Salesforce AI Growth Drives Gains
Salesforce shares rise following strong earnings reports and rapid Agentforce AI growth.
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Key Points
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BNP Paribas identified Salesforce’s AIforce Max+ tier, priced at $550 per user per month, as the clearest near-term monetization opportunity; only about 5% of customers had upgraded, leaving substantial room for adoption growth.
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A financial-services customer reportedly increased its Salesforce renewal from roughly $3 million-$5 million to $14 million after expanding its Agentforce deployment, offering an example of how AI adoption could drive higher customer spending.
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Salesforce’s planned buyback was expected to be completed at an average price of about $182 per share, reducing the share count by more than 14% and producing a return above 40% based on the stock price cited in the report.
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BNP Paribas said Salesforce’s revenue reacceleration could begin in the third quarter, citing accelerating new-business activity relative to existing contract values and improved management confidence in achieving the fiscal 2030 framework.
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Recent analyst price targets for Salesforce ranged from $250 to $400, underscoring a wide dispersion in views despite Stephens & Co.’s Equal-Weight rating and $289 target.
Salesforce shares rose 4.5% on September 14, 2026, after delivering stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and raising full-year guidance. Revenue climbed 11% year-over-year to $11.35 billion, adjusted earnings per share hit $5.90, and the company's Agentforce AI business posted explosive growth with annual recurring revenue jumping 240% to $1.5 billion GuruFocus. The earnings beat and AI momentum sparked enthusiasm, though Stephens & Co. and Wells Fargo maintained cautious Equal-Weight ratings despite analyst price targets ranging from $250 to $400 across Wall Street.
Salesforce announced new AI pricing tiers, expanded partnerships with Anthropic, a dividend boost, and a $25 billion share buyback program. CEO Marc Benioff declared the era of software slowdown fears over, stating the company had "delivered one of our best quarters ever." However, Salesforce kept its fiscal 2030 revenue target at $63 billion unchanged, limiting upside expectations and keeping the stock near resistance levels around $264-$268.
Agentforce Adoption Drives Enterprise Spending Growth
Salesforce's Agentforce AI agents are reshaping customer economics. BNP Paribas identified the AIforce Max+ tier at $550 per user per month as the clearest near-term revenue driver, noting only 5% of customers had upgraded so far. A financial-services customer exemplified this potential: its Salesforce renewal jumped from $3 million-$5 million to $14 million after deploying Agentforce enterprise-wide BNP Paribas. This signals substantial headroom for higher customer spending as more enterprises roll out AI agents across workflows.
The company added 2,000 new paying production customers for Agentforce in Q2 alone—a 70% sequential jump. GuruFocus reported that new-business contract values hit four-year highs, with CFO Robin Washington stating "NNAOV growth is the strongest it's been in four years." Agentic Work Units—a measure of AI agent tasks—processed 3.2 billion in Q2, up 97% quarter-over-quarter, demonstrating accelerating platform adoption and momentum.
Wall Street Split on Revenue Reacceleration Odds
Analysts remain divided on Salesforce's near-term growth trajectory. BNP Paribas turned bullish, citing accelerating new-business activity and improved management confidence in hitting the fiscal 2030 framework. The bank expects revenue reacceleration to begin in Q3 as Agentforce adoption deepens BNP Paribas. Conversely, Stephens & Co. and Wells Fargo maintained Equal-Weight ratings with price targets of $289 and $250, respectively, signaling caution despite strong Q2 execution GuruFocus.
The wide price-target dispersion—$250 to $400 across research—underscores persistent debate over Salesforce's growth durability. Management refusal to raise the fiscal 2030 revenue guidance of $63 billion, despite Q2 momentum, dampened enthusiasm and suggests internal caution about long-term execution risks. Technical indicators remain broadly bullish but point toward near-term consolidation near current resistance levels before the next leg higher.
AI Partnership and Shareholder Return Strategy
Salesforce deepened its AI moat by expanding its Anthropic partnership into **Claudeforce**, a joint offering combining Claude's reasoning power with native CRM data access TriCityHerald. The expanded integration allows customers to deploy AI agents directly within Salesforce workflows, reducing friction and accelerating adoption. CEO Marc Benioff framed this as proof that "AI is delivering value across every layer of our platform," positioning Salesforce as the enterprise AI standard.
To return capital while maintaining flexibility, Salesforce announced a $25 billion Accelerated Share Repurchase program expected to complete at an average price near $182 per share. This buyback could reduce share count by 14% and produce a return above 40% based on current stock prices GuruFocus. Combined with a dividend increase, the capital-return strategy aims to reward shareholders while funding ongoing AI investment and hiring of 1,200 additional account executives in the second half of fiscal 2027.
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