New York, Feb 11, 2026, 16:40 EST — Shares moved after the bell.
Salesforce shares slid 4.4% to $185 in after-hours action Wednesday, having earlier bottomed out at $181.85.
The decline comes as investors wait for evidence that the company’s AI “agent” tools—programs built to handle tasks with less human involvement—will actually drive growth without costs getting out of hand. New hints on both issues arrived in the last few days, and the stock reacted poorly.
Wall Street barely budged, with the S&P 500 closing flat and the Nasdaq down 0.16%, as fresh U.S. jobs numbers dimmed hopes for imminent Fed rate cuts—a scenario that tends to weigh on pricey software stocks. Investors now look to Friday’s January CPI reading for the next signal on rates, according to Reuters. 1
Salesforce drew scrutiny over staffing moves after Business Insider said earlier this month the company eliminated fewer than 1,000 positions, cutting roles across marketing, product management, data analytics, and its Agentforce AI team. The company hasn’t answered requests for comment. Reuters noted it was unable to independently confirm the report. 2
Salesforce, just a day ago, announced a definitive deal to acquire Cimulate—the AI-driven product discovery startup—aiming to strengthen its Agentforce Commerce suite. “The future of commerce is agentic,” said Nitin Mangtani, who heads the business as SVP and general manager. John Andrews, Cimulate’s CEO, expects the buyout will accelerate the reach of its technology. The company added the acquisition should close in the first quarter of its fiscal 2027. 3
Analysts called the move a focused wager on boosting retailers’ ability to turn “search” activity into transactions, as more shoppers now kick things off in conversational AI environments. “Agentforce Commerce needed a retail grade intent intelligence engine,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research. Over at Avasant, research director Gaurav Dewan saw the deal as lining up with Salesforce’s “long-standing M&A philosophy” of snapping up domain specialists to deepen its platform. 4
Weakness showed up across the board. ServiceNow tumbled 5.6%, Oracle gave up 1.7%, and Microsoft lost roughly 2.2%. Software was in retreat, even as chipmakers managed to outperform on Wednesday.
The Cimulate acquisition gives investors a hint: Salesforce isn’t just talking up “agentic” software—it’s putting money down, especially to sharpen its offering in areas like retail. Instead of sticking with broad AI tools, the company is targeting practical, vertical-specific solutions. Here, intent-driven discovery tries to figure out a shopper’s actual goal, moving past keyword matches to connect people with the right product, and do it quickly.
Still, the hazards are clear. Salesforce hasn’t officially acknowledged the rumored layoffs, and friction within product teams could throw off delivery schedules—right when customers want sharper answers about returns on those AI extras.
Next, earnings are on the docket. Salesforce plans to report its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 numbers after the bell on Feb. 25, with a conference call slated for 5:00 p.m. ET. 5
