Salesforce Gains on Outlook for Growth in Sales and Bookings

Salesforce Inc. jumped in extended trading after the software company gave an outlook for strong revenue expansion and deepened its partnership with Anthropic PBC, reassuring investors that it can compete successfully in the AI era.

Sales will be about $11.5 billion in the fiscal third quarter, which ends in October, Salesforce said Wednesday in a statement. That’s just ahead of analysts’ average estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Current remaining performance obligations — a measure of future sales — will increase about 14%, also ahead of the average estimate of 13% growth.

The company expects revenue to accelerate in the second half of the year, even without the impact of acquisitions, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Robin Washington said in the statement. Net orders are at the strongest they’ve been in four years, she said.

The leading maker of customer management software is under pressure to prove it can thrive against competition from artificial intelligence companies and products. Agentforce, its AI tool meant to handle business tasks without human oversight, is on track to contribute about $1.5 billion in revenue this year, Salesforce said Wednesday. That’s an increase from the $1.2 billion reported in the prior quarter.

The company also announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic, the maker of the AI model Claude. It will integrate Salesforce’s products within Claude, allowing sellers to access information on their customers and sales cycles within the AI app.

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The shares gained more than 12% in extended trading after closing at $205.62. After dropping earlier in the year, the stock had jumped 26% over the last month through Wednesday’s close.

In June, Salesforce announced it would acquire AI startup Fin for $3.6 billion. The deal is expected to help the company bolster its customer service AI offerings and better compete against Sierra, a startup founded by Bret Taylor, OpenAI chairman and a former co-chief executive officer at Salesforce.

In the fiscal second quarter, revenue gained 11% to $11.3 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates. Profit, excluding some items, was $5.90 a share.