Core Viewpoint - Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is considered one of the most undervalued tech giants, with potential for a rally as AI-related concerns ease and management focuses on profitability improvement [1][2] Valuation and Market Performance - The stock was trading at 9-times expected forward sales a year ago, but its current valuation is under six-times expected 2026 sales after a 30% pullback from all-time highs [2] - Analysts believe that the market is excessively bearish on Salesforce, with BTIG noting that investors are pricing in a "CRM demise" [2] - Agentforce is showing strong performance, with a 330% annual recurring revenue growth in the third quarter [2] Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Mizuho set a price target of $340 for Salesforce, indicating an upside potential of approximately 28% [3] - The company is expected to improve year-over-year performance, with potential for organic re-acceleration [3] - 78% of analysts covering the stock have a 'Buy' or equivalent rating, with a median price target of $336, implying an upside potential of 26.25% [3] Company Overview - Salesforce, Inc. is a California-based provider of customer relationship management (CRM) technology, connecting companies and customers through offerings like Agentforce, Data Cloud, Industries AI, and Slack [4]

Core Insights - Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW) are leading enterprise cloud software companies that assist large organizations in modernizing operations and automating workflows [1][2] Salesforce Overview - Salesforce maintains a leading position in the customer relationship management market and is expanding its ecosystem to include artificial intelligence (AI), data, and collaboration [3] - The company has integrated generative AI into its offerings, significantly enhancing automation and decision-making capabilities [4] - In Q3 of fiscal 2026, Salesforce's AI-driven products generated $1.4 billion in recurring revenues, marking a 114% year-over-year increase, with Agentforce alone contributing $540 million, up 330% year over year [5] - However, Salesforce is experiencing a slowdown in sales growth, with revenues increasing by only 8.7% year over year in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, reflecting cautious enterprise spending [6][7] ServiceNow Overview - ServiceNow is benefiting from increased adoption of its workflows, which support automation across various business functions, driving efficiency for customers [8] - The company closed 103 transactions exceeding $1 million in net new annual contract value (ACV) in Q3 2025, with a total of 553 customers contributing over $5 million in ACV [9][10] - ServiceNow's AI strategy includes a comprehensive approach to enterprise adoption, exemplified by its AI Control Tower, which helps monitor AI agents across systems [10][12] - The federal business segment of ServiceNow grew over 30% year over year in Q3 2025, indicating strength in a challenging market [13] Growth Outlook Comparison - ServiceNow's growth profile appears stronger, with projected revenue and earnings per share (EPS) growth of 20.5% and 24.5% for 2025, and 18.1% and 16.8% for 2026 [14] - In contrast, Salesforce's fiscal 2026 estimates indicate a revenue growth of 9.5% and an EPS increase of 14.6%, with projections of 10.8% and 10.5% for fiscal 2027 [17] Valuation and Performance - Over the past six months, Salesforce shares have decreased by 2.4%, while ServiceNow shares have fallen by 25.2% [21] - Salesforce trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 5.48, significantly lower than ServiceNow's 10.23 [23] Conclusion - While Salesforce is a stable and profitable company, its growth has slowed. ServiceNow demonstrates stronger growth, better execution, and clearer demand trends, giving it an edge as an investment despite a higher valuation [25]

