Key highlights:

  • Salesforce shares climbed by double-digit percentages premarket after the company beat Q2 earnings and revenue expectations
  • AI is driving investor optimism, with Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reaching $3.6 billion, while Salesforce expanded its partnership with Anthropic
  • Meanwhile, Wall Street has turned bullish, with Jefferies and Citi raising their price targets to $300 and $233, respectively

Salesforce shares surged by over 11% in premarket trading Thursday after the software giant beat Wall Street’s Q2 expectations and raised its full-year outlook. The rally underscores growing investor confidence that artificial intelligence (AI) can strengthen Salesforce’s software business rather than undermine it.

Salesforce stock flashes signs of a meteoric rally

According to data from Google Finance, Salesforce stock has surged by 10.45% in premarket trading, teeing up a potential price rally. CRM price is up $227.00 in premarket from its previous close of $205.69 on Monday.

 

Premarket trading refers to the period of financial market activity that occurs before the regular market session opens. Premarket activity is usually driven by major catalysts that occur outside regular trading hours, such as early-morning corporate earnings reports.

Salesforce stock is riding the tailwind of its better-than-expected earnings report. If the move carries over to the US session, it would mark the largest post-earnings surge in two years.

Salesforce reported $11.35 billion in revenue in Q2 2026, an 11% surge year-over-year and above the $11.33 billion analysts expected. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings climbed well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, settling at $5.90 per share.

The strong Q2 numbers saw Salesforce raise its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to between $46.1 billion and $46.4 billion, a tad higher than previous estimates. The software company also revised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $16.67 - $16.71 per share from $14.06 - $14.12.

AI is becoming a growth engine

Salesforce’s AI products provide some of the strongest numbers in the quarter. Per the report, annual recurring revenue from Agentforce and Data 360 reached $3.8 billion, tripling from a year earlier, while Agentforce ARR surpassed $1.5 billion.

The company also expanded its relationship with Anthropic through Claudeforce, bringing Claude’s AI capabilities with Salesforce’s customer data and business tools. Salesforce and Anthropic plan to expand the integration, giving Salesforce another route to remain relevant as AI agents increasingly become the interface through which employees interact with software.

Wall Street responded to the positive earnings report by lifting several price targets. Right off the bat, Citigroup raised its Salesforce target from $204 to $233, arguing that the company is confronting the AI disruption narrative by working with third-party AI platforms like Anthropic.

Meanwhile, Jefferies delivered a more aggressive upgrade, raising its target from $250 to $300. However, Cantor kept its $250 target but highlighted the Anthropic partnership as a potential catalyst for a future price spurt.

Wall Street’s reaction marks a sharp turnaround for Salesforce, whose shares had remained under pressure amid fears that AI would disrupt the traditional software business. Alongside Salesforce’s positive report, Nvidia's earnings beat estimates, with shares of the company surging by 4%.