Salesforce Profit Rises as Benioff Promotes New AI Focus

Salesforce, the well-known business software company, has enjoyed strong attention in recent years because of the global rise of artificial intelligence. However, after reaching high levels of success, the company is now facing growing investor doubts. These concerns have increased pressure on CEO Marc Benioff, who is known for his confident and persuasive leadership style. Investors want to see proof that the company’s big investments in AI will deliver real long-term results.

Benioff had an opportunity to reshape the current narrative on Wednesday when Salesforce released the latest quarterly results for the August–October period. Fortunately for him, the numbers were better than expected. Salesforce reported profits of $2.1 billion, or $2.19 per share, which is 37% higher than last year. Revenue also rose 9%, reaching nearly $10.9 billion. The company even shared a positive forecast for the next quarter ending in January, which also beat analyst expectations.

During a 25-minute call with analysts, Benioff confidently stated that Salesforce is “uniquely positioned” for the new AI era. He described how customers often experience “wow” moments when they see the company’s AI technology in action. His remarks, full of enthusiasm, sounded almost like a motivational speech focused on AI’s potential.

Salesforce’s stock price initially jumped more than 5% after the results were released. However, after Benioff’s presentation, the gain fell to about 2%. Whether this small rise will continue remains uncertain because strong earnings alone are not always enough to boost a tech stock during a period of high uncertainty. Many investors are still unsure if the billions being spent on AI across the industry will bring the expected returns.

Even Nvidia, the leading company in AI chips, has seen its stock fluctuate despite reporting excellent results last month. After briefly calming market concerns, Nvidia’s stocks soon slipped back to levels before its report and remained 15% below the record price it reached in late October.

Salesforce has suffered even more. Before the latest earnings release, the company’s market value had fallen by 35% since last year, wiping out around $125 billion in shareholder wealth. This drop happened even though Benioff has consistently promoted AI’s benefits and pushed Salesforce into the center of the AI conversation.

Benioff has also strengthened his political relationships. He is among the major tech leaders who developed ties with President Donald Trump this year as companies encourage the government to support AI-friendly policies. They aim to help the U.S. compete globally as countries like China race to develop powerful AI systems.

A major focus for Salesforce has been developing AI agents that can automate customer service tasks. These digital workers are expected to handle responsibilities traditionally managed by human employees. In a bold move showing confidence in this direction, Salesforce laid off 4,000 customer support workers as its “Agentforce” technology began taking over more duties.

However, many of Salesforce’s customers are not adopting AI agents as quickly as investors once believed. According to market strategist Jay Woods, this slow adoption has turned Salesforce into a “poster child” for the current doubts surrounding AI.

Despite these challenges, Benioff remains enthusiastic. He recently praised Google’s latest Gemini AI upgrade and believes that companies and governments will soon speed up their use of AI tools. Salesforce aims to reach $60 billion in revenue by January 2030, a goal that requires steady annual growth of about 10% from this year’s predicted $41.5 billion. The company also completed an $8 billion purchase of Informatica, a company building AI-powered data tools.

Benioff insists Salesforce is “executing on the path to our $60 billion dream” and remains confident that the company’s AI vision will eventually pay off.