Marc Benioff, Salesforce co-founder and CEO, speaks with WSJ Leadership Institute President Alan Murray in Davos as AI agents begin to change the way companies operate. He says businesses may soon be “kind of running themselves.” Benioff also reflects on why this year’s Davos marks a turning point for business, technology, and geopolitics. ...

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) FY Conference Summary Company Overview - **Company**: Salesforce - **Industry**: Health and Life Sciences, Financial Services - **Conference Date**: January 13, 2026 Key Points Industry Focus and Growth - Salesforce is focusing on becoming an "agentic enterprise" by leveraging technology in innovative ways, particularly in health and life sciences [3][4] - The company has made significant investments in health and life sciences, which is now a $4.7 billion Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) business [10] - Salesforce aims to grow its revenue to $60 billion by FY 2030, with a guidance of $41.5 billion for FY 2026 [5][6] Technological Advancements - The company emphasizes the importance of AI and agentic technology in transforming industries, particularly in healthcare [12][15] - Salesforce has developed 13 industry clouds, focusing on deep industry knowledge and workflow understanding to reshape operations [9] - The platform is designed to be safe, auditable, and integrated, allowing organizations to harness AI effectively [8][19] Customer Engagement and Partnerships - Salesforce collaborates with six of the top ten pharmaceutical companies, which shapes its product roadmap and future developments [11][46] - The company is working with major clients like Fresenius, AstraZeneca, and CVS Health to transform customer engagement and operational efficiency [25][26][27] - Salesforce aims to address challenges in the healthcare industry, such as labor shortages and outdated technology, by providing innovative solutions [27][43] Data Management and Integration - The company highlights the importance of a unified, AI-ready data foundation to manage fragmented data across various systems [28][62] - Salesforce's Data Cloud 360 is a key component in facilitating data integration and management across different regulatory environments [62] Future Outlook - Salesforce is committed to continuous innovation and product development, with plans for regular updates and enhancements to its offerings [44][45] - The company sees a significant opportunity to change healthcare through technology, emphasizing the need for organizations to adapt to new technological paradigms [15][42] Challenges and Market Dynamics - The healthcare industry faces challenges such as revenue leakage, patient engagement issues, and regulatory complexities, which Salesforce aims to address through its solutions [54][56] - The company acknowledges the competitive landscape and the necessity for organizations to leverage technology to maintain a competitive edge [44] Conclusion - Salesforce is positioned as a leader in the health and life sciences sector, focusing on transformative technology and deep industry engagement to drive growth and improve healthcare outcomes [57][58]

Core Insights - Salesforce has achieved significant enhancements in its distribution organization, which is crucial for future growth, with total capacity increased by approximately 23% [1][9][10] - The company is witnessing a long-term trend towards the rise of the Agentic Enterprise, where businesses aim to leverage AI for growth and cost reduction, despite initial frustrations with DIY AI solutions [2][3] - The integration of AI into human workflows is essential, and Salesforce is uniquely positioned to provide a comprehensive solution that combines context, data, and reliable workflows [3][5] Strategic Focus - The "back to basics" strategy includes four key aspects: extensive training and empowerment of the sales team, driving core capacity with double-digit growth in multiple segments, aligning sales compensation with core objectives, and implementing rigorous management to identify and resolve sales barriers [1][9] - The sales team has increased by 20% in total capacity, with 15% of new sales representatives expected to ramp up in the current fiscal year, aligning with demand surges [3][4] Market Performance - The order pipeline for Q3 showed healthy double-digit growth, exceeding expectations, and is expected to maintain double-digit growth into the next year [4][10] - The Agentforce initiative is acting as an accelerator for core business growth, with existing customers seeing average order value (AUV) increase by 3 to 5 times after adopting Agentforce and Data Cloud [4][5] Competitive Advantage - Salesforce's data foundation, which includes Informatica, Data 360, and MuleSoft, is projected to contribute approximately $10 billion in revenue next year, enhancing the company's competitive edge [5][6] - The company emphasizes its federated capabilities, allowing integration with clients' existing data systems, which is critical for delivering accurate and reliable AI services [5][6] Pricing Strategy - The company has shifted from complex pricing models to a more straightforward commercial framework, including fixed-fee multi-year contracts and flexible pricing options to address customer concerns about potential reductions in employee numbers [7][8] - In Q3, 362 customers made additional investments in Salesforce, indicating strong demand for the Agentforce solution [7] Future Outlook - The investments in capacity and management are expected to drive future growth, with the company projecting a cRPO growth of approximately 11% in Q3, surpassing initial expectations [10]

