Benioff Blasts Wall Street Fears: AI Won't Kill Salesforce

Salesforce's stock plummeted over 25% in 2026 amidst a broader market sell-off dubbed the SaaSpocalypse, but CEO Marc Benioff is confident that Wall Street's fears about AI are 'dead wrong.'

The company's shares fell to a multiyear low of $146.32 in June but have since recovered somewhat. Despite this decline, Salesforce's business remains resilient, with record revenue of $11.1 billion in its fiscal first quarter ended April 30.

The strong start to its 2027 fiscal year led the company to raise its full-year revenue forecast to a range of $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion, up from $41.5 billion in the prior year. Salesforce's quick adoption of artificial intelligence has been key to its success, with customers using its agentic AI solutions 1.6 billion times in Q1, up from just 14 million two years ago.

Salesforce's stock valuation looks attractive, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of about 14, near a multiyear low point. Major competitor HubSpot sits at a higher forward P/E ratio of around 17. Citigroup recently raised its share price target to $204, up from $187.