Salesforce

This Monday’s focus is on Salesforce (CRM) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Analysts have mixed views on Salesforce’s future due to concerns about AI’s impact, despite reaffirming “Buy” ratings. CRM’s stock is down 29% YTD, highlighting investor uncertainty. Goldman Sachs is dominating M&A, capturing a 34% market share and advising on significant deals. GS is on track for its best M&A performance in 25 years, with its stock up nearly 35% YTD. The key is if GS can maintain dominance amidst evolving economic conditions.

HubSpot appointed Meta’s Clara Shih, a business AI expert, to its Board, signaling a renewed focus on AI integration. Shih, formerly CEO of Salesforce AI, brings extensive experience in developing AI-powered business tools. This move comes as HubSpot aims to demonstrate AI’s transformative potential to investors amid concerns about AI’s disruptive impact and decelerating revenue growth. HubSpot has also introduced AI tools and acquired XFunnel, reinforcing its commitment to AI-driven marketing and sales solutions. The appointment underscores HubSpot’s strategic push to leverage AI for efficiency and sustained expansion.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologized after suggesting the National Guard for San Francisco security, a proposal sparked by concerns raised by President Trump and amplified by a *New York Times* article. The initial comments drew criticism from local officials, Governor Newsom, and led to Ron Conway’s resignation from the Salesforce Foundation board, citing value misalignment. This ignited debate about federal intervention and San Francisco’s progressive values, intensified by comments from David Sacks and Elon Musk, highlighting Silicon Valley’s intersection with national politics. Benioff now affirms safety is the city’s responsibility.

Salesforce is aggressively countering growth concerns with an ambitious long-term financial roadmap presented at Dreamforce. The company projects $60 billion in annual revenue for fiscal year 2030 and aims for at least 10% average annual organic revenue growth between fiscal years 2026 and 2030. Key to this strategy is leveraging AI, particularly through Agentforce, and focusing on core offerings. While some analysts remain cautious, others have reiterated buy ratings, reflecting renewed investor optimism in Salesforce’s ability to navigate the evolving tech landscape and achieve its targets.

Salesforce projects revenue exceeding $60 billion by 2030, aiming to reassure investors amid growth concerns. This excludes the Informatica acquisition, expected to enhance data integration. While targeting over 10% organic growth, Salesforce faces skepticism due to AI code generation tools. CEO Benioff downplays AI’s imminent takeover, emphasizing human expertise. The company is focusing on its Agentforce software to automate customer service, despite slow early adoption. Partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI aim to bolster Agentforce’s AI capabilities, showcased at Dreamforce with implementations at companies like FedEx and PepsiCo.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff highlighted the company’s focus on generative AI at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2025. Salesforce is strengthening its generative AI strategy by partnering with prominent AI developers. This move aims to alleviate investor anxieties regarding increasing competition in the AI sector and the significant impact of artificial intelligence on business.

Salesforce is aggressively pursuing generative AI partnerships with companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to integrate AI models into its Agentforce 360 software. This aims to address investor concerns about AI competition impacting Salesforce’s core business. The integration enhances customer service capabilities by automating interactions and providing real-time insights. Despite these efforts, Salesforce shares have underperformed. Other companies like Atlassian and Microsoft are also forging similar AI partnerships. Salesforce plans to facilitate transactions within ChatGPT and focus Anthropic collaboration on regulated industries.

Salesforce is investing $15 billion over five years to advance AI and support its San Francisco headquarters. The investment includes an AI incubator and the “Agentforce 360” platform for AI-powered digital assistants. CEO Marc Benioff emphasizes the commitment to innovation and job creation. This move occurs before Dreamforce, expected to generate $130 million for San Francisco. Salesforce also plans a $1 billion investment in Mexico. Analyst Dan Romanoff sees the AI investment as vital for maintaining a competitive edge in a talent-scarce market.

Salesforce is launching Agentforce Voice, adding lifelike voice capabilities to its AI-powered customer service platform. This allows businesses to engage customers in spoken conversations with customizable AI agent voices. The move comes amidst increasing competition from companies like Sierra and investor concerns about AI’s disruption potential in the software industry. Salesforce is partnering with major communications providers and plans to release Agent Script software for further customization. While acknowledging potential workforce disruption, CEO Marc Benioff sees AI as an opportunity for efficiency and innovation.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff expressed admiration for Palantir’s growth and high revenue multiple, acknowledging its premium pricing strategy. He hinted at a possible re-evaluation of Salesforce’s pricing models. Competition between the two companies extends to government contracts. Palantir focuses on value creation, justifying its higher price points with customized data solutions, while Salesforce emphasizes competitive pricing. Palantir’s market capitalization is now at $406 billion, surpassing Salesforce’s $231 billion, despite Salesforce reporting significantly higher revenue. Salesforce shares are down 27% this year.