Summary of the Conference Call Company and Industry Overview - The conference call focuses on a technology company that operates in the CRM SaaS market and is transitioning towards the agentic enterprise market, which is significantly larger than the traditional SaaS market [6][7][8]. Key Points and Arguments 1. **Quarterly Performance**: The company reported its best Q3 ever, with significant growth in bookings and net new Average Order Value (AOV) since fiscal year 2022 [4][5]. 2. **Agentic Enterprise Opportunity**: The company is positioning itself to capitalize on the agentic enterprise market, which is defined as the digital labor market and is potentially orders of magnitude larger than the current SaaS market [6][7]. 3. **Market Share**: The company holds a 20% market share in the CRM SaaS market and 40% in the sales and service cloud domains, outperforming its competitors [6][7]. 4. **Customer Success Metrics**: Net new AOV, a key measure of customer success, is growing significantly faster than AOV, indicating a positive trend for future revenue acceleration [5][22]. 5. **Commercial Frameworks**: The introduction of the Agentic Enterprise License Agreement (AELA) has been well-received, allowing customers to pay a flat fee for services over three years, often resulting in a doubling or tripling of their spending [18][19][21][40]. 6. **Customer Transformation**: Many customers are transitioning to become agentic enterprises, realizing the need for integrated solutions that combine AI, data, and human input [10][11][12][56]. 7. **Innovative Solutions**: The company has developed a playbook for agentic enterprises, detailing how to implement AI-driven workflows across various industries [13][14][15]. 8. **Voice and AgentScript Innovations**: Recent advancements include voice capabilities and AgentScript, which enhances the resilience of agents for enterprise use cases [49][50][53]. Additional Important Insights 1. **Customer Engagement**: The company is actively engaging with customers to understand their needs and refine its offerings, leading to rapid iterations and feature additions [29][36]. 2. **Market Dynamics**: There is a trend of customers initially attempting to build solutions independently but later returning to the company for integrated solutions, highlighting the importance of the last mile in enterprise AI [56][59]. 3. **Growth in Customer Base**: The company is experiencing a significant increase in the number of customers adopting its agentic solutions, with projections to grow from 18,000 to 25,000-30,000 stories by year-end [48][61]. 4. **Pipeline Growth**: The company reports a healthy double-digit growth in its sales pipeline, indicating strong future demand for its services [62]. This summary encapsulates the key points discussed during the conference call, highlighting the company's strategic focus on the agentic enterprise market and its commitment to customer success through innovative solutions and frameworks.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its FY26 guidance on Wednesday.Salesforce reported third-quarter revenue of $10.26 billion, narrowly missing the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.25 per share, well above expectations of $2.86 per share.Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce said, "Our Agentforce and Data 360 products are the momentum drivers, hitting nearly $1.4 billion in ARR — an ex ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Q3 revenue was $10.26 billion, up 9% year over year, and 8% in constant currency [11][44] - Non-GAAP operating margin was strong at 35.5%, with operating cash flow reaching $2.3 billion, up 17% year over year [12][44] - Current remaining performance obligation (CRPO) ended at $29.4 billion, up 11% year over year [12][45] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Agentforce and Data 360 ARR was up 114% year over year, with Agentforce ARR specifically up 330% year over year [13][43] - Subscription and support revenue grew 10% year over year in nominal terms [44] - Operating cash flow is projected to finish the year with nearly $15 billion, exceeding Walmart's operating cash flow [12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Strong business growth was observed in North America and EMEA, particularly in France and the UK, while Asia-Pacific showed constraints, especially in Australia and India [45] - The small and mid-market business continued to perform well, with enterprise growth accelerating [45] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on accelerating Agentforce and Data 360 adoption, with a strong emphasis on customer success and operational excellence [42][46] - Strategic acquisitions, such as Informatica, are aimed at enhancing the data foundation and are expected to be accretive within 12 months [30][47] - The company is positioning itself for sustainable, profitable growth through disciplined investments and capital allocation strategies [7][47] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the strong demand for Agentforce and the transition to