AI strategy begins to show results, Salesforce's Q1 performance exceeds expectations and raises full-year guidance

According to Zhitong Finance APP, benefiting from strong growth in cloud computing spending and the accelerated commercialization of its artificial intelligence (AI) agent platform, global leading customer relationship management software provider Salesforce (CRM.US) announced better-than-expected first-quarter results and raised its revenue guidance for the fiscal year 2026. The financial report shows that the company's first-quarter revenue increased by 8% year-on-year to $9.8 billion, with an unfulfilled order amount of $60.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.58, all exceeding market expectations. According to the latest forecast, for the fiscal year ending January 2026, the company's revenue is expected to reach $41 billion to $41.3 billion, up from the previous expectation of $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion. Despite uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment over the past few months, large enterprises continue to increase their investments in cloud computing and upgrade digital infrastructure through AI technology. This trend has brought sustained business growth to Salesforce. The increase in cloud computing spending has provided strong support for the commercialization of Salesforce's AI agent platform, Agentforce. The company is fully betting on intelligent agent technology to drive market penetration of its software products. Data shows that Salesforce's AI agent platform "Agentforce" has gained initial market recognition, having completed over 4,000 paid transactions to date, but investors are looking forward to more significant performance contributions from the product. Third Bridge analyst Charlie Miner pointed out, "Experts predict that by the end of 2026, this business will create billions of dollars in revenue opportunities and is expected to eventually become Salesforce's largest source of income." To accelerate its AI layout, the San Francisco-based company announced earlier this week its intention to acquire cloud data management company Informatica (INFA.US) for approximately $8 billion. The latter focuses on cloud data organization and management. Due to the fragmentation of information within large enterprises, integration from multiple sources is often hindered in the AI implementation process. Salesforce's Chief Financial and Operating Officer Robin Washington stated in an interview, "Acquiring Informatica is a significant step in our data strategy." She noted that combined with the company's existing data-related products, Informatica will help customers deploy AI tools more quickly. Salesforce stated that as of April 30, its department encompassing data management and AI business has surpassed $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, with a quarter-on-quarter growth of 11%. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anurag Rana pointed out that this confirms the ongoing growth in market demand for AI. This acquisition continues CEO Marc Benioff's consistent strategy of driving growth through mergers and acquisitions. In recent years, this strategy had been temporarily shelved under pressure from activist investors to cut costs and improve profitability. If the deal is completed, it will become Salesforce's largest acquisition since its approximately $27.7 billion purchase of office communication platform Slack in 2021 The market reaction to the latest acquisition has been generally positive. Analysts from Stifel, led by J. Parker Lane, pointed out in their research report: "Compared to historical acquisitions like Slack, this transaction has a reasonable valuation and is easier for investors to digest." The investment bank maintains a "Buy" rating on Salesforce. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria stated: "The acquisition of Informatica reflects the company's attempt to address the challenges of slowing organic growth." However, some analysts have warned that a significant portion of Informatica's existing business comes from customers using on-premises software deployments, rather than Salesforce's primary cloud scenarios. Washington responded that the company will help accelerate Informatica's cloud business transformation. Benioff revealed during the analyst call that the acquisition of Informatica has been in the works for twenty years. Founded in 1993, this data management pioneer was jointly acquired by Permira and a Canadian pension fund in 2015, during which Microsoft (MSFT.US) and Salesforce both participated in equity investments. The latest financial report shows that Informatica's quarterly revenue reached $403.9 million (up 3.9%), with annualized cloud subscription revenue of $848 million (surging 30%). After the announcement, Salesforce's stock price rose over 2% in after-hours trading. However, as of Wednesday's close, the stock has fallen 18% year-to-date, making it one of the worst-performing tech stocks in the S&P 500 index. In recent weeks, adjustments to U.S. tariff policies and other government policy changes have triggered market volatility, leading investors to discuss the impact of these changes on the software industry—despite the fact that the industry does not face direct pressure from import tariffs. Companies like Microsoft have stated that customer behavior has not been significantly affected, while others like Workday (WDAY.US) have mentioned that they are currently in an "uncertain environment."