Salesforce Crushed Earnings by 25% and Still Can't Get Any Respect

Core Insights - Salesforce reported a non-GAAP EPS of $3.81, exceeding estimates by 25%, with Agentforce ARR reaching $800 million [1] - The company closed 29,000 Agentforce deals in Q4, marking a 50% increase quarter-over-quarter [1] - FY27 revenue guidance is set at $45.8 billion to $46.2 billion, indicating organic growth acceleration expected only in the second half of the fiscal year [1] Q4 FY26 Earnings Performance - Revenue Performance: Revenue of $11.20 billion grew 12.1% year-over-year, slightly beating expectations; subscription and support revenue, which constitutes 95% of total revenue, rose 13% year-over-year to $10.68 billion [1] - Earnings Beat: Non-GAAP EPS of $3.81 surpassed estimates by $0.76, reflecting a 37% increase from $2.78 in Q4 FY25, marking the largest earnings surprise in recent quarters [1] - Forward Guidance: FY27 revenue is projected to grow by 10-11%, with Informatica contributing approximately 3 percentage points to this growth [1] - Profit Margins: Non-GAAP operating margin expanded by 110 basis points year-over-year to 34.2%; GAAP operating margin decreased to 16.7% due to costs associated with Informatica [1] - Cash Generation: Free cash flow increased by 39.5% year-over-year to $5.32 billion for the quarter, with full-year free cash flow reaching $14.4 billion, a nearly 16% increase [1] - Management Tone: CEO Marc Benioff emphasized the success of Agentforce, noting 29,000 deals closed, a 50% increase quarter-over-quarter, and reaffirmed a raised FY30 revenue target of $63 billion [1] Bottom Line - The significant EPS beat and the momentum in AI monetization through Agentforce, which saw ARR grow by 169% year-over-year, are key highlights [1] - Current RPO stands at $35.1 billion, reflecting a 16% increase, indicating strong near-term revenue visibility [1] - A new $50 billion share repurchase authorization and a 5.8% increase in quarterly dividends to $0.44 reinforce the company's capital discipline [1] - Caution is advised as FY27 guidance suggests modest organic growth until the second half, and there are execution risks associated with the Informatica integration [1]