforce raised fiscal 2026 guidance on AI adoption
The most market-moving fundamental update in recent weeks came with Salesforce’s fiscal Q3 2026 results (quarter ended Oct. 31, 2025). The company emphasized accelerating demand for its AI products and lifted its full-year outlook.
Highlights Salesforce reported:
- Revenue: about $10.3 billion (Salesforce reported $10.3B; Reuters noted Q3 revenue $10.26B and compared it with an LSEG consensus estimate). [6]
- cRPO (current remaining performance obligation):$29.4B, up 11% year over year. [7]
- Full-year FY26 revenue guidance: raised to $41.45B–$41.55B (up from the prior range). [8]
- Full-year adjusted EPS guidance: raised to $11.75–$11.77. [9]
CEO Marc Benioff explicitly framed the guide-up as a pipeline signal, pointing to cRPO strength and calling out Agentforce and Data 360 as major momentum drivers. [10]
Agentforce: from AI hype to measurable ARR and paid deals
For Salesforce stock, the question isn’t just “Does the company have an AI story?”—it’s whether customers are paying for it in a way that compounds.
In its Q3 release, Salesforce said:
- Agentforce + Data 360 ARR reached nearly $1.4B, up 114% year over year. [11]
- Agentforce ARR alone surpassed half a billion dollars in Q3 and was up 330% year over year. [12]
- Salesforce reported 9,500+ paid Agentforce deals, and said Agentforce has processed more than 3.2 trillion tokens through its LLM gateway. [13]
Reuters’ reporting on the earnings update also captured a key investor tension: AI spending can look bubble-like at the sector level, so markets are demanding proof of ROI. Analyst Rebecca Wettemann (Valoir) said the results reflected management’s confidence in converting AI pilots into future sales. [14]
Customer wins and product rollout: why enterprises matter more than demos
Salesforce has tried to strengthen its AI credibility with both broad platform launches and named enterprise customers.
Two notable examples investors are parsing:
- Global availability of “Agentforce 360.” Reuters reported Salesforce said its “Agentforce 360” AI platform would be available globally across its suite, and cited 12,000 customers including Reddit, OpenTable, and Adecco. [15]
- Novartis adoption in life sciences. Salesforce announced in December that Novartis selected Agentforce Life Sciences and plans a multi-year global rollout of the related platform with the goal of unifying engagement across marketing, sales, patient services, medical, and other functions. Salesforce quoted Frank Defesche, its Life Sciences GM, on the partnership’s intent to transform customer engagement workflows. [16]
For CRM stock, these aren’t just “good PR” items—they’re evidence that Salesforce is targeting complex, regulated, high‑budget buyers where multi-cloud adoption and long contracts can show up in backlog metrics like RPO and cRPO.
Informatica acquisition: Salesforce doubles down on “data as the fuel” for AI agents
AI agents are only as useful as the data they can access safely and reliably. Salesforce has been positioning data unification and governance as the missing link between chatbot experiments and enterprise deployment.
On Nov. 18, 2025, Salesforce said it completed its acquisition of Informatica, describing it as a step toward a unified data foundation for “agentic AI.” [17]
Benioff’s messaging was blunt: “You have to get your data right to get your AI right,” arguing that trusted data and context reduce hallucinations and make AI agents more dependable at scale. [18]
Investors should expect Informatica integration progress to remain a recurring theme in Salesforce’s narrative—especially as AI competition intensifies and buyers demand governance, privacy controls, and auditability.
Capital returns: buybacks, dividends, and why they matter for CRM valuation
Salesforce’s strategy isn’t only growth; it’s also shareholder returns—an important ingredient when markets are debating whether software multiples should expand or compress in 2026.
From the Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings release, Salesforce said it:
- Returned $4.2B to shareholders in the quarter, including $3.8B in share repurchases and $395M in dividends. [19]
From Salesforce’s Form 10‑Q for the quarter ended Oct. 31, 2025, the company disclosed:
- The board-authorized share repurchase program totals $50.0B (aggregate authorization). [20]
- As of Oct. 31, 2025, Salesforce was authorized to purchase a remaining $21.9B of common stock under the program. [21]
- The company also reported incurring about $1.2B through Nov. 28, 2025 for additional repurchases subsequent to quarter end. [22]
On dividends, Salesforce announced a $0.416 per share quarterly dividend payable Jan. 8, 2026 to shareholders of record Dec. 18, 2025. [23]
For investors, the takeaway is that Salesforce is trying to support the stock through both narrative (AI platform leadership) and mechanics (material buybacks and an ongoing dividend).
