New York, Jan 28, 2026, 20:12 EST — Market closed.
Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) edged down 0.2% to $228.05 during regular trading on Wednesday, then dipped further by about 1.6% to $224.50 in after-hours. The stock traded between $223.10 and $231.83 on volume near 8.5 million shares.
The late-day slide shifts focus to a fresh U.S. Army contract vehicle and Salesforce’s bet on its “agentic” AI—software agents that don’t just respond but act—to generate consistent revenue. Keith Kirkpatrick, VP and research director at Futurum, called the deal a “pivotal inflection point” that could intensify competition with Microsoft, Oracle, and ServiceNow in government IT. Futurum
On Jan. 26, a U.S. Army contract notice revealed a firm-fixed-price award of $5,644,302,996 to Computable Insights LLC. The deal covers a decentralized enterprise agreement for Salesforce products and outcome-based services for the Department of War, with a targeted completion date of June 26, 2035. According to the notice, work locations and funding will be determined with each order, following an IDIQ structure that caps spending but doesn’t guarantee the full amount will be used.
Salesforce announced its 10-year IDIQ contract has a $5.6 billion ceiling, though that amount is not guaranteed, with financial effects expected as orders come in. The company plans to share more details during its fourth-quarter earnings call. Kendall Collins, CEO of Missionforce and Government Cloud, said the goal is to “operationalize Missionforce across the Army, delivering trusted data and seamless interoperability.” IDC analyst Alan Webber described the agreement as “a shift from buying software to orchestrating outcomes at scale.” Salesforce
Salesforce also revealed it handed out 139,574 restricted stock units to 42 new hires tied to its acquisitions of Apromore, Spindle AI, and Informatica, as part of its inducement equity plan. These awards will vest over the next four years, the company said.
U.S. stocks closed mostly flat in the regular session, with several software shares slipping along with Salesforce. Oracle lost 1.2%, while Tyler Technologies sank 2.6%, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.02%, according to MarketWatch data.
Salesforce now faces the challenge of turning contract ceilings into actual task orders—and figuring out how much of that business will come repeatedly beyond just the Army. Government purchases often come in fits and starts. They can also grind to a halt unexpectedly.
But the headline figure can be deceptive. IDIQ contracts often stretch out over years before being fully awarded, and the total can fall far short of the ceiling if priorities change or budgets tighten. After-hours trading is thinner as well, with late gains often eroding by the next session.
As markets remain closed overnight, traders will be watching closely to see if the after-hours dip extends into Thursday’s open or reverses. Details on order timing will likely be more crucial than the headline contract figure.
Salesforce is set to release its earnings report and hold a conference call on Feb. 25, with MarketBeat noting the event will occur before the market opens. Investors will be watching closely for updates on bookings, margins, and the pace at which Army contracts begin contributing to revenue.
Related articles: NYSE:CRM