Group 1: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - AMD is positioned for significant growth with the upcoming launch of its MI450 AI-specific GPU lineup, expected in the latter half of 2025, which will enhance its competitive stance against NVIDIA [2] - The MI450's rack-scale capability is crucial for meeting current business demands and unlocking GPU demand, potentially leading to a triple-digit revenue growth for AMD [3] Group 2: Micron Technology (MU) - Micron's fiscal year 2026 earnings release highlighted its strong performance, with substantial revenue and earnings outperformance, and record free cash flow [3][5] - Analysts have upgraded Micron's consensus sentiment to a Strong Buy, with price targets increasing by over 30%, indicating potential for new all-time highs [5] Group 3: Oracle Corporation (ORCL) - Oracle is establishing itself as a comprehensive AI provider, embedding AI across its services and focusing on chip neutrality to cater to diverse client needs [6] - The company's remaining performance obligation surged by over 400% in Q3 2025, signaling significant revenue growth as new data centers come online [7] Group 4: Salesforce (CRM) - Salesforce has shown signs of recovery with a hard bottom in stock performance, indicating potential acceleration in 2026 driven by its AI tools [8][10] - The company's Einstein AI engine and Agentforce platform are designed to enhance operational efficiency and data monetization for businesses [9] Group 5: Apple Inc. (AAPL) - Apple is viewed as an AI outlier, with strong core business performance and iPhone sales, although it has not yet made significant AI announcements [11] - Analysts have shown a steady trend of upgrades for Apple, with a potential 25% upside and expectations for new all-time highs [12]

Core Viewpoint - Salesforce has shifted its strategy from relying heavily on generative AI to implementing more deterministic automation techniques in its Agentforce product, indicating a reconsideration of the effectiveness of large language models in business applications [2][4][15]. Group 1: Strategic Shift - Salesforce reduced its customer support team from 9,000 to approximately 5,000, citing cost savings through AI automation [2]. - The company has introduced basic "deterministic" automation in Agentforce to enhance reliability, moving away from the unpredictability associated with large language models [4]. - Salesforce's recent communications suggest that when Agentforce does not overly depend on large language models, its performance improves [3]. Group 2: Customer Feedback and Issues - Customers have reported various technical issues with Agentforce, including a phenomenon referred to as "hallucination," where the AI produces incorrect outputs [7]. - The cost of using Agentforce is high, with each interaction costing $2, leading to complaints about operational expenses [7]. - Vivint, a customer of Agentforce, experienced stability issues, prompting them to implement deterministic triggers to ensure consistent service delivery [8]. Group 3: Technical Limitations - Salesforce's CTO acknowledged that using basic automation can lower operational costs and improve reliability, but noted that exceeding eight instructions can lead to missed commands, which is critical for high-precision tasks [7]. - The company is testing a system called Agentforce Script to identify tasks that can be completed without relying on large language models, aiming to reduce unpredictability [9]. Group 4: Leadership and Future Directions - CEO Marc Benioff has indicated a shift in focus towards data infrastructure rather than AI models, highlighting the risks associated with unreliable AI outputs [13]. - There are discussions about potentially rebranding the company to "Agentforce," reflecting a strategic pivot in response to market interests [13]. - Salesforce's spokesperson emphasized the need for integrating AI with reliable data and business logic to achieve predictable outcomes, while also denying claims of reducing large language model applications [14].

Core Viewpoint - AI software stocks are expected to emerge as significant market players in 2026, following the dominance of semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks in recent years [1] Group 1: SoundHound AI - SoundHound AI is transitioning from an AI voice company to a voice-led agentic AI company, leveraging its voice technology for a competitive advantage [2] - The company experienced rapid growth, with revenue more than doubling in the first nine months of 2025, and has established a strong presence in the automobile and restaurant industries [4] - SoundHound AI's acquisition of Amelia has enhanced its capabilities in creating an agentic AI platform and expanded its customer relationships in healthcare, financial services, and retail [4] - The company is improving its gross margins, with expectations of generating positive EBITDA soon, and is well-positioned for future growth [6] Group 2: Salesforce - Salesforce is viewed as a potential AI loser but is actually well-positioned due to its role as a system of record for customer service, marketing, and sales [8] - The acquisition of Informatica strengthens Salesforce's data management capabilities, enhancing its position as a reliable data source [8] - Salesforce's Agentforce solution is integrated throughout its product suite, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Agentforce surging 330% to $540 million last quarter [9] - The stock is considered undervalued, trading at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio below 5.5, a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio around 20, and a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio below 0.65 [10] Group 3: Snowflake - Snowflake operates a cloud-based data warehousing and analytics platform that separates storage from compute, allowing customers to access data across different cloud providers [11] - The platform's architecture creates a "sticky" environment for customers, making it difficult to move data once integrated [11] - Snowflake is also adopting AI agents through its Snowflake Intelligence solution, which had over 1,200 customers and a $100 million AI revenue run rate at the end of the last quarter [12] - The company reported a 29% revenue increase last quarter, with a net revenue retention rate of 125% over the past 12 months, indicating strong growth potential [13][14]

