NEW YORK, Jan 21, 2026, 18:03 EST — After-hours trading
- After slipping for eight sessions in a row, Salesforce bounced back, closing up 0.7% on Wednesday
- The company has extended its startup program to Malaysia and the Philippines
- Investor sentiment around software stays fragile amid ongoing debates over AI’s impact on pricing power
Salesforce shares edged up 0.7%, finishing Wednesday at $221.58. Oracle dropped 3.4%, and ServiceNow slipped 0.1%. The S&P 500 gained 1.2%. 1
The uptick came after CRM endured eight consecutive sessions of losses, including a 3.1% fall on Tuesday. That decline pushed the stock roughly 40% off its 52-week peak, with trading volume exceeding its recent average. 2
Salesforce expanded its Startup Program on Tuesday to include Malaysia and the Philippines, providing startups with access to its products, mentorship, and joint go-to-market support. “Malaysia and the Philippines are ideal launchpads for startups seeking to scale local ideas into global impact,” said Arundhati Bhattacharya, Salesforce’s president and CEO for South and Southeast Asia. The program now covers five markets and supports over 435 startups. 3
The broader software sector faces a tricky dilemma: will generative AI boost spending, or will easier-to-replicate tools drive prices down? Jefferies analyst Brent Thill noted this week that “software sentiment has rarely been lower.” At the same time, Banor SIM portfolio manager Angelo Meda cautioned that AI might weigh on the average selling price of software services. 4
At Davos, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posed a stark question: “What’s more important to us, growth or our kids?” 5
Salesforce investors are now focused on the upcoming quarterly earnings report and the guidance that will come with it. Back in December, the company upped its fiscal 2026 revenue and profit outlook, citing robust demand for AI offerings like Agentforce. Its data-and-AI segment was also flagged as expanding rapidly. 6
Traders are focused on subscription growth and the “remaining performance obligation,” which tracks contracted revenue still to be recognized. They want to see if customers are locking in larger deals or merely sampling AI features in limited trials.
The downside risk remains on the table. Should customers hold off on renewals, cut back on seat counts, or postpone AI pilots, backlog growth could stall quickly—and the stock’s recent rebound might vanish in a single session.
Investors are gearing up for a packed earnings slate in the sector, kicking off with Microsoft’s report on Jan. 28. Its results often set the tone for other major software stocks ahead of Salesforce’s next update. 7
