Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Key Points

• Salesforce reported quarterly earnings of $2.27 per share, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% with a payout ratio of 25.98%.
• Salesforce's stock has experienced fluctuations with a twelve-month range between a low of $226.48 and a high of $369.00, and it had a market capitalization of $245.57 billion.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce updated its FY 2026 guidance to 11.330-11.370 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 2.840-2.860 EPS.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.6%

Salesforce stock traded up $6.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,010,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,763,446. The company has a market capitalization of $239.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $255.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $578,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,061,511,978.42. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 66,077 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,773 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Keel Point LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 6,719 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,218 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,794 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.