NEW YORK, Feb 27, 2026, 18:12 ET — Trading activity continued after the bell.
- Salesforce ended the session at $194.79, down $4.68, or 2.35%. Shares slipped roughly 0.1% further after hours.
- Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 revenue guidance and how quickly it’s rolling out AI remain under investor scrutiny.
- March 6 brings the U.S. jobs report—a critical moment for those making bets on rates and eyeing tech stock valuations.
Salesforce, Inc. settled at $194.79 on Friday, shedding $4.68, or 2.35%. The shares barely budged in after-hours trading, slipping just to $194.58.
Salesforce’s slide leaves it exposed, with investors sorting out what so-called “agentic” AI actually spells for large, subscription-driven software names. The company’s current outlay on AI is significant, but the Street expects something more: evidence it can drive demand on its own, not just by playing with the numbers.
Initial reaction from Wall Street is wary. Stifel dropped its target on the stock to $250 from $300 but maintained its Buy call. DA Davidson trimmed its target to $200, holding steady at Neutral, citing weakness in certain legacy areas of Salesforce’s business.
Salesforce is projecting fiscal 2027 revenue to come in between $45.80 billion and $46.20 billion, landing just under the LSEG consensus at the midpoint—$46.06 billion. “Salesforce needs to show it is continuing to translate early AI traction into broader enterprise adoption,” said Rebecca Wettemann, CEO at Valoir. Wettemann pointed to the need for customers to get AI agents out of the pilot phase and running at scale. Reuters
Salesforce’s latest filing put remaining performance obligation—revenue under contract but not yet recognized—up 14% to $72.4 billion. Revenue for the quarter climbed 12% to $11.2 billion. The company greenlit a fresh $50 billion share buyback and bumped its quarterly dividend to $0.44 a share. CEO Marc Benioff described the “agentic AI” initiative as “a tailwind.” SEC
Salesforce shares picked up roughly 4% Thursday after the company’s quarterly revenue topped expectations. But by Friday, the stock slipped, trimming those gains as the week wrapped up.
No lift from the tape. Software names fell, with investors questioning if AI-fueled cost reductions might eventually eat into seat-based licensing. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ended down roughly 1%, MarketWatch reported.
Another round of the same debate is coming next week, with markets twitchy over potential winners and losers. “There continues to be this back and forth about who might be the victim and those that will actually emerge winners,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. Reuters
For Salesforce, the trouble comes if clients keep cutting back on tech spending or hold off on big deployments, which would hitch growth to renewals even as AI investments drive up expenses. Buybacks help the per-share numbers in that case, but they won’t solve the demand problem.
Investors are looking ahead to March 6, when the Labor Department is set to publish February’s U.S. jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET — a release with the potential to sway rate bets and, in turn, put pressure on high-multiple software shares.
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