Core Viewpoint - Salesforce (CRM) has significantly underperformed the overall market in 2025, with investors experiencing a loss of 20.6% if they purchased the stock at the beginning of the year, contrasting sharply with the S&P 500's return of nearly 18% during the same period [1] Group 1 - Salesforce's stock has been identified as a clear loser in comparison to broader market performance [1]

Core Viewpoint - Salesforce, Inc. is experiencing positive stock movement and is seen as a strong player in the AI-driven customer service market, particularly with its Agentforce AI platform [1][2] Group 1: Stock Performance - Salesforce's stock closed up $4.72, indicating a positive market response [1] - The stock is currently trading at 20 times next year's earnings estimates, suggesting it may be undervalued [1] Group 2: AI and Market Potential - The Agentforce AI platform is positioned to dominate the agentic AI space, which is anticipated to be one of the largest markets in history [2] - The potential for AI in customer service is highlighted as a "holy grail," emphasizing the importance of informed salespeople who can assist customers instantly and accurately [2] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - While Salesforce shows promise, there are opinions that other AI stocks may offer greater upside potential with less downside risk [2] - The report suggests looking into undervalued AI stocks that could benefit from current economic trends, such as tariffs and onshoring [2]

Core Insights - Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is recognized as one of the best quality stocks to buy before 2026, particularly following its announcement of a partnership with Novartis to enhance customer engagement in the healthcare sector [1] Group 1: Partnership and Investment - Novartis has previously invested in Salesforce through various platforms including Agentforce Health and MuleSoft for Life Sciences, and now aims to unify engagement across multiple teams over the next five years [2] - The partnership will involve the global deployment of Agentforce 360 for Life Sciences, indicating a significant commitment to integrating Salesforce's technology within Novartis [2] Group 2: Market Sentiment and Analyst Ratings - Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Salesforce, with BTIG's Allan Verkhovski initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a price target of $335, while Mizuho Securities' Gregg Moskowitz reiterated a Buy rating with a $340 price target [3] - Analyst Verkhovski appreciates the re-architecture of Salesforce's core platform and notes management's confidence in accelerating net new annual order value, projecting a return to double-digit subscription revenue growth by fiscal Q4 2027 [4]

Core Insights - Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is recognized as one of the best quality stocks to buy before 2026, particularly following its announcement of a partnership with Novartis to enhance customer engagement in the healthcare sector [1] Group 1: Partnership and Investment - Novartis has previously invested in Salesforce through various platforms including Agentforce Health and MuleSoft for Life Sciences, and now aims to unify engagement across multiple teams over the next five years [2] - The partnership will involve the global deployment of Agentforce 360 for Life Sciences, indicating a significant commitment to integrating Salesforce's technology within Novartis [2] Group 2: Market Sentiment and Analyst Ratings - Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Salesforce, with BTIG's Allan Verkhovski initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a price target of $335, while Mizuho Securities' Gregg Moskowitz reiterated a Buy rating with a $340 price target [3] - Analyst Verkhovski appreciates Salesforce's re-architecture of its core platform and anticipates that the company's net new annual order value will accelerate, leading to a return to double-digit subscription revenue growth by fiscal Q4 2027 [4]

Core Viewpoint - Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) shares experienced a significant increase of 16.65% over the past month following a decline of 10.69% in the previous month [1] Group 1 - Salesforce's stock performance shows a recovery trend after a prior decline, indicating potential investor confidence returning [1] - The fluctuation in Salesforce's stock price highlights the volatility often seen in the tech sector, particularly among software companies [1] - The recent gain may suggest positive market sentiment or favorable developments within the company or industry [1]