Intuit and Salesforce Face AI Challenges Amid Market Selloff
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Mar 17 2026
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Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Market Performance Decline: At the start of 2026, Intuit and Salesforce saw their stock prices drop by 35% and 27%, respectively, making them the worst performers in the S&P 500, reflecting market fears that AI technologies could disrupt traditional software business models, leading to both companies trading approximately 45% below their all-time highs.
- Revenue Growth Potential: Despite challenges, Intuit is projected to grow its sales by 12.5% in 2026 and 2027, reaching $23.80 billion, with a 31% increase in GAAP earnings in FY25, showcasing its resilience and growth potential in the AI era.
- AI Integration Progress: Both Intuit and Salesforce have actively integrated AI technologies into their product portfolios over the past few years, with Intuit achieving a 49% increase in GAAP earnings in Q2 FY26, while Salesforce's Agentforce AI tool reached $800 million in annual recurring revenue in fiscal 2026, marking a 169% year-over-year growth.
- Investment Value Emergence: Following significant stock price corrections, Intuit and Salesforce are currently viewed as potential value stocks, with Intuit's average Zacks price target indicating a 43% upside, while Salesforce's target suggests a 40% upside, indicating that market confidence in their future growth remains intact.
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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: 179.080
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
Current: 179.080
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
About CRM
Salesforce, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) technology company. Its artificial intelligence (AI) powered Agentforce 360 Platform offers sales, service, marketing, commerce, collaboration, data management, integration, analytics, and information technology (IT) service solutions. It enables customers to build and deploy digital labor for employees and customers, leveraging autonomous AI agents across business functions. Its service offerings include Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service, Agentforce 360 Platform, Slack and Others. The Agentforce Sales provides sales capabilities and tools built for organizations across prospecting, sales engagement, team collaboration, sales analytics and AI, sales programs, sales performance, partner management, and revenue and orders. The Agentforce Service provides field service solutions that enable companies to connect service agents, dispatchers and mobile employees through platform to schedule, dispatch and manage jobs.
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.
- Strong Performance: Salesforce's Q1 GAAP EPS reached $2.42, up 52% year-over-year, while non-GAAP EPS was $3.88, up 50%, indicating a significant enhancement in profitability that reinforces its market leadership.
- Revenue Growth: Total revenue for Q1 hit $11.13 billion, a 13% increase year-over-year, with subscription and support revenue at $10.69 billion, up 14%, reflecting robust customer demand and market share expansion.
- Robust Cash Flow: The company reported operating cash flow of $6.7 billion, up 3% year-over-year, and free cash flow of $6.6 billion, up 4%, providing a solid foundation for future investments and shareholder returns.
- Shareholder Returns: Salesforce returned $27.1 billion to shareholders through stock buybacks and paid $365 million in dividends, demonstrating a strong commitment to shareholder value alongside its impressive cash flow and profitability.
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- Strong Earnings Performance: Salesforce reported Q1 revenue of $11.13 billion, a 13% year-over-year increase, with adjusted earnings of $3.88 per share, significantly exceeding Wall Street's estimate of $3.13, indicating robust market performance.
- Cautious Outlook: Despite the strong Q1 results, Salesforce's revenue guidance for the current quarter is set between $11.27 billion and $11.35 billion, with adjusted earnings projected at $3.25 to $3.27 per share, which is below market expectations and may raise investor concerns.
- Healthy Demand for AI Tools: CEO Marc Benioff noted that Agentforce has surpassed a $1 billion annual revenue run-rate and is integrated across multiple Salesforce products, highlighting the company's ongoing investment in AI-driven tools and strong market demand.
- Significant Stock Volatility: Salesforce shares have fallen approximately 33% this year, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has only declined about 12%, reflecting market concerns regarding traditional software vendors amid the AI transformation.
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- Tesla Robotaxi Expansion: Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as equal weight, noting survey checks indicate increased hiring of 'AI Safety Operators' in northern metro areas, suggesting Tesla is gearing up for robotaxi operations expansion, which could enhance future revenues.
- National Health Properties Outlook: Citizens initiates coverage of National Health Properties as outperform, believing the REIT is enhancing organic growth by increasing exposure to Senior Housing Operating Properties, indicating confidence in the senior living market.
- Nvidia Data Center Potential: Bernstein reiterates Nvidia as outperform, highlighting the enormous and still early datacenter opportunity, which is expected to provide significant upside, reflecting optimism in tech stocks.
- Quanta Services Rating Upgrade: Oppenheimer upgrades Quanta Services from perform to outperform with an $800 price target, indicating strong growth potential in the coming years, particularly in adjusted EBITDA expectations.
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- Strong Earnings Performance: Snowflake reported first-quarter results that exceeded expectations, leading to a more than 37% surge in shares during after-hours trading, indicating a potential best trading day ever and reflecting strong market confidence in its growth prospects.
- Significant Investment Commitment: The company announced a $6 billion investment in Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance its cloud computing capabilities and accelerate the development of AI-related products, thereby improving its competitive edge and customer service capabilities.
- Acquisition Strategy: Snowflake also revealed the acquisition of AI startup Natoma, further expanding its technological capabilities and signaling a strategic focus on AI, which is expected to support future product innovation and market expansion.
- Industry Dynamics Impact: Alongside Snowflake's strong performance, Salesforce also beat Wall Street's first-quarter estimates, although its full-year outlook fell slightly short, indicating signs of recovery in the tech sector that may attract more investor interest in related stocks.
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- Market Outlook: Stock futures are lower this morning, although oil prices are rebounding after strikes in Iran, and the PCE index showed a year-over-year increase of 3.8%, which, while high, did not exceed expectations, indicating a potential easing of inflationary pressures that could positively impact market sentiment.
- Snowflake Breakout: Snowflake shares soared over 35% today as it enhances its competitiveness against private Databricks by securing a $6 billion spending deal with Amazon Web Services, signaling a rerating in the cloud consumption AI sector.
- Salesforce Growth: Salesforce reported strong earnings last night, particularly in Agentforce, bolstered by a significant buyback; however, sluggish performance in Tableau and the commerce vertical led to a stock decline of over 1.5%, reflecting market caution regarding its future growth.
- Marvell's Strong Performance: Marvell delivered impressive earnings with accelerating revenue in data center chips and robust optical business performance, despite challenges in parts supply; shares rose 3.5%, indicating market confidence in its long-term growth potential.
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- Oil Price Fluctuations: Crude oil prices have risen following Iran's targeting of a U.S. airbase, despite a more than 5% drop yesterday, indicating that geopolitical tensions are directly impacting market dynamics and may lead investors to reassess the risk-reward profile of energy stocks.
- Snowflake's Strong Earnings: Snowflake reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results and announced a $6 billion commitment to Amazon Web Services, with shares soaring over 37% in after-hours trading, reflecting strong market confidence in its growth potential.
- JPMorgan's Acquisition Plans: CEO Jamie Dimon indicated that JPMorgan could spend up to $20 billion on acquisitions in the coming years, although he emphasized that acquisitions are a last resort rather than a growth strategy, showcasing the bank's cautious approach to seeking growth opportunities.
- Robinhood's AI Tools Launch: Robinhood unveiled new tools that allow AI agents to trade stocks and make purchases, marking a significant step in bringing AI financial tools to regular investors, which could transform personal investing practices and enhance user experience.
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