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Salesforce Bets on Agentic AI: Will It Reignite CRM's Revenue Growth?
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Key Takeaways
Salesforce's revenue growth slowed to single digits after years of double-digit expansion.
CRM's Agentforce and Data Cloud generated $1.4B in Q3 recurring revenues, up 114% year over year.
Salesforce saw 11% growth in remaining performance obligations, fueled by larger deals and renewals.
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is betting heavily on Agentic AI to reignite revenue growth at a time when its revenue expansion has slowed to single digits. For years, the company has delivered strong double-digit revenue increases. However, that pace has now cooled to single digits. In the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2026, revenues rose 7.6%, 9.8% and 8.6%, respectively, year over year.
Agentic AI refers to systems that can act on behalf of users by automating tasks, generating insights and helping teams make decisions faster. Salesforce has embedded these capabilities into its products to make workflows more efficient and outcomes more predictable.
The company’s Agentforce suite is a key part of its broader Agentic AI push strategy. Salesforce’s Agentforce platform is gaining solid momentum. Combined with Data Cloud, these AI-driven offerings brought in $1.4 billion in recurring revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, representing a 114% year-over-year increase. Agentforce alone generated $540 million in recurring revenues, calling for a 330% year-over-year increase.
Booking trends are encouraging as well. Salesforce ended the third quarter of fiscal 2026 with the current remaining performance obligation of $29.4 billion, rising 11% year over year, primarily driven by larger deals and early renewals. Management highlighted that more than 50% of Agentforce deals came from existing clients, showing Salesforce’s success in cross-selling AI features to its user base.
Overall, Agentforce is providing Salesforce with a clearer path to reaccelerate growth. However, the durability of this shift will depend on sustained adoption and consistent execution across its various cloud segments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 and 2027 indicates that revenues will increase 9.5% and 11%, respectively, year over year.
How Rivals Fare Against Salesforce
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW - Free Report) are also pushing AI automation in the enterprise market.
Microsoft has integrated strong AI features into its Dynamics 365 platform through its Copilot tools, simplifying tasks such as writing emails, creating reports and summarizing meetings for users. Since many companies already use Microsoft products, integrating Copilot into their existing workflows is simple and cost-effective.
ServiceNow’s Now Assist platform uses AI to automate IT service management, customer support and human resource management tasks. ServiceNow has been rolling out industry-specific AI tools, similar to what Salesforce is doing with Agentforce.
Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Salesforce have plunged 33.7% over the past year against the Zacks Computer – Software industry’s decline of 4.7%.
Salesforce One-Year Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, significantly below the industry’s average of 26.22.
Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 15.3% and 10.5%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward in the past 30 days.
Image: Bigstock
Salesforce Bets on Agentic AI: Will It Reignite CRM's Revenue Growth?
Key Takeaways
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is betting heavily on Agentic AI to reignite revenue growth at a time when its revenue expansion has slowed to single digits. For years, the company has delivered strong double-digit revenue increases. However, that pace has now cooled to single digits. In the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2026, revenues rose 7.6%, 9.8% and 8.6%, respectively, year over year.
Agentic AI refers to systems that can act on behalf of users by automating tasks, generating insights and helping teams make decisions faster. Salesforce has embedded these capabilities into its products to make workflows more efficient and outcomes more predictable.
The company’s Agentforce suite is a key part of its broader Agentic AI push strategy. Salesforce’s Agentforce platform is gaining solid momentum. Combined with Data Cloud, these AI-driven offerings brought in $1.4 billion in recurring revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, representing a 114% year-over-year increase. Agentforce alone generated $540 million in recurring revenues, calling for a 330% year-over-year increase.
Booking trends are encouraging as well. Salesforce ended the third quarter of fiscal 2026 with the current remaining performance obligation of $29.4 billion, rising 11% year over year, primarily driven by larger deals and early renewals. Management highlighted that more than 50% of Agentforce deals came from existing clients, showing Salesforce’s success in cross-selling AI features to its user base.
Overall, Agentforce is providing Salesforce with a clearer path to reaccelerate growth. However, the durability of this shift will depend on sustained adoption and consistent execution across its various cloud segments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 and 2027 indicates that revenues will increase 9.5% and 11%, respectively, year over year.
How Rivals Fare Against Salesforce
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW - Free Report) are also pushing AI automation in the enterprise market.
Microsoft has integrated strong AI features into its Dynamics 365 platform through its Copilot tools, simplifying tasks such as writing emails, creating reports and summarizing meetings for users. Since many companies already use Microsoft products, integrating Copilot into their existing workflows is simple and cost-effective.
ServiceNow’s Now Assist platform uses AI to automate IT service management, customer support and human resource management tasks. ServiceNow has been rolling out industry-specific AI tools, similar to what Salesforce is doing with Agentforce.
Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Salesforce have plunged 33.7% over the past year against the Zacks Computer – Software industry’s decline of 4.7%.
Salesforce One-Year Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, significantly below the industry’s average of 26.22.
Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 15.3% and 10.5%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.