agentic enterprises, highlighting a significant shift in customer needs [58][60] - The company anticipates continued momentum in bookings and revenue growth, with a focus on leveraging AI and data integration [48][49] - Management noted that the last mile of AI implementation is challenging, but customers are increasingly recognizing the need for integrated solutions [59][60] Other Important Information - The company processed over 3.2 trillion tokens through its large language model gateway, indicating significant adoption and usage of AI capabilities [19][20] - The company reported that 90% of the Forbes top 50 AI companies are using Salesforce, showcasing its strong market position [26] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on customer expectations regarding generative AI and DIY solutions - Miguel Milano highlighted that customers are moving from experimentation to frustration with DIY solutions and are increasingly recognizing the need for integrated AI solutions that provide context and data [56][58] Question: Expansion of sales representatives and productivity - Miguel Milano noted that the company has increased capacity by 20% and is on track to finish the year with 15% more enabled capacity, which is expected to capture the growing demand effectively [63][65]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Q3 revenue was $10.26 billion, up 9% year over year and 8% in constant currency [11][44] - Non-GAAP operating margin was strong at 35.5%, with GAAP operating margin up 130 basis points [11][44] - Current remaining performance obligation (CRPO) ended at $29.4 billion, up 11% year over year [11][45] - Operating cash flow was $2.3 billion, up 17% year over year, with free cash flow at $2.2 billion, up 22% year over year [12][11] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Agentforce and data reached nearly $1.4 billion in ARR, up 114% year over year, with Agentforce ARR at about $540 million, up 330% year over year [13][11] - Subscription and support revenue grew 10% year over year in nominal terms and 9% in constant currency [44] - Data 360 ingested 32 trillion records, up 119% year over year, including 15 trillion through zero-copy data integration, up 341% year over year [30][11] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Strong business growth was observed in North America and EMEA, particularly in France and the UK, while Asia-Pacific faced constraints, especially in Australia and India [45] - The small and mid-market business continued to perform well, with enterprise growth accelerating [45] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on accelerating Agentforce and Data 360 adoption, reallocating resources to high-growth areas [46] - Strategic acquisitions, such as Informatica, are aimed at enhancing the data foundation and are expected to be accretive within 12 months [47][30] - The company is positioning itself for sustainable, profitable growth through disciplined investments and capital allocation strategies [6][11] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management highlighted a strong demand for becoming agentic enterprises, with companies seeking to leverage AI for efficiency and productivity [54][56] - The company expects to finish the year with nearly $15 billion in operating cash flow, indicating strong financial health [12][11] - There is a projection for continued growth in subscription and support revenue, with a guidance of approximately 9% year-over-year growth in constant currency for fiscal year 2026 [48][49] Other Important Information - The company processed over 3.2 trillion tokens through its LLM gateway, indicating significant adoption of AI capabilities [20][21] - The company is seeing a consumption flywheel effect, with over 50% of new Agentforce bookings coming from existing customers expanding their investments [29][43] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on customer appetite for building their own applications versus using Salesforce - Management noted a significant shift in customer sentiment, with many realizing the complexity of building their own solutions and preferring to leverage Salesforce's capabilities for generative AI [52][53][56] Question: Expansion of sales representatives and productivity - Management confirmed a 20% increase in sales capacity, with expectations of healthy double-digit growth in pipeline generation, indicating readiness to capture market opportunities [56][58] Question: Competitive advantage in infrastructure - Management emphasized that Salesforce is not building data centers but leveraging existing infrastructure to preserve margins and cash flow, while enhancing overall company success [60]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Q3 revenues were $201 million, growing 9% year-over-year, exceeding the high end of guidance [5][34] - Non-GAAP operating income was $16.3 million, representing an 8% operating margin, also exceeding guidance [5][37] - Cash flow was strong at $13.4 million, or 7% on a margin basis [7][38] - Overall net revenue retention (NRR) was 96%, with core customer NRR at 97% [7][35] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenues from core customers (spending $5,000 or more annually) grew 10% year-over-year, representing 76% of total revenues [34] - The number of customers spending $100,000 or more annually grew 15% year-over-year [34] - AI Studio showed solid growth in sequential bookings, indicating early traction with self-serve users [7][14] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - International revenue grew 12% year-over-year, with EMEA and Japan showing particular strength [25] - The U.S. market grew 7% year-over-year [25] - The healthcare vertical saw significant expansions, with several large healthcare organizations increasing their usage of Asana [19][20] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI transformation as a key part of its strategy, emphasizing the importance of context, checkpoints, and controls in AI applications [10][12] - Asana aims to lead in the market for human-AI collaboration, with AI Teammates expected to be generally available early next year [14][15] - The company is committed to disciplined, profitable growth while investing in high-leverage areas, particularly its AI platform [21][22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the stabilization of the tech vertical, noting improvements in retention and expansion opportunities [48][49] - The company anticipates continued NRR improvement due to successful renewals and the impact of AI Studio on customer relationships [36][55] - Management is optimistic about the potential for AI Studio and AI Teammates to drive future growth and revenue acceleration [70] Other Important Information - Anne Raimondi, COO and Head of Business, will be leaving the company after seven years, with leadership restructuring to enhance alignment across product and go-to-market strategies [22][23] - The company repurchased $30.8 million of its Class A common stock during the quarter [39] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on AI Studio's self-serve launch and its impact on renewals - Management noted wide adoption of AI Studio self-serve, which democratizes access and aids in renewal conversations by providing more value to customers [44][45] Question: Confidence in the tech vertical's stabilization amid layoffs - Management indicated that tech customers tend not to downgrade after an initial downgrade, and several large tech customers expanded during renewals [48][49] Question: Clarification on Q4 guidance changes - The guidance was raised due to strong enterprise performance, international growth, and improved NRR, particularly from large tech renewals [52][55] Question: Asana's competitive position in the AI space - Management believes Asana will coexist with other AI agents but differentiates itself through its integrated approach that provides context, controls, and checkpoints [58][60] Question: Status of the partner ecosystem and its growth potential - Management expressed excitement about the channel ecosystem, viewing it as an early-stage opportunity for growth and collaboration with partners [65][66] Question: Future margin optimization and cost management - Management indicated that there is still room for margin improvement through ongoing cost optimization and reallocating resources to higher ROI areas [69][71] Question: Revenue growth acceleration alongside margin expansion - Management remains committed to achieving both revenue growth and margin expansion, with AI Studio and AI Teammates seen as key drivers for future growth [77]

Core Insights - Salesforce has reset long-term expectations, targeting at least $60 billion in revenue by fiscal 2030, excluding contributions from the Informatica acquisition [1][5] - The company emphasizes the concept of the "agentic enterprise," where AI agents manage tasks across various business functions [2] - Salesforce's platform extends beyond CRM software to include marketing automation, analytics, and data management, facilitating the deployment of AI agents [3] Revenue and Growth Targets - The company aims for a compound annual growth rate of 10% or higher from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2030, with a target of "50 by FY30," combining subscription growth and operating margin [5] - Salesforce's data and AI annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached approximately $1.2 billion in Q2, growing 120% year over year, with $440 million in agentic AI ARR [6] Strategic Vision - CEO Marc Benioff highlighted the transformation towards the "Agentic Enterprise," positioning Agentforce as the fastest-growing organic product in the company's history [7] - The broad platform of Salesforce is expected to support continued double-digit organic revenue growth through fiscal 2030 [3][7]

Core Insights - Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is recognized as a highly profitable software stock, with Canaccord Genuity maintaining a 'Buy' rating and a price target of $300, indicating a potential upside of nearly 27% from current levels [1] - The company is expected to see a significant increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) as customers transition to the "Agentic Enterprise" model, potentially multiplying their spending by three to four times [2] - Canaccord Genuity notes that while the management's projects show promise, meaningful results may take about a year to materialize, with key indicators expected soon [3] Company Overview - Salesforce, Inc. is a California-based provider of customer relationship management (CRM) technology, established in 1999, and offers core products such as Agentforce, Data Cloud, Industries AI, and Slack [4]