Shares of Salesforce (CRM) were trading lower on Thursday. The company's stock lost 4.5% as of 3:30 p.m. ET but was down as much as 5.4% earlier in the day. The move down comes as the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2% on the day.Salesforce stock took a hit after the sales software giant announced on Wednesday evening that longtime President and COO, Brian Millham, would be retiring.Change in leadershipBrian Millham was with Salesforce for 25 years. Stepping into a newly created role t ...

Core Insights - Salesforce announced that Robin Washington, former finance chief of Gilead Sciences, will join as president and chief financial and operating officer in March, replacing Amy Weaver and Brian Millham, who will retire in May [1][2][3] - Under Weaver's leadership, Salesforce improved its adjusted operating margin earlier than expected due to pressure from activist investors [2] - Washington has been a board member since 2013 and has served as lead independent director since 2022, bringing extensive experience from her previous roles at Gilead, Hyperion, and PeopleSoft [3][5] Leadership Changes - Robin Washington will replace Amy Weaver as finance chief and Brian Millham as operating chief, with both retiring in May [1][2] - Arnold Donald, former CEO of Carnival, will take over as lead independent director [3] - Millham has been with Salesforce since its inception and took on additional responsibilities after the departure of co-CEO Bret Taylor in early 2023 [6] Strategic Direction - CEO Marc Benioff highlighted Washington's visionary leadership and expertise, indicating her role will be crucial in guiding Salesforce into the "Agentforce era," which focuses on automating sales and customer service processes [4][3] - Washington's background includes significant roles in finance at major software companies, which aligns with Salesforce's strategic goals [5]

Group 1: Company Performance - Salesforce.com closed at $344.14, with a daily increase of +1.44%, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.72% [1] - Over the last month, Salesforce.com shares increased by 2.64%, while the Computer and Technology sector experienced a loss of 1.35% [1] Group 2: Upcoming Earnings - Salesforce.com is projected to report earnings of $2.60 per share, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 13.54% [2] - The consensus estimate for revenue is $10.04 billion, indicating an 8.06% increase compared to the same quarter last year [2] Group 3: Analyst Estimates and Rankings - Recent changes in analyst estimates for Salesforce.com suggest a favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability [3] - The Zacks Rank system currently rates Salesforce.com at 2 (Buy), with a 0.19% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate over the past month [5] Group 4: Valuation Metrics - Salesforce.com has a Forward P/E ratio of 30.39, which is a discount compared to the industry's average Forward P/E of 31 [6] - The company has a PEG ratio of 2.05, while the Computer - Software industry has an average PEG ratio of 2.24 [6] Group 5: Industry Context - The Computer - Software industry is ranked 139 in the Zacks Industry Rank, placing it in the bottom 45% of over 250 industries [7] - Research indicates that top-rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]

Salesforce is reportedly eliminating over 1,000 jobs while hiring staff to sell its artificial intelligence products.Workers who are displaced will be able to apply for other roles within the company, Bloomberg reported Monday (Feb. 3), citing unnamed sources.It wasn’t clear which divisions were affected by the layoffs, the report said. Salesforce, a provider of customer management software, had nearly 73,000 employees as of January 2024, when its previous fiscal year closed.Salesforce did not respond to PY ...

Core Insights - Coastal has been recognized for its leadership and expertise in the Salesforce ecosystem, with four leaders selected for the Salesforce Partner Advisory Boards [1][2] - Participation in these boards allows Coastal to influence the future of Salesforce products and gain early access to innovations, benefiting its clients [2] - Coastal's recent inclusion in the Agentforce Partner Network highlights its extensive certifications and successful project implementations, reinforcing its role as a trusted advisor [2] Company Overview - Coastal is the first AI-native Salesforce consultancy, having delivered over 7,000 multi-cloud solutions for more than 1,500 clients [3] - The company emphasizes a culture focused on customer success and impactful work, combining global consultancy expertise with agility [3] - Coastal holds a 5/5 Customer Satisfaction Score on the Salesforce AppExchange and is recognized as the 1 user-rated Salesforce Consulting Firm on G2 [3] Leadership Appointments - Mary Beth Wright has been appointed to the Manufacturing Partner Advisory Board [4] - Milissa Holland has joined the Healthcare Partner Advisory Board [4] - Bethan Flynn is part of the Public Sector Partner Advisory Board [4] - Brian Gannuscio is involved in the Platform Partner Focus Group [4]

