Agentforce Shows Strong Traction Ahead of Salesforce's Q2 Earnings

Salesforce's Agentforce platform is showing strong traction ahead of its Q2 earnings report on August 26. Oppenheimer, an investment bank, believes that expectations are low enough for Agentforce and Data Cloud to surprise investors with positive results.

The firm expects Salesforce to post $3.26 in pro-forma earnings per share on approximately $11.31 billion of revenue, close to Wall Street's estimates. However, Oppenheimer's case for upside is more about forward demand rather than this quarter's sales.

Partner 'checks' point to solid net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Agentforce and Data Cloud, which helps companies unify customer data. However, these checks also suggest friction in the form of longer sales cycles, softer conversions among small and mid-sized businesses, and a risk that IT budgets may tighten later this year.

Oppenheimer highlights Salesforce's current remaining performance obligation (CRPO), which is contracted revenue not yet recognized. The firm believes CRPO growth will be 14%, beating expectations. A CRPO beat or firmer guidance for next quarter can nudge analysts to raise forward revenue forecasts and calm fears of a second-half slowdown.