Healthcare Stocks Drop as Medicare Proposal Falls Short; GM Surprises with Strong Earnings
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 27 2026
0mins
Should l Buy CRM?
Source: CNBC
- Healthcare Stocks Decline: Medical insurance stocks fell sharply after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a mere 0.09% increase in 2027 Medicare Advantage payment rates, significantly below the expected 4-6%, leading to a 15% drop in shares of UnitedHealth and Humana, while CVS Health slid nearly 13%.
- GM's Strong Earnings: General Motors reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and a 2026 outlook that surpassed analyst forecasts, resulting in a more than 4% increase in stock price, alongside a 20% quarterly dividend hike and a $6 billion stock buyback program.
- Boeing's Positive Revenue: Boeing's fourth-quarter revenue reached $23.95 billion, exceeding the $22.6 billion expected by analysts, which boosted its stock by 2%, with the CEO expressing optimism about future prospects.
- UPS Beats Expectations: United Parcel Service reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.38 per share on revenues of $24.48 billion, both surpassing analyst expectations, leading to a 3.6% increase in stock price.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy CRM?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on CRM
Wall Street analysts forecast CRM stock price to rise
39 Analyst Rating
29 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 194.910
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
Current: 194.910
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
About CRM
Salesforce, Inc. is a provider of customer relationship management (CRM) technology. The Company helps organizations of any size reimagine their business for the world of artificial intelligence (AI). With Agentforce, its platform, organizations can bring humans together with AI agents to drive customer success on one deeply unified platform. With the Salesforce platform, it delivers a single source of truth, connecting customer data with integrated AI across systems, apps and devices to help companies sell, service, market and conduct commerce from anywhere. Agentforce is a new layer of the Salesforce platform that enables companies to build and deploy AI agents that can respond to inputs, make decisions and take action autonomously across business functions. Agentforce includes a suite of customizable agents for use across sales, service, marketing and commerce. Datablazer is a data-driven innovator, which leverages the Company’s platform to unlock insights and drive decisions.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Agentforce Performance: Salesforce's Agentforce platform has closed over 29,000 deals in the first 15 months of fiscal 2026, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) growing 169% to $800 million, indicating strong traction in the enterprise AI space despite a 26% drop in stock price.
- Core Business Resilience: The company reported $41.5 billion in revenue for fiscal 2026, a 10% year-over-year increase, with nearly 95% of revenue coming from subscription and support contracts, ensuring strong visibility into future quarters amid concerns about AI disrupting traditional SaaS models.
- Acquisition and Integration: In November 2025, Salesforce completed an $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, an enterprise AI-powered cloud data management firm, which contributed $399 million to Salesforce's revenue in fiscal 2026, further strengthening its AI ecosystem.
- Shareholder Return Program: Salesforce returned over $14 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026, representing 99% of its free cash flow, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder value even as its price-to-earnings ratio stands at 25.1, significantly lower than its historical average of 132.06.
See More
- Debt Financing Plan: Salesforce is exploring raising up to $25 billion in debt to support its recently announced share buyback plan, indicating the company's confidence in future growth.
- Historic Bond Offering: According to Bloomberg, the bond issuance could total at least $20 billion, with the final amount potentially reaching $25 billion, making it the largest debt sale in Salesforce's history if successful.
- Market Preparations: To prepare for the potential bond offering, Salesforce has asked several major Wall Street banks to arrange calls with fixed income investors, demonstrating the company's proactive approach to securing market support.
- Participating Banks: The banks involved in this debt issuance include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, whose participation will help enhance the likelihood of a successful bond sale.
See More
- Poor Daily Performance: Procter & Gamble's stock is down 1.7% today, making it the worst performer in the Dow, reflecting market concerns about its short-term outlook, which could impact investor confidence.
- Year-to-Date Review: Despite today's decline, Procter & Gamble has gained 7.0% year-to-date, indicating its relative resilience in the overall market, which may attract long-term investors' interest.
- Other Component Movements: Among other Dow components today, Caterpillar is down 1.1%, while Salesforce is up 1.7%, showcasing the market's varied reactions to different companies, potentially influencing portfolio allocations.
- Market Sentiment Analysis: The decline in Procter & Gamble's stock aligns with overall market sentiment, as investors may be reassessing the investment value in the consumer goods sector while keeping an eye on economic data and corporate earnings.
See More
- Nvidia's Growth Potential: Nvidia (NVDA) trades at a forward P/E of 22, yet reported a 73% revenue growth last quarter and forecasts accelerating future revenue, indicating a strong market leadership position, making it a stock to consider buying as AI infrastructure spending remains robust.
- Pinterest's Transformation Opportunity: Pinterest (PINS) achieved 14% revenue growth and 30% adjusted EPS growth despite challenges from reduced ad spending, with a forward P/E of just under 13, and backed by Elliott Investment Management, it shows potential for recovery in an improving ad environment.
- Salesforce's Market Positioning: Salesforce (CRM) trades at a forward P/E of over 15 and a forward P/S ratio of 4, projecting double-digit revenue growth through 2030, leveraging its CRM foundation and ambition to lead in AI, making it a compelling investment opportunity.
- AI-Driven Business Transformation: All three companies are leveraging AI for business transformation, with Nvidia enhancing its inference market position through the acquisition of Groq, Pinterest evolving into a shopping discovery platform, and Salesforce improving data management capabilities via Informatica acquisition, showcasing competitive advantages for future markets.
See More
- High-Level Energy Visit: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright's meeting with Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez marks the first high-level U.S. visit focused on energy policy in nearly three decades, indicating a strategic interest in rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry.
- Oil Price Volatility: Wright's deleted post about U.S. Navy escorting a tanker led to an over 11% drop in oil prices, which partially recovered after clarifications, highlighting market uncertainty regarding U.S. energy policy.
- Cloud Business Surge: Oracle's shares rose 10% after reporting a 44% increase in cloud revenue to $8.9 billion in Q3, with future performance obligations exceeding $550 billion, showcasing the company's robust growth potential in the cloud sector.
- Diverging Tech Stances: Microsoft supports Anthropic's legal battle against the Pentagon, seeking a temporary restraining order, while Alphabet aims to strengthen ties with the Defense Department by launching custom AI agent features, reflecting differing strategies among tech giants in government collaboration.
See More
- ServiceNow Recovery Potential: Despite being impacted by the 'SaaSpocalypse' with its stock down over 50% from its 2025 peak, analysts believe ServiceNow has a 62% upside potential in its 12-month price target, reflecting confidence in its sustained 20.5% year-over-year growth and 98% renewal rate.
- Microsoft Capital Expenditure Analysis: While Microsoft's capital expenditures have raised investor concerns, analysts suggest that most of these costs are for contracted GPUs, which are expected to present significant growth opportunities, with a 12-month price target approximately 46% above its current share price.
- Salesforce Market Rebound: Salesforce's stock has fallen nearly 50% from its 2024 peak, yet analysts maintain an optimistic outlook with a 42% upside potential in the next 12 months, bolstered by expected double-digit revenue growth in the second half of the fiscal year.
- Investor Focus on Emerging Stocks: Although Salesforce did not make the Motley Fool Stock Advisor's top stock list, its leadership in cloud computing and AI keeps it in the spotlight for investors, especially in the context of a market rebound.
See More











