Jensen Huang's $78 billion April guidance number and Marc Benioff's AI monetisation roadmap have given tech bulls their first clean arguments against the doomsday narrative that has hammered software stocks all year It has been a rough start to 2026 for tech investors. A creeping fear that AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI and others would hollow out existing enterprise software has weighed on names from Salesforce to Microsoft to CrowdStrike, creating what Wedbush analysts call the "AI Ghost Trade," a wave of selling built on the premise that the software layer is about to be disintermediated by foundation models.
Amid 2026 market volatility, HSBC, STN and CRM stand out after announcing fresh dividend hikes, offering investors steady income as uncertainty lingers.
Shares in Salesforce were initially lower following the release of Q4 results that included lower-than-expected forward guidance. Results were otherwise positive, with notable growth from its AI product, Agentforce. Ahead of the release, the stock was down about 30% to start 2026.
Is Salesforce's stock ready for a rebound after some signs of AI-driven gains?
Slow as it is to take hold, Salesforce's NYSE: CRM February Q4 fiscal year 2026 (FY2026) earnings release reveals momentum in agentic AI. Fears of AI disruption or not, the company's Agentforce leads company growth, suggesting those fears are misplaced.
Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM, XETRA:FOO) is facing a near-term growth slowdown even as early indicators of AI adoption begin to emerge, according to analysts at Jefferies. Remarking on Salesforce's fourth quarter earnings report released on Wednesday, the analysts highlighted that current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) growth of 13% in constant currency came in only in line with company guidance and below the typical upside investors have seen in recent quarters.
Salesforce, Inc. delivered table-pounding Q4 results and strong guidance amidst the fears that enterprise AI adoption will make software companies like Salesforce obsolete. Revenue hit $11.2B (+12% y/y), the strongest growth since January 2023, with CRM's FY26 subscription growth slightly above 10%. The backlog looks healthy as well, with total RPO reaching $72B (+14% y/y), the highest growth since the July 2024 quarter.
Salesforce is looking to buy the dip with a $50 billion share-repurchase program as the software selloff continues to send its stock falling, but Wall Street is wondering if the money would be better spent investing in more artificial-intelligence capabilities.
Salesforce delivered a standout Q4 FY26, with non-GAAP EPS of $3.81 crushing the $3.05 consensus estimate by nearly 25%, while Agentforce momentum signaled that the company's AI pivot is generating real commercial traction.
CRM's Q4 earnings beat, 12% revenue growth and a strong FY27 outlook signal solid operating momentum.
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
While the top- and bottom-line numbers for Salesforce (CRM) give a sense of how the business performed in the quarter ended January 2026, it could be worth looking at how some of its key metrics compare to Wall Street estimates and year-ago values.