New York, Feb 16, 2026, 11:37 ET — Market closed
- Salesforce (CRM) finished Friday at $189.72, a 2.3% gain.
- Presidents Day has U.S. equity markets closed on Monday, with trading picking back up on Tuesday.
- Salesforce’s AI agent push, tight cost discipline, and a new commerce deal have investors piling in.
Salesforce ended Friday at $189.72, a 2.3% gain, but with U.S. markets off for Presidents Day, shares won’t move Monday. The stock has wobbled this week—down 4.4% midweek, then clawing back ground ahead of the long weekend. (StockAnalysis)
Why does it matter? Tuesday marks the actual test for the recent rebound—investors will be scrambling to reposition following turbulence in U.S. tech. The holiday shutters U.S. equity markets, shifting the upcoming trading day to Feb. 17. (AP News)
CRM saw heavy action ahead of the holiday break, with Friday volume spiking to roughly 55% above the 65-day average, according to MarketWatch data. (MarketWatch)
Salesforce revealed last week it’s buying Cimulate, the AI-driven product search startup targeting retailers. “The future of commerce is agentic,” said Nitin Mangtani, who heads commerce and retail at Salesforce, in the release. The company expects to wrap up the deal during the first quarter of its fiscal 2027. (Salesforce)
Some outside analysts see the deal as an effort to push AI-driven tools beyond demonstrations and into actual sales numbers. “Salesforce is acquiring Cimulate because Agentforce Commerce required a retail grade intent intelligence engine,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, in remarks published by CIO. (CIO)
Jitters haven’t gone anywhere. Earlier this month, Reuters called out a “sell-everything mindset” sweeping through U.S. software stocks, with investors fretting that rapid-fire AI innovations might threaten established business models. Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft—shares in all three took a hit during the rout. (Reuters)
Salesforce has pushed the message that it’s able to convert AI investment into signed deals. Last quarter, the company bumped up its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $41.45 billion to $41.55 billion. It also pointed to an 11% increase in current remaining performance obligations, bringing that figure to $29.4 billion—revenue already booked for the coming 12 months.
Cost control is playing just as big a role. Last week, Reuters said Salesforce eliminated under 1,000 jobs in early February, citing a Business Insider report. The cuts reached into marketing and parts of the Agentforce AI team. CEO Marc Benioff put it bluntly: as AI handles more tasks, the company needs “less heads” in support. (Reuters)
Still, after the bounce, there’s not much tolerance for missteps. Any hint of weaker enterprise demand, sluggish contract wins, or rising expenses from AI rollouts and deal integration could quickly weigh on the stock.
Looking ahead, Salesforce has its next big test on Feb. 25. The company will post Q4 and full-year fiscal 2026 numbers after the bell, with a conference call set for 5 p.m. ET. Investors are zeroing in on guidance and contract backlog, but they also want to see if AI agent momentum sticks—or if it just drives up costs. (Salesforce Investor Relations)