Analyst forecasts and price targets: what Wall Street expects from Salesforce stock
While every platform’s methodology differs, MarketBeat’s compiled view offers a useful snapshot of how Wall Street is framing CRM into 2026:
- Consensus rating: “Moderate Buy,” based on 44 analyst ratings. [24]
- Average price target:$326.68 (implying roughly ~23% upside from the mid‑$260s area cited on the same page). [25]
- Range:$221 (low) to $430 (high). [26]
MarketBeat’s table also shows how some firms have adjusted views into mid‑December, including target changes and rating actions tied to the AI and bookings debate (for example, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup entries listed with analyst names and December dates). [27]
Not all commentary is uniformly bullish. Barron’s recent analysis highlighted the “prove it” phase around Agentforce, while also arguing that improving margins and a relatively lower valuation versus peers could set up a rebound case if growth reaccelerates. [28]
The market backdrop: why macro headlines can move CRM quickly next week
Salesforce is a mega-cap software name in a market that remains highly sensitive to interest-rate expectations and “AI spending” narratives.
Two themes investors are watching into the last trading days of 2025 and the first week of 2026:
- Holiday liquidity and the Santa rally window
Reuters quoted Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick describing Friday as the market “catching our breath” after a strong run, while noting the Santa rally period has historically been watched as a sentiment signal. [29] - Fed expectations and rate-path uncertainty
In its “Week Ahead” framing, Reuters reported investors were focused on how many rate cuts might arrive next year, with Fed minutes expected in the holiday-shortened week ahead and strategists warning that year-end adjustments can spur volatility in light volumes. Reuters also quoted market strategist Paul Nolte (Murphy & Sylvest), Michael Reynolds (Glenmede), and Anthony Saglimbene (Ameriprise) on bullish momentum, the importance of Fed minutes, and rotation dynamics. [30]
For CRM, this matters because a “higher for longer” shock can pressure long-duration growth equities, while renewed confidence in easing (or improving breadth beyond mega-cap tech) can support software multiples—especially for companies emphasizing profitability and buybacks.
Stock market closed now: what Salesforce investors should know before Monday’s session
Because the NYSE core trading session is closed until Monday morning, CRM investors have a window to prepare rather than react. Here’s what to watch before the next open:
1) Know the reopening schedule
NYSE core trading runs 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, and Monday is a normal trading day (not a listed NYSE holiday). [31]
2) Watch the week’s headline macro catalysts
Even a “quiet” week can move markets if liquidity is thin.
Two scheduled data points investors often track:
- Pending Home Sales (NAR): The National Association of Realtors said the November 2025 release is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 29, 2025 at 10 a.m. Eastern. [32]
- Case-Shiller home price data: FRED’s listing for the S&P CoreLogic (Cotality) Case‑Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index shows a next release date of Dec. 30, 2025. [33]
Separately, Reuters flagged Fed minutes as a major focal point for rate expectations in the coming week. [34]
3) Track Salesforce-specific headline risks over the weekend
Before Monday’s open, investors typically monitor:
- Any new Agentforce customer wins (especially regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, and government) following deals like Novartis. [35]
- Integration and go-to-market updates related to Informatica, since Salesforce is selling the deal as foundational for enterprise AI agents. [36]
- Any shifts in the competitive AI landscape for enterprise software platforms (Salesforce has highlighted partnerships and model access in prior AI coverage). [37]
4) Keep an eye on buyback and capital-return support
Salesforce is actively returning capital and has disclosed substantial remaining authorization and continued repurchase activity after quarter-end—an important stabilizer investors often weigh when volatility spikes. [38]
Bottom line: Salesforce stock enters the final days of 2025 with AI momentum—and a “show me” bar for 2026
Salesforce stock is heading into Monday’s open with several supportive pillars—raised guidance, strong backlog indicators, accelerating AI ARR metrics, a major data-platform acquisition, and aggressive capital returns. [39]
But the near-term tape still depends heavily on the market’s appetite for AI-linked software names and the rate outlook, especially in thin year-end trading conditions. That’s why Monday’s open is less about any single Salesforce headline and more about whether macro sentiment cooperates—and whether the company’s Agentforce metrics continue to translate into bookings and durable revenue, quarter after quarter. [40]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.nyse.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. investor.salesforce.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. investor.salesforce.com, 7. investor.salesforce.com, 8. investor.salesforce.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. investor.salesforce.com, 11. investor.salesforce.com, 12. investor.salesforce.com, 13. investor.salesforce.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. investor.salesforce.com, 17. www.salesforce.com, 18. www.salesforce.com, 19. investor.salesforce.com, 20. www.sec.gov, 21. www.sec.gov, 22. www.sec.gov, 23. investor.salesforce.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.barrons.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.nyse.com, 32. www.nar.realtor, 33. fred.stlouisfed.org, 34. www.reuters.com, 35. investor.salesforce.com, 36. www.salesforce.com, 37. www.reuters.com, 38. www.sec.gov, 39. investor.salesforce.com, 40. www.reuters.com
