Shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) declined more than 3% in U.S. premarket trading on Thursday after the cloud software provider issued a fiscal 2027 revenue forecast that fell slightly short of market expectations.
The company projected full-year revenue between $45.80 billion and $46.20 billion, marginally below the consensus midpoint estimate of $46.06 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Despite the cautious annual outlook, Salesforce delivered stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and issued upbeat guidance for the upcoming quarter, supported by growing demand for its artificial intelligence offerings.
Adjusted earnings reached $3.81 per share for the quarter, comfortably ahead of analyst forecasts of $3.05. Revenue totaled $11.2 billion, slightly exceeding consensus estimates of $11.18 billion. Salesforce also announced authorization for a new $50 billion share buyback program.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company expects earnings per share of $3.11 to $3.13, above Wall Street projections of $3.01. Revenue is forecast between $11.03 billion and $11.08 billion, compared with expectations of $10.98 billion.
Salesforce continues to increase investment in artificial intelligence, particularly through its agentic platform Agentforce, as it seeks to ease investor concerns that emerging AI models — including those developed by startup Anthropic — could erode demand for traditional enterprise software solutions. These worries have contributed to share price volatility in early 2026 as the California-based company works to counter what some view as an existential challenge to the broader software-as-a-service sector.
The company has positioned Agentforce as a platform enabling businesses to deploy AI agents capable of automating workflows and managing administrative processes, which management believes will support long-term growth.
“[T]his is not a perfect report, but it should cross the ’good enough’ threshold, with the company’s AI products showing rapid growth (albeit off a very small base) while core business holds in well (in terms of margins and growth) and cash flow generation stays healthy,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.