AI Growth and Strong Bookings Lift Salesforce as Software Demand Reaccelerates

Salesforce's AI Push Gains Traction as Enterprise Demand Strengthens

Salesforce (CRM) rallied sharply Thursday after fiscal second-quarter results showed stronger forward demand indicators alongside continued growth in its Agentforce business. Revenue increased 11% year over year to $11.35 billion, while current remaining performance obligations, or cRPO, rose 14% to $33.5 billion.

The company also raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook and unveiled Claudeforce, an expanded partnership with Anthropic that brings Salesforce customer data, workflows and business logic directly into Claude. The combination of stronger bookings, AI adoption and improving guidance helped address investor concerns about how generative AI could affect traditional enterprise software demand.

Key Points

• Salesforce revenue increased 11% to $11.35 billion, while cRPO growth accelerated to 14% and management raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion.
• Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reached nearly $3.9 billion, up more than 210% year over year, while Agentforce ARR surpassed $1.5 billion and grew more than 240%.
• Claudeforce brings Salesforce data and workflows into Anthropic's Claude, while strong bookings, low attrition and improving contract lengths supported expectations for second-half organic revenue reacceleration.

Strong Bookings Support Salesforce's Growth Outlook

Salesforce's second-quarter results showed improvement across several forward-looking demand indicators.

Revenue rose 11% year over year and in constant currency to $11.35 billion. More importantly, cRPO increased 14% to $33.5 billion, accelerating from 13% constant-currency growth in the first quarter and coming in one percentage point above company guidance.

Current remaining performance obligations represent contracted revenue expected to be recognized over the coming 12 months, making the metric an important indicator of near-term demand.

Management attributed the stronger cRPO performance to robust second-quarter bookings and attrition near record-low levels. First-half net new annual order value, or AOV, growth significantly outpaced overall AOV growth and reached its strongest level in four years. Contract lengths also increased across both new business and renewals.

Salesforce raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion from its previous $45.9 billion-$46.2 billion range. On a constant-currency basis, the updated outlook includes $100 million from stronger organic performance driven by Agentforce, Data 360 and Slack, along with $200 million from expected contributions from the pending Contentful and Fin acquisitions.

For the third quarter, Salesforce expects revenue of $11.42 billion-$11.50 billion, compared with analyst expectations of $11.41 billion. The company also expects approximately 14% cRPO growth in constant currency.

Free cash flow increased 81% to $1.10 billion.

Why Did CRM Stock Surge After Earnings?

The earnings reaction reflected evidence that Salesforce's AI strategy is contributing to growth while its existing software businesses continue to show resilient customer demand.

CRM stock jumped more than 12% in after-hours trading before extending its gains Thursday. The shares had been down 22% for the year through Wednesday's close.

Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reached nearly $3.9 billion, increasing more than 210% year over year. Agentforce alone surpassed $1.5 billion in ARR, representing growth of more than 240%.

Agentforce bookings doubled from a year earlier, with 50% coming from customers refilling credits. Salesforce also added 2,000 paying Agentforce customers into production during the quarter, an increase of 70% sequentially.

The results were notable because Salesforce has faced questions over whether AI agents could reduce demand for traditional subscription software. The quarter instead showed seats increasing year over year across Agentforce, Service and Slack, while attrition remained near its lowest level ever.

Agentic use of Salesforce applications through Model Context Protocol, or MCP, and command-line interface calls increased sixfold. Management also highlighted continued customer upgrades and improving contract terms.

The broader software market reacted as well. ServiceNow (NOW) and Adobe (ADBE) moved higher Thursday, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) also advanced.

Salesforce's headline adjusted earnings of $5.90 per share require additional context. The quarter included a $2.53-per-share benefit from gains on strategic investments, while quarterly net income of $3.53 billion included a $2.6 billion investment gain tied in part to Salesforce's position in Anthropic.

Gross margin was 77%, unchanged from the first quarter and slightly below 78% a year earlier.

What Does Claudeforce Mean for Salesforce's AI Strategy?

Salesforce's expanded Anthropic partnership adds another component to the company's effort to integrate its enterprise data and workflows with generative AI.

Claudeforce embeds Salesforce customer data, workflows and business logic into Anthropic's Claude through a plugin designed initially for sales teams. It launches with 37 prebuilt sales skills developed jointly by Salesforce and Anthropic, covering functions including meeting preparation, deal-health reviews and pipeline management.

Users can update pipelines and take governed actions through Claude without moving back into Salesforce's traditional interface.

