Salesforce (CRM) Earnings Preview: Can a Dow Laggard Find its Spark?

Salesforce Earnings Preview

• Salesforce (CRM) reports Q2 fiscal 2026 results after the close on Wednesday, September 3. 

• The company heads into earnings with stable fundamentals—8% revenue growth last quarter, expanding margins, and rising free cash flow—while Agentforce and Data Cloud adoption continues to build momentum.

• With shares down more than 20% this year, this report is a key test of whether Salesforce’s AI strategy can reignite growth and restore sentiment toward the $340/share analyst price target.

Salesforce (CRM) heads into its September 3 earnings report with plenty to prove. The cloud software leader, long dominant in customer relationship management, has stumbled in 2025—shares are down more than 20% year-to-date, making it one of the Dow’s worst performers. Once viewed as a dependable growth engine in enterprise software, Salesforce now faces a central question: will artificial intelligence undercut its core business, or become the catalyst that accelerates it?

Founded on the idea of delivering software through the cloud—long before that became the industry standard—Salesforce has evolved into a vast enterprise platform. Acquisitions like MuleSoft, Tableau, and Slack expanded its reach into data integration, analytics, and workplace collaboration, while its latest bet—AI-driven tools under the “Agentforce” banner—seeks to place the company at the forefront of the next wave in enterprise technology.

Salesforce will report fiscal Q2 earnings results after the close on Wednesday, September 3. Management has guided revenue to $10.11–$10.16 billion, with the $10.135 billion midpoint essentially matching Wall Street’s $10.13 billion estimate—about 8.7% year-over-year growth. On the bottom line, non-GAAP EPS is expected at $2.76–$2.78, in line with the $2.77 consensus and up 8.2% from a year ago. These figures point to steady but unspectacular growth, leaving investors focused on the bigger question: are Salesforce’s AI bets and efficiency efforts starting to move the needle?

Salesforce's Next Chapter Hinges on New Avenues of Growth

Salesforce’s upcoming earnings aren’t just another quarterly checkpoint—they’re a referendum on its ability to reinvent itself in real time. The fundamentals remain solid: last quarter revenue grew 8% to $9.8 billion, non-GAAP EPS topped expectations at $2.58, and margins expanded to 32%. Free cash flow reached $6.3 billion, while remaining performance obligations climbed 12% to nearly $30 billion. By those measures, Salesforce is still executing well. But with shares down sharply this year, investors want more than steady results—they want proof that the company’s AI strategy is beginning to make a measurable impact.

That’s where Salesforce’s new platforms come into focus. Agentforce has quickly emerged as a growth driver, surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue just months after launch and attracting more than 4,000 paying customers. Data Cloud has already crossed the $1 billion ARR mark, growing more than 120% year-over-year, while Salesforce continues to roll out tailored Agentforce products for industries such as manufacturing and the public sector. The pending $8 billion Informatica acquisition, alongside the purchase of AI-native automation firm Regrello, underscores the company’s ambition to build a unified AI and data platform at the center of enterprise workflows.

The challenge is whether these new bets can scale quickly enough to counter headwinds in Salesforce’s core business. Customers are facing price increases in Sales Cloud and Service Cloud just as AI is reshaping how companies approach software licensing. That dynamic creates both opportunity and risk: Salesforce could solidify its role as the essential bridge between AI and enterprise data, or watch its traditional revenue base come under pressure from shifting models and lower-cost competitors.

That’s what makes the September 3 report pivotal. Analysts are looking for roughly $10.13 billion in revenue and $2.77 in EPS—solid, if unspectacular, by Salesforce’s historical standards. But the real test isn’t meeting consensus; it’s proving that AI adoption is translating into stronger bookings, healthier margins, and stickier customer relationships. Clear evidence on those fronts could help Salesforce recapture its growth narrative. Absent that, doubts about its role in the AI era will persist—and the stock’s slide may continue.

Grounded Valuation Could Move Higher if Earnings Surprise to the Upside

Salesforce heads into its Q2 report with a valuation that looks reasonable rather than excessive. Hovering around $260 per share, the stock trades at roughly 40x trailing GAAP earnings—above the software sector median near 30, but not excessive for a company still posting double-digit cRPO growth, expanding margins, and building new AI-driven revenue streams. On a price-to-sales basis, CRM sits at 6.3x versus the sector’s 3.4x median, while its 4.0x price-to-book multiple is only slightly above peers at 3.6x. For a business with durable enterprise relationships, rising free cash flow, and a growing AI pipeline, those premiums appear justified.

Wall Street remains firmly in Salesforce’s corner. Of the 58 analysts covering the stock, 47 rate it a “buy” or “overweight,” 10 are at “hold,” and just one recommends “sell.” The consensus price target of about $340 per share signals meaningful upside from current levels, while the most optimistic forecasts see the potential for even greater gains if Agentforce and Data Cloud continue to build momentum. That breadth of support reflects confidence that Salesforce’s AI strategy, combined with its sticky subscription base, can reignite growth and turn sentiment back in the bulls’ favor.

The key question is whether Salesforce deserves to trade at a sustained premium to peers. Investors are weighing a slowing legacy business against promising new engines in AI and automation. If the company can show that its platforms are scaling profitably—while maintaining healthy margins—the current valuation could look less like a ceiling and more like a starting point.

Salesforce Earnings Takeaways

Salesforce heads into its September 3 earnings call with the spotlight firmly on its AI transition. The company continues to execute on the basics—expanding margins, steady cash flow, and double-digit cRPO growth—but investors are looking past fundamentals. What they want is evidence that Agentforce, Data Cloud, and the company’s recent acquisitions are beginning to act as real growth engines.

The market’s posture is cautiously optimistic. Salesforce trades at a modest premium to peers, yet the Street’s consensus target of about $340 per share—well above current levels—signals conviction in further upside. To meet that expectation, management needs to show that AI platforms aren’t just gaining users, but translating adoption into measurable revenue and margin expansion.

The payoff could be immediate. A convincing beat paired with confident forward guidance would go a long way toward validating the premium and potentially sparking a rebound in the stock. A disappointing report, on the other hand, could extend the slump—amplifying doubts about Salesforce’s near-term ability to convert its AI narrative into real business momentum. Readers looking to explore options strategies designed for earnings events can follow this link.

Andrew Prochnow has traded the global financial markets for more than 15 years, including 10 years as a professional options trader.

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