Salesforce beats on earnings and gives its AI story teeth

Salesforce walked into earnings priced like an AI bystander and walked out with the kind of record quarter that leaves very little to argue with. Revenue roughly matched forecasts, profit was miles above them, the sales backlog grew double digits, and the AI and data business closed in on a $1.4 billion run-rate. In after-hours trading, the stock jumped more than 5%. Heading into the print, the setup looked very different. The stock was down about 30% for the year and trading near the bottom of its 52-wee ...