Salesforce (CRM) Stock News Today (Dec. 18, 2025): Agentforce in ChatGPT, Qualified Acquisition, and Fresh Analyst Price Targets

December 18, 2025 — Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is ending the year with a familiar mix of catalysts that matter to stock investors: a new AI distribution channel, another targeted acquisition in its “agentic” strategy, and a steady drumbeat of analyst updates as Wall Street tries to put a price on the company’s next growth phase.

As of 17:47 UTC on Thursday, Dec. 18, Salesforce shares traded at $257.52, down roughly 0.2% on the session.

Below is a roundup of the major news, forecasts, and analyst takes circulating on Dec. 18, 2025, plus what they may mean for the CRM stock story going into 2026.

Salesforce stock headlines on Dec. 18, 2025

If you only read one section, make it this one. Today’s Salesforce narrative is being shaped by three themes:

AI goes “where work happens”: Salesforce’s Agentforce Sales experience is now available inside ChatGPT via an open beta, pushing Salesforce deeper into the daily workflow layer. ^[1]
More agentic M&A: Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Qualified, adding “agentic marketing” capabilities designed to convert inbound website traffic into pipeline. ^[2]
Analysts re-rate the setup: New coverage and target changes (including BTIG’s initiation) highlight that the Street is increasingly tying Salesforce’s multiple to Agentforce adoption and longer-term re-acceleration rather than “classic CRM” maturity. ^[3]

Agentforce Sales launches inside ChatGPT: why investors care

One of the most widely shared Salesforce developments today is the rollout of Agentforce Sales inside ChatGPT, positioning Salesforce not just as a system of record, but as a system you can operate through conversation.

According to coverage of the release, the Agentforce Sales app lets sellers query Salesforce data in natural language (for example, surfacing uncontacted leads), and also take actions—like updating opportunities—without switching tools. It’s designed to cut what Salesforce calls the “toggle tax,” and it runs through Salesforce’s trust layer to respect permissions and governance. ^[4]

Why it matters for CRM stock:
For investors, this is less about a single feature and more about distribution and engagement. Putting Salesforce actions inside ChatGPT effectively turns a consumer-grade interface into an enterprise workflow surface. If adoption sticks, it can raise daily active usage, expand seat penetration, and increase the attach rate of higher-value AI add-ons.

This launch also tracks with the broader platform moment for OpenAI. The same week Salesforce’s ChatGPT experience goes live, OpenAI rolled out an App Directory and developer SDK intended to make ChatGPT a centralized hub for tools. ^[5]

Salesforce to acquire Qualified: agentic marketing joins the AI push

Salesforce announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Qualified, describing it as a provider of agentic AI marketing solutions that can engage inbound buyers and help convert website traffic into pipeline. ^[6]

Salesforce says Qualified’s product functions like an “always-on” AI worker for inbound engagement, and integrating it into Agentforce is intended to expand autonomous pipeline generation—particularly for marketing and sales teams. ^[7]

Key deal detail investors watch: Salesforce expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2027, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. ^[8]

Terms were not disclosed, a point reiterated in industry coverage. ^[9]

Why it matters for CRM stock:
This deal is consistent with a very specific Salesforce pattern: buying targeted capabilities that deepen Agentforce’s end-to-end coverage across the customer journey (service → sales → marketing). If Salesforce can productize Qualified’s outcomes (pipeline creation) into measurable ROI, it strengthens the monetization case for agentic AI—one of the central debates driving Salesforce’s valuation.

Enterprise traction: Novartis picks Agentforce Life Sciences

Salesforce also highlighted new enterprise adoption momentum: Novartis selected Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences for Customer Engagement with a plan to roll out Agentforce 360 for Life Sciences globally over the next five years, aiming to unify engagement across marketing, sales, patient services, medical, market access, and other stakeholders. ^[10]

Why it matters for CRM stock:
Regulated industries are a key battleground for enterprise AI (where governance, permissions, and auditability can be differentiators). Deals like this help investors gauge whether Agentforce can win in high-compliance verticals at scale—often tied to longer deployments but stickier revenue.

Analyst forecasts and price targets: what Wall Street is saying on Dec. 18

Salesforce’s Dec. 18 coverage cycle includes new and reiterated targets and a fairly clear throughline: analysts are increasingly underwriting a multi-year AI cycle, but disagree on timing and margin outcomes.