Company Performance - Salesforce.com (CRM) closed at $354, reflecting a -1.65% change from the previous day, underperforming compared to the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.47% [1] - Over the past month, Salesforce.com shares have increased by 7.66%, while the Computer and Technology sector has decreased by 0.19% [1] Upcoming Earnings - The upcoming earnings disclosure is anticipated, with predictions of an EPS of $2.60, indicating a 13.54% growth year-over-year [2] - Revenue is expected to reach $10.04 billion, representing an 8.06% increase compared to the same quarter last year [2] Full Year Estimates - For the full year, earnings are projected at $10.03 per share and revenue at $37.94 billion, showing increases of +22.02% and +8.84% respectively from the previous year [3] - Recent adjustments to analyst estimates are crucial as they reflect near-term business trends, with positive revisions indicating a favorable outlook on the company's health and profitability [3] Valuation Metrics - Salesforce.com has a Forward P/E ratio of 35.88, which is a premium compared to the industry average of 31.18 [6] - The company also has a PEG ratio of 2.42, aligning with the average PEG ratio of the Computer - Software industry [7] Industry Context - The Computer - Software industry is part of the broader Computer and Technology sector, currently ranked 151 in the Zacks Industry Rank, placing it in the bottom 40% of over 250 industries [8] - Research indicates that industries in the top 50% of the Zacks Industry Rank outperform those in the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]

Group 1 - Salesforce.com (CRM) shares increased by 4% to $347.10 in the last trading session, contrasting with a 1.4% loss over the past four weeks [1] - The stock's optimism is driven by strong demand as customers undergo digital transformation, supported by Salesforce's comprehensive product suite and partner ecosystem [2] - The upcoming quarterly earnings are expected to be $2.60 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 13.5%, with revenues projected at $10.04 billion, up 8.1% from the previous year [3] Group 2 - The consensus EPS estimate for Salesforce.com has been slightly revised lower in the last 30 days, indicating a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions, which typically does not lead to price appreciation [4] - Salesforce.com holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), similar to Intuit (INTU), which also has a Zacks Rank of 3 and experienced a 1.5% increase in its last trading session [4][5] - Intuit's consensus EPS estimate remains unchanged at $2.59, representing a year-over-year decrease of 1.5% [5]

Core Viewpoint - Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV) is rated as a buy, indicating a recovery in performance despite some recent negative momentum due to uncertainty [1]. Group 1 - The company is demonstrating consistent performance recovery on a quarterly basis [1]. - The investment approach is focused on a long-term horizon, emphasizing value investing strategies [1]. - The analyst holds a beneficial long position in VEEV shares, indicating confidence in the stock's future performance [2].

Group 1: Stock Splits and Market Sentiment - Stock splits are often indicators of quality businesses, as they typically occur after significant share price appreciation, which is uncommon for poor-performing companies [1] - Meta Platforms and Salesforce have seen substantial price increases of 350% and 115% respectively over the last two years, making them candidates for stock splits in 2025 [1] - Analysts are generally bullish on both companies, with expectations of material upside [1] Group 2: Meta Platforms - Meta Platforms owns four of the seven most popular social media platforms, allowing it to collect data and target advertising effectively, making it the second-largest ad tech company globally [3] - The company reported a 19% increase in revenue to $40 billion in Q3, with a 37% increase in GAAP net income to $6.03 per diluted share [4] - AI investments have led to an 8% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% increase on Instagram, with Meta AI projected to become the most used AI assistant by the end of 2024 [5] - Meta's earnings are expected to grow at 15% annually through 2025, making its current valuation of 30 times earnings appear reasonable for long-term investors [6] Group 3: Salesforce - Salesforce holds a 22% market share in the CRM software market, surpassing its next four competitors combined [7] - The company reported an 8% revenue increase to $9.4 billion in Q3, with net income rising 14% to $2.41 per diluted share [9] - Salesforce launched Agentforce, an AI-powered platform that allows digital labor to operate autonomously, enhancing its competitive edge [10] - Wall Street expects Salesforce's adjusted earnings to grow at 12% annually through fiscal 2026, although its current valuation of 34 times adjusted earnings may seem high [10] - Salesforce has consistently beaten consensus earnings forecasts by an average of 4% over the last six quarters, indicating potential for future growth [11]

Company Performance - Salesforce.com closed at $326.84, reflecting a +0.7% change from the previous session, underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.88% and the Dow's gain of 1.24% [1] - Over the past month, Salesforce.com shares have decreased by 5.35%, while the Computer and Technology sector gained 0.37% and the S&P 500 gained 1.17% [1] Upcoming Earnings - Salesforce.com is projected to report earnings of $2.60 per share, indicating a year-over-year growth of 13.54%, with expected revenue of $10.04 billion, an 8.06% increase compared to the same quarter last year [2] - For the full year, earnings are estimated at $10.03 per share and revenue at $37.94 billion, representing changes of +22.02% and +8.84% from the prior year [3] Analyst Estimates and Valuation - Recent changes to analyst estimates for Salesforce.com suggest a positive outlook, as upward revisions typically indicate optimism about the company's business and profitability [3] - Salesforce.com currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 32.35, which is higher than the industry's average Forward P/E of 31.04 [6] - The company has a PEG ratio of 2.19, compared to the Computer - Software industry's average PEG ratio of 2.38 [7] Industry Context - The Computer - Software industry is part of the broader Computer and Technology sector, holding a Zacks Industry Rank of 157, placing it in the bottom 38% of over 250 industries [8] - Research indicates that industries in the top 50% of the Zacks Industry Rank outperform those in the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]