Salesforce Boosts 2026 Outlook Amid AI and Cloud Demand Surge

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) raised its fiscal 2026 revenue and earnings forecast, fueled by strong enterprise cloud investments and accelerating adoption of its AI agent platform, Agentforce. The company now expects revenue between $41 billion and $41.3 billion, up from a prior range of $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion. Adjusted earnings per share are projected between $11.27 and $11.33, higher than the earlier estimate of $11.09 to $11.17.

Salesforce shares rose 1.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement. The revised guidance reflects resilience in enterprise cloud spending, as businesses continue investing in AI to upgrade digital infrastructure despite global economic uncertainty.

Since launching Agentforce, Salesforce has closed over 8,000 deals, with half already monetized. Annual recurring revenue from its Data Cloud and AI offerings has surpassed $1 billion. While current monetization of Agentforce trails some investor expectations, analysts see a multi-billion dollar revenue opportunity by 2026, with potential for Agentforce to become Salesforce’s top revenue driver.

To strengthen its AI and data capabilities, Salesforce also announced its $8 billion acquisition of data management firm Informatica. The deal marks the company's return to large-scale M&A and raises questions about its reliance on acquisitions to sustain growth. Analysts suggest the purchase is aimed at offsetting slowing organic revenue expansion.

Salesforce reported first-quarter revenue of $9.83 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $9.75 billion, according to LSEG data. The company's strategic focus on AI and cloud integration positions it to benefit from the ongoing enterprise shift toward digital transformation, reinforcing its long-term growth outlook in a competitive software market.