BTIG initiates coverage with a Buy and a $335 target

BTIG initiated Salesforce with a Buy rating and a $335 price target, pointing to platform re-architecture, “golden record” efforts (Data 360), and rapid innovation in the Agentforce layer. BTIG also cited improving management tone and transparency around business trends, and discussed Agentforce metrics—including ARR growth and customer movement from pilots into production. ^[11]

Morgan Stanley trims target, keeps Overweight

A widely circulated note summarized that Morgan Stanley reduced its price target to $398 from $405 while maintaining an Overweight rating, following what it described as strong earnings and broader software coverage valuation updates. ^[12]

Wolfe Research raises its target (per wire coverage)

MT Newswires coverage syndicated through MarketScreener reported Wolfe Research adjusted Salesforce’s price target to $350 from $300 and maintained an Outperform rating. ^[13]

The consensus view remains positive, but not euphoric

MarketBeat’s aggregation (as cited in its coverage) frames Salesforce as a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target around $326.68. ^[14]
Separately, Investing.com’s recap of analyst targets noted a wide target range (reflecting the current uncertainty over AI monetization speed). ^[15]

What the targets imply (using today’s trading level):
With CRM around $257.52 intraday, a ~$326–$335 consensus band implies roughly high-20% to ~30% upside, while the higher targets imply substantially more—if AI adoption accelerates and margins hold. ^[16]

The fundamental backdrop: guidance raised as AI adoption “picks up steam”

While today’s headlines focus on distribution (ChatGPT) and product breadth (Qualified), investors are still anchoring on the most recent hard numbers.

Reuters reported that Salesforce raised its annual forecasts in early December as AI software adoption improved, lifting its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $41.45–$41.55 billion (from $41.1–$41.3 billion previously) and raising adjusted EPS guidance to $11.75–$11.77. Reuters also noted Salesforce’s commentary that Agentforce ARR surpassed half a billion dollars in the third quarter. ^[17]

This matters because, for the stock, the key question has shifted from “Is Salesforce doing AI?” to “Is AI meaningfully moving revenue, retention, and expansion?”

The longer-term narrative: the $60B+ 2030 outlook and shareholder returns

Salesforce’s longer-range growth framing remains a major reference point in sell-side models. Reuters highlighted that Salesforce previously forecast more than $60 billion in revenue in 2030, a move that helped ease investor worries about slowing growth. The same Reuters report also mentioned a $7 billion share buyback plan announced alongside that longer-term outlook. ^[18]

For CRM stock investors, these long-range targets function as the “north star” that justifies premium multiples—if the company can translate product momentum into sustained bookings and revenue acceleration.

A critical debate: can Salesforce monetize agentic AI without compressing margins?

One of the more investor-relevant discussions circulating this week is how Salesforce prices its agentic AI—because pricing strategy can reshape both near-term profitability and long-term retention.

TechRadar reported that Salesforce leadership has signaled comfort with short-term profitability trade-offs under a seat-based AI licensing model (AELA), framing heavy usage as a positive signal for customer success and a foundation for longer-term monetization. The same coverage also noted concerns critics raise around deeper ecosystem lock-in. ^[19]

Why it matters for CRM stock:
If Salesforce leans into predictable seat-based AI pricing, investors may reward the strategy for reducing friction and driving adoption—but they’ll watch gross margin and attach rates closely. If usage outpaces pricing, the margin story becomes harder in the short run. If new AI features deliver measurable ROI, Salesforce may gain pricing power later.

Dividend watch: record date lands on Dec. 18

Salesforce’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.416 per share, payable Jan. 8, 2026 to shareholders of record on Dec. 18, 2025. ^[20]

This is not the primary driver of CRM stock, but it is part of the broader “shareholder returns” story alongside buybacks—especially important in periods when software multiples are under pressure.

What to watch next for Salesforce stock

Going into year-end and early 2026, Salesforce investors will likely focus on a short list of measurable checkpoints:

Agentforce adoption metrics
Watch for updates to Agentforce ARR, pilot-to-production conversion, and enterprise-wide expansion indicators. ^[21]
ChatGPT channel performance
The Agentforce Sales app being available via ChatGPT’s app ecosystem is a distribution bet. Early signals could show up in customer anecdotes, usage data, and upsell commentary. ^[22]
Qualified deal progress and integration plan
The expected close timing (fiscal 2027 Q1) implies a longer runway. Investors will watch for product roadmap clarity and how Salesforce positions “agentic marketing” inside Agentforce. ^[23]
Bookings and pipeline health
Analysts are explicitly tying their optimism to improving order trends and forward indicators; expect the stock to stay sensitive to net-new order value signals and remaining performance obligations. ^[24]

Bottom line

On Dec. 18, 2025, Salesforce stock is being priced at the intersection of two stories:

A durable, large-scale enterprise software franchise trying to re-accelerate growth, and
An AI “agent” platform (Agentforce) that is rapidly expanding into new surfaces (ChatGPT) and new functions (marketing pipeline via Qualified).

Analyst targets remain broadly constructive, but the dispersion reflects a market still debating how fast agentic AI becomes a meaningful revenue engine—and whether Salesforce can scale it without sacrificing the margin profile that has helped stabilize the stock’s narrative over the past year. ^[25]

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