Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) shares rose 3.98% to $267.14 on Thursday, extending a rally triggered by its fiscal second-quarter 2027 earnings report released on August 26.

The software giant reported Q2 revenue of $11.35 billion, an 11% year-over-year increase that surpassed the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $5.90, significantly beating the expected $3.27.

Financial Performance

Salesforce delivered strong top-line growth driven by accelerated current remaining performance obligations (CRPO). CRPO grew 14% in constant currency to reach $29.4 billion. Total remaining performance obligations reached $66.5 billion, also up 11% year-over-year.

The company raised its full-year fiscal revenue guidance by $200 million ($300 million in constant currency) to a range of $41.1 billion to $41.3 billion. Management also lifted its full-year non-GAAP operating margin target to 34%.

Strategic AI Initiatives

Reinforcing its enterprise AI strategy, Salesforce expanded its strategic partnership with Anthropic to launch "Claudeforce." This integration embeds Claude's reasoning models across Salesforce workflows, Agentforce, and Slack. The debut includes a dedicated plugin featuring 37 pre-built sales skills for pipeline analysis, meeting preparation, and deal management.

CEO Marc Benioff described the quarter as one of the best in company history, noting that pairing Claude's reasoning with Salesforce's enterprise data enables AI agents to execute governed business actions. He added that annual recurring revenue (ARR) for AI and data products is about to cross $4 billion.

To support internal development across its 15,000 engineers, Salesforce expects to spend roughly $300 million on Anthropic tokens in 2026.

Analyst Reactions

Following the results, several analysts raised their price forecasts:

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised its rating to Overweight with a $300 price target.
• BTIG maintained its Buy rating with a $300 forecast.
• Needham maintained its Buy rating with a $400 forecast.

Stock Price Action

CRM shares traded near their 52-week high of $269.11. Technical indicators show the stock is 22.2% above its 20-day SMA ($217.69) and 32.6% above its 200-day SMA ($200.64).

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 82.98, indicating overbought conditions. Key resistance sits at $267.50, while key support is located at $252.00. The broader enterprise software sector is experiencing positive sentiment, buoyed by strong earnings and accelerating AI demand across peers like Oracle Inc (NYSE: ORCL) and ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE: NOW).

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between the 11% revenue growth and the 14% constant currency growth in current remaining performance obligations suggests accelerating demand momentum. Additionally, the significant beat in adjusted earnings ($5.90 vs $3.27 estimate) highlights operational efficiency gains alongside top-line expansion, supporting the management's decision to raise full-year guidance.

Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) shares rallied 24% during the week, marking their strongest performance since August 2020. The software giant topped the S&P 500’s leaderboard for the period, driven by blockbuster second-quarter fiscal 2027 results and a deepened partnership with Anthropic.

The technical setup indicates the stock remains overbought, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 80.30. CRM is trading 24.3% above its 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $199.98 and 24.2% above its 200-day SMA of $200.25. While the 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA, signaling bullish intermediate momentum, the 50-day SMA remains below the 200-day SMA, indicating the long-term trend is still repairing.

Earnings and Partnership Recap

The rally was fueled by Salesforce reporting Q2 revenue of $11.35 billion, an 11% year-over-year increase that beat the $11.32 billion estimate. Adjusted earnings per share reached $5.90, significantly exceeding the $3.27 consensus. The profit surge was largely driven by a $2.6 billion non-recurring gain on its stake in AI startup Anthropic.

Simultaneously, Salesforce and Anthropic launched "Claudeforce," an enterprise integration allowing sales staff to access Salesforce data within Anthropic’s Claude chatbot. The tool features 37 pre-built skills and "Enterprise Frontier Safeguards" for data privacy. CEO Marc Benioff highlighted that AI-related annual recurring revenue is approaching $4 billion. Shares jumped 22.6% on Thursday alone, as the results quieted concerns that AI agents would erode Salesforce’s seat-based licensing model.

Analyst Price Target Adjustments

Following the results, several Wall Street firms updated their forecasts:

• Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating, raising its price target to $233.
• JPMorgan kept an Overweight rating, raising its forecast to $265.
• Mizuho maintained an Outperform rating, raising its forecast to $265.
• BTIG analyst Allan Verkhovski raised his target from $255 to $300, citing a "narrative-changing quarter."
• Evercore ISI Group analyst Kirk Materne raised his target from $250 to $290.

Guidance and Outlook

Salesforce raised its full-year fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $16.67 to $16.71, up from $14.06 to $14.12. This represents a significant lift above the Street estimate of $14.16. Full-year revenue outlook was lifted to $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion. For the third quarter, the company expects revenue between $11.42 billion and $11.50 billion, with adjusted EPS projected at $3.42 to $3.44.

What the Numbers Show

The adjusted EPS beat was substantial, with actual earnings of $5.90 exceeding the $3.27 estimate by more than 80%. This divergence was primarily driven by the $2.6 billion non-recurring gain on the Anthropic stake, rather than operational leverage alone. Excluding this investment gain, the core operational performance still exceeded expectations but to a lesser degree. The simultaneous raise in full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a midpoint of roughly $16.69 indicates management confidence in sustained profitability improvements beyond this one-time event. With AI-related annual recurring revenue approaching $4 billion against total revenue of $11.35 billion, AI now constitutes a significant portion of the company’s recurring income base.

Market Reaction

Shares of Salesforce surged as much as 20% on Thursday following the results and partnership announcement. According to Benzinga Pro data, CRM stock price activity showed shares trading higher by 20.88% at $248.55 at the time of publication. Later updates indicated shares had risen by 22.03% to $250.91. On Friday, shares faced minor downward consolidation, dipping 1.04% to $249.44 in premarket trading. Nasdaq futures were down 0.08% while S&P 500 futures gained 0.14% on Friday.