The plugin is currently available to a select group of pilot customers, with an open beta expected in September 2026. Additional prebuilt skills are planned later in the year.

The integration uses AIforce, Salesforce's enterprise framework for connecting business data and workflows to AI agents through MCP servers, APIs and command-line tools. Administrators can connect the plugin once, with authentication and permissions applied across their teams.

The Anthropic relationship extends beyond Claudeforce. Claude is now the default model for Slack, including Slackbot and the new Claude Tag feature. Claude is also available inside Agentforce through Amazon Bedrock, with customer data remaining within Salesforce's security boundary.

The two companies are also customers of each other. Salesforce uses Claude across its engineering organization, while Anthropic uses Salesforce as its preferred CRM and Slack as its preferred internal collaboration platform.

The next measures of progress include whether Agentforce customers continue moving into production and purchasing additional usage, whether cRPO maintains its stronger growth rate, and whether improving bookings translate into the second-half organic revenue reacceleration management expects.

Salesforce's Investor Day at Dreamforce on September 16 provides another scheduled opportunity for the company to discuss its strategy. The Contentful and Fin acquisitions are expected to close during fiscal Q3 2027.

What It Means for Investors

The key development in Salesforce's Q2 report was the combination of stronger forward demand indicators and measurable growth from its AI products.

The 14% increase in cRPO accelerated from the previous quarter, while first-half net new AOV growth reached its strongest level in four years. Strong bookings, low attrition and longer contract durations provided additional evidence of enterprise demand.

At the same time, Agentforce and Data 360 ARR expanded more than 210% to nearly $3.9 billion. Agentforce bookings doubled, and half came from customers purchasing additional credits, while the number of paying customers moving into production increased 70% sequentially.

Those figures provide an important counterpoint to concerns that AI could weaken demand for established enterprise software platforms. Salesforce reported continued seat growth across several businesses while simultaneously expanding consumption-based AI products and enabling third-party AI systems to interact with its platform.

The earnings figure itself needs to be separated from those operating trends. Salesforce's $5.90 adjusted EPS benefited substantially from gains on strategic investments, including its Anthropic position. The company's revenue, cRPO, bookings, attrition, AI ARR and free cash flow therefore provide additional measures for assessing the underlying business performance.

For investors following CRM stock news, the next focus shifts toward Q3 cRPO growth, Agentforce adoption and repeat consumption, the expected second-half organic revenue acceleration and how Claudeforce expands usage of Salesforce data and workflows through external AI interfaces.

Conclusion

Salesforce's fiscal second quarter provided stronger evidence that its AI transition is beginning to show up in measurable business metrics.

Revenue increased 11% to $11.35 billion, cRPO growth accelerated to 14%, and Agentforce and Data 360 ARR climbed more than 210% to nearly $3.9 billion. Agentforce alone surpassed $1.5 billion in ARR, while bookings doubled and more customers moved into production.

Salesforce also raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook and expanded its Anthropic partnership through Claudeforce, bringing Salesforce data and workflows directly into Claude.

The sharp CRM stock reaction reflects the combination of improving demand indicators and faster AI adoption after a period of concern about AI's impact on enterprise software. The next test will be whether stronger bookings, Agentforce usage and cRPO growth translate into the second-half organic revenue reacceleration management expects.

FAQs

Why did Salesforce stock rise after Q2 earnings?

Salesforce stock rose after the company reported 11% revenue growth, accelerating cRPO growth, stronger bookings and rapidly expanding Agentforce adoption. Salesforce also raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance and announced its expanded Anthropic partnership through Claudeforce.

How fast is Salesforce's Agentforce business growing?

Agentforce ARR surpassed $1.5 billion, increasing more than 240% year over year. Combined Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reached nearly $3.9 billion, up more than 210%, while Agentforce bookings doubled from a year earlier.

What is Claudeforce?

Claudeforce is a Salesforce and Anthropic integration that allows users to access Salesforce customer data, workflows and business logic through Claude. It launches with 37 prebuilt sales skills and is expected to enter open beta in September 2026.

What is Salesforce's fiscal 2027 revenue guidance?

Salesforce expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion, up from its previous forecast of $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion.

What should investors watch next for Salesforce?

Key areas include Q3 cRPO growth, Agentforce adoption and repeat usage, the expected second-half organic revenue reacceleration, the rollout of Claudeforce and Salesforce's Investor Day at Dreamforce on September 16.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor. For details, please refer to our Terms of Use.

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