Analysts Downgrade Salesforce Forecasts Following Q3 Results
Earnings Report: Salesforce Inc. reported third-quarter revenue of $10.26 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.25 per share, exceeding expectations, while raising its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $41.45 billion to $41.55 billion.
Product Performance: The company's Agentforce and Data 360 products contributed significantly to growth, achieving nearly $1.4 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with a 114% year-over-year increase.
Future Projections: For the fourth quarter, Salesforce expects revenue between $11.13 billion and $11.23 billion, with adjusted earnings projected at $3.02 to $3.04 per share, both surpassing analyst estimates.
Analyst Reactions: Following the earnings announcement, several analysts adjusted their price targets for Salesforce, with most maintaining an Outperform rating but lowering their targets, reflecting a cautious outlook.
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Salesforce 2025 Stock Review and AI Strategy
- Annual Stock Performance: Salesforce's stock declined nearly 21% in 2025, although a late-year rally driven by aggressive AI initiatives provided some recovery, highlighting market biases against traditional software companies.
- Revenue Growth Volatility: Throughout 2025, Salesforce's year-over-year revenue growth remained in single digits, with GAAP net income fluctuating, showing a 51% improvement at times but overall failing to significantly exceed analyst expectations, which affected investor confidence.
- Pricing Strategy Adjustment: The company implemented a 6% price increase for enterprise clients in August, demonstrating management's proactive approach to enhancing profitability and margins, gradually improving market sentiment and reflecting confidence in future growth.
- AI Platform Launch: At the Dreamforce event, Salesforce unveiled Agentforce 360, focusing on agentic AI that actively performs tasks, setting a new annual revenue target of $60 billion by fiscal 2030, marking a strategic shift in the company's AI direction.

Software Stocks Plunge, Microsoft Faces Challenges
- Microsoft Cloud Revenue Potential: During the earnings call, Microsoft indicated that if all newly available GPU resources were allocated to Azure, year-over-year cloud revenue growth could reach 40% instead of the current 38%, highlighting the need for better resource allocation to enhance revenue growth.
- Overall Software Sector Decline: Despite ServiceNow's better-than-expected results, its stock fell 12%, while Salesforce dropped approximately 7% due to market reactions, indicating a reevaluation of enterprise software services and compressing price-to-earnings ratios.
- Cybersecurity Companies Affected: Although CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks' business models remain unaffected by AI advancements, their stocks saw significant declines, with CrowdStrike down over 6%, reflecting market concerns over high price-to-earnings multiples.
- Upcoming Earnings Reports in Focus: Apple is set to release its earnings after the bell, with market attention on iPhone demand and management's insights on rising memory costs, alongside other companies reporting, creating a tense market atmosphere.






