Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Updates Q1 2027 Earnings Guidance

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) issued an update on its first quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.110-3.130 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.670. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.0 billion-$11.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.0 billion. Salesforce also updated its FY 2027 guidance to 13.110-13.190 EPS.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $6.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $192.19. 21,336,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,133,844. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a one year low of $174.57 and a one year high of $313.70.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The company had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit bought 96,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $260.58 per share, with a total value of $25,015,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. This represents a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 1,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $258.64 per share, for a total transaction of $500,727.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,761,499.28. This trade represents a 22.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted Q4 earnings topped expectations — Salesforce reported an adjusted EPS beat and revenue roughly in line with consensus, showing continued margin progress and revenue growth year-over-year. Q4 results & transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised forward profit targets: Q1 FY2027 EPS guidance of $3.110–$3.130 and FY2027 EPS guidance of $13.110–$13.190 both materially exceed Street consensus — a clear positive signal for future EPS trajectory (company guidance released 2/25/2026).
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder-friendly action — Salesforce committed to a sizable buyback program (reported as ~$50 billion), which supports EPS and provides a backstop for the stock. Buyback coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue guidance mixed but broadly in-line: Q1 revenue guidance of $11.0–$11.1B is at/just above consensus, while FY revenue guidance ($45.8–$46.2B) centers near the Street forecast — supports stable top-line growth though not a clear upside catalyst. Revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Operating cash flow strength — cash from operations jumped year-over-year (helping liquidity), even as cash balances and liabilities shifted; useful context for buybacks and capital allocation decisions. Cash flow and balance-sheet details
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours weakness and investor caution — despite the EPS beat, shares slid after hours as participants focused on revenue nuances and the company’s “stable” top?line growth outlook; some analysts trimmed targets or downgraded, putting downward pressure on the stock. After-hours reaction
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption narrative and sentiment risk — ongoing market anxiety that generative AI could displace parts of the enterprise software stack continues to weigh on valuation multiples for Salesforce and peers, contributing to volatility. AI concerns coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/analyst dynamics — large insider share sales reported and mixed analyst moves (some price-target cuts despite buy ratings from others) add short-term selling pressure and uncertainty about near-term sentiment. Insider & analyst activity

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Salesforce by 24,056.7% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,552,896,000 after purchasing an additional 47,189,352 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $484,852,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 285.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,487,627 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $589,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,117 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Salesforce by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,772,875 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $734,562,000 after acquiring an additional 953,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 266.6% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 840,178 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $229,108,000 after acquiring an additional 611,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.