New York, January 13, 2026, 18:12 EST — After-hours trading
- Salesforce shares dropped roughly 7% Tuesday and continued sliding after the market closed
- Fresh worries about AI disruption and pricing models sparked a selloff in application software.
- Traders are eyeing early adoption of AI “agents” and the upcoming earnings report, set for Feb. 25
Shares of Salesforce Inc (CRM) dropped roughly 7% on Tuesday, slipping to an intraday low of $240.42. In after-hours trading, the stock continued to slide, last down 7.1% at $241.06.
Salesforce’s decline marked it as the Dow’s weakest link, underscoring how quickly enthusiasm can sour on major software firms betting on AI as their growth engine. Chipmakers bucked the trend—Intel and AMD ranked among the Nasdaq’s biggest winners, per Investopedia. 1
Selling intensified after Oppenheimer downgraded Adobe to “Perform” from “Outperform” and pulled its price target, fueling concerns that AI tools might undermine traditional software revenue streams. Analysts led by Brian Schwartz noted generative AI “is ramping up content creation speed while driving down prices and subscriber growth.” 2
Salesforce introduced a revamped Slackbot within Slack, pitching it as an AI “agent” — software designed to handle tasks for users — integrated into the workplace chat platform. Parker Harris, Salesforce co-founder and Slack’s CTO, called Slackbot “the front door to the Agentic Enterprise.” The company said the update will begin rolling out Tuesday to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers. Enterprise admins will have the option to restrict access until Feb. 10. 3
Not all on Wall Street are pulling back. Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges kicked off coverage of Salesforce with a Buy rating and set a $330 price target on Monday, highlighting AI adoption as a “positive tailwind” for software demand. 4
Tuesday marked Salesforce’s steepest single-day percentage fall since May 2024, Dow Jones data shows, as reported by Morningstar. 5
Salesforce kept its executives busy on the road. Mark Sullivan, president of sales, was set to speak Tuesday afternoon at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, according to the company’s investor relations site. 6
The company is pushing its AI strategy around Agentforce and Data 360, tools Salesforce promotes for creating AI agents and unifying customer data. In its latest quarterly report from December, CEO Marc Benioff announced an upward revision of fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to between $41.45 billion and $41.55 billion. Salesforce also revealed that Agentforce and Data 360 combined have nearly $1.4 billion in annual recurring revenue, reflecting expected subscription revenue over the next year. 7
The debate has shifted from demos to billing models. Enterprise software typically sells on a per-seat, user-subscription basis. In contrast, many AI tools charge based on usage. This change complicates forecasting and can make customers hesitant to deploy new features widely.
The downside remains straightforward: AI tools take longer to monetize, customer spending slows, and valuations shrink—even if the technology itself delivers. Salesforce shares fell almost 8% in September after the company issued a weak revenue forecast that hinted at delayed AI returns, Reuters reported. 8
Investors face the next major test when the company releases its quarterly report on Feb. 25 after the market closes, per Yahoo Finance. Traders want to see whether AI agents are actually boosting deal sizes and renewals, rather than just driving up expenses. 9
