Salesforce (CRM) Stock on December 2, 2025: Earnings Preview, AI Strategy, and 2030–2035 Forecasts

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) heads into a crucial earnings week trading around $234.48 per share, with a market cap of roughly $223 billion and a 52‑week range of $221.96–$369.00.  ^[1]

The stock is down about 30% in 2025 and has slightly negative returns over the last five years, badly lagging the S&P 500 despite being at the center of the AI narrative.  ^[2] Yet Wall Street still sees 30–40% upside over the next 12 months, and some long‑term bulls think Salesforce could be a $1 trillion company by 2035.  ^[3]

Here’s a detailed look at where CRM stock stands today, what to watch in Q3 FY2026 earnings on December 3, and how analysts are modeling the company through 2030–2035.

1. Where Salesforce (CRM) Stock Stands Today

Key snapshot as of December 2, 2025:  ^[4]

• Share price: $234.48 (mid‑day, NY time)
• Market cap: ~$223.2 billion
• TTM revenue: $39.5 billion
• TTM net income: $6.66 billion
• TTM EPS: $6.88
• P/E (ttm): 34.1
• Forward P/E: ~19.6
• Dividend: $1.66 per year (0.7% yield), ex‑dividend date September 17, 2025
• 52‑week range: $221.96–$369.00

According to StockAnalysis, 34 analysts currently rate CRM a “Buy”, with a 12‑month average price target of $326.52, implying roughly 39% upside from today’s price.  ^[5]

At the same time, Barron’s notes that Salesforce shares are down roughly 30% year‑to‑date and about 5% over five years, even as many AI‑linked peers surged, reflecting a sharp de‑rating from about 8x to ~5x forward sales as growth slowed below 10%.  ^[6]

2. Why CRM Stock Has Struggled in 2025

Despite healthy profits and margins, three worries have dominated 2025 coverage:

1. AI Disruption Fears
   • Some investors fear that generative AI will compress SaaS economics, reduce seat‑based pricing, and empower new AI‑native competitors to undercut Salesforce’s core CRM products.  ^[7]
   • Citi analyst Tyler Radke recently argued that upcoming earnings are unlikely to fully dispel concerns that AI could eventually hurt, rather than purely help, Salesforce’s business model, even while acknowledging strong AI + Data Cloud growth.  ^[8]
2. Slower Growth vs. Old Expectations
   • Revenue growth is now in the high‑single‑digit to ~9–10% range, down from ~17% in prior years, and current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) have hovered around 10–11% growth instead of re‑accelerating.  ^[9]
   • That’s still solid for a $40B‑revenue company, but below what many investors once expected from “hyper‑growth” cloud software.
3. “Show‑me” Valuation Reset
   • Detailed round‑ups from TS2 and others put Salesforce at ~33–34x trailing earnings, ~19–20x forward earnings, and roughly 5–6x sales, levels below many AI‑hyped software peers and below its own five‑year averages.  TechStock²+1
   • Analysts describe this as a “prove‑it zone”: not cheap enough to ignore risks, but not expensive if Salesforce can re‑accelerate growth into the low double digits and deliver on its AI story.  TechStock²

Add in headlines about data‑security issues (Salesforce temporarily disabled connections to Gainsight‑published apps during a breach investigation) and controversial AI‑driven workforce reductions in support roles, and sentiment has stayed fragile even as fundamentals improved.  ^[10]

3. Q3 FY2026 Earnings Preview: Numbers to Watch

Salesforce will report Q3 FY2026 results after the market close on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.  ^[11]

Street Consensus

Across Seeking Alpha, MarketBeat, TS2, and other aggregators, expectations are tightly clustered:  ^[12]

• EPS (non‑GAAP): about $2.85–$2.86, up roughly 18–19% year‑over‑year
• Revenue: around $10.27 billion, up ~8.7–8.8% year‑over‑year
• Company guidance for Q3:
  • Revenue $10.24–$10.29 billion (8–9% growth)
  • EPS $2.84–$2.86
• FY2026 EPS guidance: $11.33–$11.37

Last quarter, Salesforce beat expectations, posting EPS of $2.91 vs. $2.78 expected and revenue of $10.24B vs. $10.14B, about 9.8% year‑over‑year growth, while continuing to expand margins.  ^[13]

Beyond the Headline Numbers: What the Street Will Focus On

A widely cited Q3 preview synthesizes late‑November research and flags four focal points:  TechStock²+2Barron’s+2

