Salesforce Stock: Wall Street Was Taken Aback by What Analysts Are Calling Salesforce’s “Monster Quarter.” Here Is What They Had To Say

Salesforce Stock

Salesforce Stock (NYSE:CRM)

Wall Street was taken completely by surprise by Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) on Wednesday, as were undoubtedly the five activist investors demanding reforms at the software behemoth run by Marc Benioff.

The shares of Salesforce Inc. are on track to experience their biggest gain since 2020 as a result of the company reporting higher adjusted earnings than anticipated in the fourth quarter and executives projecting significant profit increases this year despite layoffs.

On revenue of $8.38 billion, up from $7.33 billion the year before, Salesforce reported a loss of $98 million, or 10 cents per share. The cloud-based software company reported earnings of $1.68 per share, which is an increase from 84 cents per share the previous year after adjusting for stock compensation and other charges, including restructuring costs amounting to 84 cents per share as a result of recent layoffs.

According to FactSet, analysts anticipated, on average, that Salesforce would report adjusted earnings of $1.36 per share on revenues of $7.99 billion. This figure represents the midpoint of the prediction range that was supplied by Salesforce officials. After the earnings report was made public, shares of Salesforce went up 2.3% to $167.34 and then jumped more than 15% in after-hours trading. After a strong earnings report early in the COVID-19 pandemic on August 26, 2020, Salesforce stock had its best day ever. The last time the price of Salesforce stock increased by more than 10% in a single trading session was at this time.

Salesforce reported Wednesday that adjusted earnings increased in the fiscal year just ended. GAAP earnings decreased from $1.44 billion to $208 million while adjusted earnings increased to $5.24 per share, a new annual high. The annual revenue was $31.35 billion, an increase of 18.3% over the previous year. 

“For the whole year we produced $31.4 billion in sales, up 18% year-over-year, or 22% in constant currency, one of the strongest performances of any enterprise software firm our size,” Chief Executive Marc Benioff said in a statement that for the whole year, they produced $31.4 billion in sales, up 18% year-over-year, or 22% in constant currency. “We finished fiscal year 23 with operating cash flow hitting $7.1 billion, up 19% year-over-year. This is the biggest cash flow in our business’s history, and it is one of the highest cash flows of any enterprise software firm our size.”

Benioff anticipates that the company’s profit will increase at a considerably quicker rate and reach an even higher record high this year. Sales of $34.5 billion to $34.7 billion and an adjusted profit of $7.12 to $7.14 per share were the projections made on Wednesday by Salesforce executives, as opposed to the $5.87 per share and $33.89 billion forecast by analysts.

On an earnings call that took place late on Wednesday night, leaders at Salesforce dropped numerous bombs that have the potential to reset the negative narrative that has been circulating around the company’s declining stock price.

The mergers and acquisitions committee, which was in charge of buying expensive companies like Slack and MuleSoft, was dissolved. Operating margins will go up to 30% by the beginning of 2024. Right now, they are in their mid-to high-20s. Then the announcement of a brand new stock repurchase for $20 billion.

When Yahoo Finance got up with Benioff following the earnings call, he was in a good mood and obviously focused on the growth of the company’s margins.

During trading on Thursday afternoon, shares of Salesforce climbed 12% to a price that was near $190. On the Yahoo Finance platform, the page that displays the company’s ticker is the one that receives the most views.

The following is what Wall Street analysts have been saying since Benioff hit the hyper-space button:

Wedbush

Analyst: Dan Ives

Target prices for ratings of Outperform and $220

The word on the street is that “with activists buzzing and Street irritation reaching a boiling point, Benioff & Co. with their back against the wall delivered a monster quarter and guidance for the ages that will quiet the naysayers this morning.”

Jefferies

Analyst: Brent Thill

Buy recommendation with a price target of $250

“Salesforce delivered the trifecta – growth, margins, and share buybacks,” according to the buzz in the industry.

Macquarie

Analyst: Sarah Hindlian-Bowler

Target prices for ratings of Outperform are set at $225.

The Buzz: “This report will cause many people to scratch their heads since it reveals macroeconomic instability and some slowing to growth in the teens, but the margins were exceptional, and the company beat both its own forecasts and the expectations of Wall Street. The results of the fourth quarter demonstrate that we are correct in maintaining our conviction that Mr. Benioff and Ms. [President and CFO Amy] Weaver are committed to moving the company in the desired direction.”

Guggenheim

Analyst: John DiFucci

Target ratings/prices: neutral; not applicable

The Buzz: “Over the course of the past many years, we have maintained the position that, given its level of maturity and scale, Salesforce ought to allow cash to flow into the bank rather than spending it on questionable and expensive acquisitions. We had resigned ourselves to the conclusion that the unwillingness to trim the fat, mainly in the S&M organization, was a cultural decision, and that this was something that would not alter as long as Marc Benioff was at the helm. Even before the global restructuring was announced in January, we estimated that the possible margin improvement for FY24 would be at least 500 basis points (bps), although we were uncertain that this would actually happen. As Mr. Benioff and his team have signaled a pause in M&A activity (for example, by disbanding a board M&A committee), at least for the time being, it comes as a surprise to us that they are finally providing investors some margin, and it also appears to be in the form of FCF.”

Goldman Sachs

Analyst: Kash Rangan

Buy recommendation with a price target of $320

The Buzz: “F4Q23 should change the narrative towards the path to profitable growth and reinforce our belief (articulated last week) that Salesforce is at an inflection point that can vault it into the upper echelons of highly valued technology companies.” [Transcription] “F4Q23 should change the narrative towards the path to profitable growth and reinforce our belief (articulated last week] that Salesforce is at a point that can vault it

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