Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, speaks at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 18, 2024.
Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Sales force Shares initially fell as much as 6%, but then rose 1% in extended trading on Wednesday after the business software maker issued a light revenue forecast for the new fiscal year. It will start paying a dividend of 40 cents per share.
Here's how the company performed, compared to estimates from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:
Earnings per share: $2.29 adjusted vs. $2.26 expected Revenue: $9.29 billion vs. $9.22 billion expected
Salesforce's revenue grew 10.8% year over year in the quarter ended January 31, according to a statement. Professional services revenues decreased by 9%. The company reported net income of $1.45 billion, or $1.47 per share, compared to a loss of $98 million, or 10 cents per share.
“Over the past two quarters, I'm pleased to say we've seen an improvement in bookings growth,” Salesforce CFO Amy Weaver said on a conference call with analysts.
During the quarter, Salesforce said it would acquire sales commission software startup Spiff for undisclosed terms, and began selling its products on… Amazon Web services market.
Salesforce called for first-quarter adjusted fiscal earnings of $2.37 to $2.39 per share, on revenue of $9.12 billion to $9.17 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting $2.20 in adjusted earnings per share on $9.15 billion in revenue.
For the new fiscal year 2025, Salesforce said it expects adjusted earnings of $9.68 to $9.76 per share and $37.7 billion to $38.0 billion in revenue. The revenue number indicates 8.6% growth in the middle of the range. Analysts were expecting $9.57 per share, on top of revenue of $38.62 billion.
Weaver said the full-year guidance takes into account foreign exchange pressures and continued weakness in professional services. Additionally, it reflects a more measured buying environment, which debuted in fiscal 2023, she said.
Brian Millham, Salesforce president and COO, said that while demand for AI products is significant, the guidance does not take into account significant impact from this category. Milham said the price increase announced last year would not be a major factor either.
Adopting AI internally should contribute to margin expansion over time, he said.
Excluding after-hours action, Salesforce shares are up 14% so far this year, while the S&P 500 is up 6% over the same period.
Salesforce's dividend as of April 11 is paid to shareholders at the close of business on March 14.
Watch: Salesforce CEO: Activist investors just want to hear about the money
Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