1. AI and Agentforce Metrics
   • Updated annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Data Cloud + Agentforce, which already exceeded $1.2 billion and grew more than 120% year‑over‑year in recent quarters.  ^[14]
   • Number of customers actually using AI agents in production and tangible ROI case studies, not just pilots.
2. The “10% Growth” Line in the Sand
   • At Dreamforce and the October investor day, Salesforce unveiled a long‑term plan to push organic revenue growth back above 10%, targeting $60B+ in revenue by FY2030 (excluding Informatica), implying a 10%+ organic CAGR from FY26–FY30.  ^[15]
   • Q3 results will be scrutinized for evidence that growth can climb from ~9% towards that goal.
3. Margin Sustainability
   • Non‑GAAP operating margin is already in the mid‑30s, and Salesforce has laid out a framework to reach 40% non‑GAAP operating margins by FY2030, with the sum of growth plus margin—its “50 by FY30” rule—hitting 50.  ^[16]
   • Investors will ask whether current margins are structurally higher thanks to AI and efficiency, or temporarily elevated by cost cuts.
4. Macro & Enterprise IT Spending
   • Management commentary on large deals, IT budgets, and AI project timing will be key, especially given concerns that some customers have shifted budget from traditional CRM licenses to AI experiments.  TechStock²+1

4. Salesforce’s AI and Data Strategy: Agentforce, Data Cloud, and Informatica

Agentforce and Data Cloud: The AI Core

Salesforce now brands itself as the “world’s #1 AI CRM” and has re‑centered its story around Agentforce, its platform for building AI agents that sit on top of the Customer 360 stack.  ^[17]

Key points from recent coverage:  ^[18]

• Agentforce is pitched as an “agentic layer” that can automate workflows across Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, and Slack.
• Data Cloud is the foundational data engine, bringing together customer data from many systems. It has become a multi‑billion‑dollar product line (management and analysts peg it around $7B) and has seen ~140% YoY growth in customer count, with over half of the Fortune 500 using it.
• AI and Data products together have shown triple‑digit ARR growth, and large customers like FedEx are cited as examples where unified data plus AI agents are boosting conversion and contract sign‑ups.

Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot—its embedded generative AI assistant—runs on a trust‑and‑governance framework where models are applied to a company’s own CRM data, with guardrails to limit data leakage and hallucinations.  ^[19]

Informatica: A $8 Billion Data Bet

On November 18, 2025, Salesforce closed its roughly $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, a leader in AI‑powered cloud data management.  ^[20]

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has said the deal unites the Einstein and CLAIRE AI engines to create “the ultimate AI‑data platform,” strengthening data governance, master data management, and ETL pipelines.  ^[21]
• Third‑party analyses highlight that Informatica’s tools should make Salesforce’s Data Cloud and Agentforce more “agent‑ready”, with cleaner, governed data feeding AI agents across Tableau, MuleSoft, and Slack.  ^[22]

The acquisition is widely seen as strategically sound but execution‑heavy: integrating Informatica’s 9,000+ customers and complex product suite could be a multi‑year project, and investors will watch for short‑term integration costs and margin drag.  ^[23]

Adecco Joint Venture: r.Potential and the AI Bubble Question

Beyond products, Salesforce is also embedding AI through partnerships. A recent joint venture with staffing giant Adecco, called r.Potential, aims to help large enterprises move from AI “tourism” to concrete, ROI‑driven deployments:  ^[24]

• Adecco’s CEO says r.Potential could reduce AI bubble risk by steering companies away from hype and toward measurable outcomes.
• About 300 large clients have already expressed interest in the platform.

For Salesforce, this is both a distribution channel for Agentforce/Data Cloud and a proof point that its AI tools can be the backbone of large‑scale workforce transformation, not just incremental features.

5. Wall Street on CRM: A Consensus “Buy,” but With Sharp Divides

Aggregated Targets and Ratings

Several data providers now converge on a similar picture:

• GuruFocus:
  • Citizens reiterated a “Market Outperform” rating with a $430 price target.
  • Across 48 analysts, the average 1‑year target is $325.20, with a high of $442 and a low of $221, implying about 40% upside from the current ~$233 price.
  • Consensus recommendation from 53 brokerages equates to “Outperform” (score 2.0 on a 1–5 scale), and GuruFocus’ own GF Value model pegs fair value near $316.83, around 36% above today’s price.  ^[25]
• MarketBeat & StockAnalysis:
  • MarketBeat reports an average target around $323–325, based on about 39–40 analysts, with a high target of $430 and low of $221, implying nearly 40% upside from the low‑$230s.  ^[26]
  • StockAnalysis lists a $326.52 average target from 34 analysts, or ~39% upside, with an overall “Buy”rating.  ^[27]
• Barchart:
  • Its October deep‑dive classifies CRM as a “Strong Buy”, citing 36 Strong Buy, 2 Moderate Buy, 11 Hold, 1 Strong Sell ratings, and an average target of about $336, suggesting ~34% upside, with the high target of $430 implying ~71% upside.  ^[28]

