New York, February 26, 2026, 17:57 EST — After-hours
- CRM climbed 4% during Thursday’s main session, then dropped roughly 3.6% in after-hours trading.
- Salesforce set its FY27 revenue outlook just shy of expectations, although the company also announced a $50 billion buyback.
- Traders are eyeing new analyst commentary and circling Feb. 27, when Agentforce hosts its webinar, hoping for firmer signs on how AI monetization might play out.
After surging 4.0% to finish the day at $199.47, Salesforce shares slipped in after-hours action Thursday, dropping 3.6% to $192.30 as of 5:52 p.m. EST. The stock had earlier climbed on the heels of its quarterly results, but some of those gains faded post-close.
The late swing shows just how jumpy investors are over what’s next for major software companies. The wager here: that AI agents — programs able to handle tasks with minimal human help — actually become things people pay for, rather than just another add-on that drags prices down.
Salesforce is projecting fiscal 2027 revenue between $45.8 billion and $46.2 billion. That range puts the midpoint just under the $46.06 billion consensus from analysts tracked by LSEG. “AI eating SaaS”—the idea that artificial intelligence could dampen demand for subscription software—is still on investors’ minds, said Valoir CEO Rebecca Wettemann. Reuters
Salesforce is now calling for $41.5 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue, according to its latest earnings release, and reported $72.4 billion in remaining performance obligations—a tally of contracts locked in but not yet counted as revenue. Agentforce’s annual recurring revenue reached $800 million. The company also signed off on a fresh $50 billion share buyback and bumped up its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share. “Our performance makes us even more confident in our path to reaccelerate organic revenue growth,” said finance chief Robin Washington. Salesforce Investor Relations
The report is peppered with Wall Street shorthand. ARR refers to subscription run-rate, RPO stands for contracted work yet to show up as revenue. Salesforce also called out “agentic work units” and “tokens”—its own way of quantifying AI workload in the system.
The stock’s now vulnerable to even minor letdowns. Investors are juggling a hefty buyback and a growth story that hinges on customers shifting from pilot programs to full-scale deployments—and shelling out for increased automation, not pulling back.
Wells Fargo trimmed its price target on Salesforce to $210 from $235 early Thursday, sticking with an Equal Weight stance. The call cited Agentforce’s momentum but noted that key indicators are losing steam. For now, the firm said it’s waiting for firmer evidence of a lasting rebound.
CRM’s caught between robust cash flow and payouts, but skepticism over its pricing muscle and growth prospects lingers. The after-hours dip in the stock tells you investors aren’t finished hashing this out.
Timing is a sticking point here. Should corporate tech budgets remain constrained, or if AI tools fail to spur wider paid adoption, Salesforce’s expected second-half turnaround might slip—or may never materialize.
Eyes turn to Salesforce’s calendar: Executives will break down platform updates at the Agentforce 360 webinar on Feb. 27. Not long after, Washington joins Joe Inzerillo, head of enterprise and AI tech, for a session at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3.
