Here’s What Drove the Artisan Value Fund to Pick Salesforce (CRM)

Group 1: Market Overview - The equity market rally continued in Q3 2025, driven by strong corporate earnings, rising AI investment, and expectations of economic support from US fiscal policy and lower interest rates [1] - Artisan Value Fund's Investor Class ARTLX, Advisor Class APDLX, and Institutional Class APHLX returned 0.83%, 0.91%, and 0.90% respectively, underperforming the Russell 1000 Value Index which returned 5.33% [1] Group 2: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Performance - Salesforce, Inc. reported a one-month return of 14.28% but experienced a 20.75% decline in share value over the last 52 weeks, closing at $266.08 per share with a market capitalization of $253.308 billion on December 26, 2025 [2] - In Q3 2025, Salesforce was highlighted as a new purchase by Artisan Value Fund, alongside Accenture and Elevance Health, despite concerns about being disrupted by AI [3] Group 3: Investment Insights - Artisan Value Fund believes fears regarding AI disrupting established companies like Salesforce are overblown, attributing growth slowdowns to broader macroeconomic conditions rather than AI [3] - Salesforce's revenue for Q3 2026 was reported at $10.26 billion, reflecting a 9% year-over-year increase and an 8% increase in constant currency [4]