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]

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer discussed along with macroeconomic conditions. Cramer highlighted the company’s stock price movement for the day and commented: “The fear is that customers will be able to develop more of their own software with the help of these new AI platforms that are very good at writing code. Now, I’m not quite ready yet to give up on some of these companies like Salesforce, which is now selling for just 20 times next year’s earnings estimates. But it would ...

​Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the Best Quality Stocks to Buy Before 2026. On December 17, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced that Novartis (NYSE:NVS) has selected the company’s Agentforce Life Sciences for Customer Engagement to connect patients and Healthcare professional experiences. ​Novartis has already invested in the company through Agentforce Health, 360 for Health & Life Sciences, MuleSoft for Life Sciences, and Agentforce Marketing. Now it plans to unify the engagement across marketin ...

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]

Core Insights - The technology sector is leading the U.S. stock market with significant stock performance in 2025, despite geopolitical unrest and supply chain issues [1] - The Computer and Technology group has increased by 27.8% in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 index's growth of 20% [2] - Major tech stocks remain undervalued despite strong fundamentals and increasing AI integration, with four companies identified as having strong growth potential for 2026 [2] Investment in AI Infrastructure - AI has transitioned from an experimental tool to a critical component for competitive advantage in the tech sector, with widespread enterprise integration expected to accelerate in 2026 [3] - Manufacturing and telecommunications sectors are increasingly deploying AI for operations optimization and network management [4][5] - Organizations across various sectors are enhancing efficiency through AI, presenting growth opportunities for tech companies with strong AI portfolios [6] Semiconductor and Data Center Markets - The AI data center market is projected to grow from $13.62 billion in 2025 to $60.49 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.3% [7] - The semiconductor industry is adapting to the shift towards AI inference workloads, indicating a strategic realignment among semiconductor companies [8] - Demand for semiconductor, networking, and enterprise software is expected to drive growth in 2026 [9] Company Highlights - **Micron Technology**: A leading provider of semiconductor memory solutions, Micron is strengthening partnerships to capitalize on AI and data center growth, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, significantly lower than the industry average [10][12] - **Applied Materials**: Positioned to benefit from the demand for ICAPS technologies, Applied Materials has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, lower than the industry average, and is expected to see growth from data center demand [13][15] - **Salesforce**: As a leading CRM software provider, Salesforce is expanding its generative AI offerings and has a forward price-to-sales ratio of 5.47, lower than the industry average [16][18] - **Cisco Systems**: Cisco is expanding its AI portfolio for data centers and has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, lower than the industry average, indicating potential for growth [19][20]

If you don't buy the AI bubble fears and think the increased skepticism over some of the names powering the technology, it might be time to get just a bit more greedy to start 2026 off on the right track. ...

For more on where the markets go this morning though, we're joined this morning by Bill Nyron, portfolio manager at Oakmark Funds. Bill, uh, really a pleasure as always to talk to you, but especially to round out the year. Good to see you again.>> Thanks for having me. >> Um, your general view of 26 and what kind of grade would you give 25. >> Well, I think first 25 was a great year.uh tough year for active managers to keep up, especially if you weren't heavily weighted in the growth stocks that really led ...