Recent Analyst Moves: Targets Trimmed, Ratings Mostly Intact

Not all commentary is rosy:

• Citigroup (Tyler Radke) – Neutral, cut target from $276 to $253, warning that AI could disrupt Salesforce’s model even as AI + Data Cloud ARR tops $1.2B, up 120% YoY.  ^[29]
• Oppenheimer (Brian Schwartz) – Outperform, but target trimmed from $315 to $300 on December 1.  ^[30]
• Bank of America, Mizuho, Canaccord, RBC, Northland – Several firms lowered targets through the autumn as growth and cRPO failed to re‑accelerate, and at least one (Northland) downgraded from “Outperform” to “Market Perform” ahead of Dreamforce.  ^[31]
• Cantor Fitzgerald – Remains Overweight with a $325 target; its analysts argue that channel checks show steady demand and no evidence that AI start‑ups are meaningfully displacing Salesforce in competitive deals.  TechStock²+1

The overall takeaway: most analysts still see CRM as undervalued, but a vocal minority questions whether the company can both hit its 10%+ growth target and sustain 35–40% margins in the face of AI‑driven changes to enterprise software.

6. Big Money and Insiders: Who’s Buying the Dip?

New 13F filings and MarketBeat coverage show significant institutional accumulation in Q2:  ^[32]

• River Road Asset Management increased its stake by 81.2% to 58,099 shares (~$15.0M).
• Arrowstreet Capital boosted holdings by 56.4% to 2,479,989 shares, worth about $676M, roughly 0.26% of Salesforce.
• Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake by 63.3% to 259,254 shares (about $70.4M), making CRM its 22nd‑largest holding.

Across these filings, institutional investors are estimated to own ~80.4% of Salesforce shares.  ^[33]

Insider activity is more mixed: CEO Marc Benioff sold a small portion of his holdings (~2,250 shares at about $251), while at least one director bought shares. Overall, insiders own roughly 3% of the company and collectively sold around 51,872 shares (~$12.8M) last quarter.  ^[34]

7. Valuation: Cheaper, but Is It Cheap?

From a pure numbers standpoint:

• P/E: ~34x trailing, ~19–20x forward
• Sales multiple: roughly 5–6x, compared with ~8x a year ago and higher multiples for some high‑flying AI software peers.  ^[35]
• Forward P/E vs peers: One Invezz/cryptorank analysis highlights a forward P/E around 20.4, below a sector median ~23.6, and far below Salesforce’s own five‑year average (~36x). The forward PEG ratio (~1.22) is also under the sector median (~1.6).  ^[36]

That same technical/valuation piece concludes that, while the stock looks statistically undervalued relative to its history and peers, the market is clearly pricing in execution risk around AI, growth, and the 2030 plan.  ^[37]

8. Technical Picture: A Descending Triangle into Earnings

On the chart, CRM’s set‑up heading into earnings has caught a lot of attention:  ^[38]

• The stock formed a double‑top near $367 with a neckline around $312, then sold off sharply.
• It now sits below its 50‑day and 200‑day EMAs, as well as below Supertrend and Ichimoku cloud indicators—classic signs of a sustained downtrend.
• A descending triangle has emerged, with key support near $228.48 and a falling trendline of lower highs since May.
• Technical analysts warn that a decisive break below ~$228 could open the door toward the $200 area, while a solid earnings beat and strong AI commentary could fuel a rebound toward $250+ along the upper trendline.

Forbes analysis (summarized via StockAnalysis) notes that current levels around $230 correspond to prior pullback zones that historically led to strong rebound rallies, which is why some technicians see this as a potential “buy‑the‑dip” area—if fundamentals cooperate.  ^[39]

9. Salesforce Stock Forecast 2025–2030 (and Even 2035)

12‑Month Targets: 30–40% Upside if Execution Is Solid

Late‑November synthesis by TS2, referencing TipRanks, MarketBeat and TickerNerd, highlights how tightly clustered Street targets are:  TechStock²+2GuruFocus+2

• TipRanks: average target $324.49, high/low $430 / $221, implying ~42% upside from ~$228 at the time.
• MarketBeat: average target around $322.9, high $430, low $221, roughly 40% upside from low‑$230s.
• TickerNerd: median target $331, range $221–$430, with an overall “Strong Buy” score (40 Buy / 13 Hold / 1 Sell).

24/7 Wall St. goes a bit further, reiterating a Street median target near $324 and adding its own projections of about $302 by year‑end 2025 (roughly 30% upside from late‑November prices) and a potential 2030 price near ~$494 if execution stays on track.  TechStock²+1

Salesforce’s Own 2030 Plan: $60B+ Revenue and 40% Margins

At its October investor day and Dreamforce conference, Salesforce announced:  ^[40]

• A new long‑term revenue target of $60B+ by FY2030, excluding Informatica.
• This implies 10%+ organic revenue CAGR from FY2026–FY2030.
• A “Profitable Growth Framework” where subscription & support constant‑currency growth + non‑GAAP operating margin = 50 by FY2030 (“50 by 30”), with a target of 40% non‑GAAP operating margin by then.
• A planned $7 billion share repurchase over the six months following the announcement.

Reuters and others note that this forecast exceeded Wall Street’s prior ~$58.4B 2030 consensus, and Salesforce shares jumped 4–6% on the news, easing some fear that AI would permanently cap growth.  ^[41]

Not everyone is convinced: Guggenheim reiterated a Neutral rating, arguing that 10%+ organic growth is meaningfully above current trends and noting Salesforce previously missed an earlier long‑term target of $50B+ revenue by FY2026.  ^[42]

The 2035 “Trillion‑Dollar Club” Thesis

A widely shared Motley Fool piece argues that Salesforce could join the $1 trillion market‑cap club by 2035 if it:  ^[43]

• Grows revenue from $39.5B over the last four reported quarters to roughly $88B by 2035, assuming ~8% annual growth.
• Expands GAAP operating margin toward 35%, leveraging its high gross margins and AI‑driven automation.
• Delivers roughly $31B in operating earnings by 2035, which, at a mid‑20s earnings multiple, could support a $1T valuation.

This is one bullish scenario, not a consensus forecast. But it illustrates how some long‑term investors view the combination of AI, Data Cloud, Informatica, Agentforce, and high free‑cash‑flow margins as a potential pathway to much larger scale.

10. Key Risks to the Bull Case

Recent coverage highlights several downside risks investors should keep in mind:  ^[44]

1. AI Cannibalization & Competition
   • Generative AI could reduce the need for traditional license‑based CRM seats, compress pricing, or shift value to infrastructure providers and AI‑native platforms (e.g., startups founded by ex‑Salesforce executives).
   • If Agentforce and Data Cloud don’t monetize as strongly as hoped, Salesforce could face slower growth andpricing pressure.
2. Hitting the 10%+ Growth + 40% Margin Targets
   • Achieving >10% organic growth through 2030 after a period of ~8–9% growth is ambitious, and some analysts doubt Salesforce can both accelerate growth and maintain elevated margins.
3. Informatica & M&A Execution
   • The Informatica integration is complex; any missteps could weigh on margins and distract from core product execution.
4. Macro & IT Budget Cycles
   • Slower enterprise spending or elongated deal cycles could push out AI project timelines, affecting both near‑term numbers and confidence in the 2030 plan.
5. Trust, Regulation, and Social Backlash
   • Data‑security incidents (like the Gainsight‑linked breach) and the optics of AI‑related job cuts could lead to reputational risks, stricter regulation, or higher compliance costs.

11. So Is Salesforce (CRM) Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold Right Now?

From the synthesis of current news and research:

• The bull case rests on:
  • A still‑dominant position in enterprise CRM and customer platforms.  ^[45]
  • Rapidly growing AI + Data ARR, now above $1.2B with triple‑digit growth.  ^[46]
  • The Informatica acquisition and Agentforce platform potentially giving Salesforce one of the most complete “agent‑ready” data stacks in enterprise software.  ^[47]
  • Ambitious but clearly articulated 2030 targets that, if met, could justify substantial multiple expansion.  ^[48]
• The bear (or cautious) case focuses on:
  • Slower core growth and limited evidence—so far—that AI will accelerate overall revenue beyond high single digits.  ^[49]
  • The possibility that AI ends up disrupting the SaaS model more than it expands it.
  • Execution risks around large‑scale AI adoption, Informatica integration, and keeping margins high while investing heavily.  TechStock²+2innominds.com+2

Right now, CRM looks like a classic “show‑me” stock:

• Valuation is materially lower than it was a year ago.
• Wall Street targets imply ~35–40% upside if Salesforce simply hits its current road‑map.
• But the market clearly wants proof—starting with Q3 FY2026 earnings—that AI‑driven products can sustain double‑digit growth and high‑30s/40% margins without another round of guidance cuts.

For long‑term, volatility‑tolerant investors, the current pricing plus heavy institutional buying may look attractive as a multi‑year AI and data‑platform bet. For more risk‑averse investors, many analysts suggest waiting to see how the stock reacts after the December 3 earnings release and updated AI metrics.

Either way, Salesforce’s next few quarters—especially how it executes on AI, Data Cloud, and Informatica—are likely to determine whether CRM graduates from “undervalued incumbent” to genuine long‑term AI winner, or remains a chronically discounted blue‑chip.

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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