Salesforce Soars on Strong Q2 Earnings, Driven by AI Momentum

Salesforce's shares surged 14% in after-hours trading following its Q2 earnings report, which exceeded expectations across multiple metrics.

The company's performance was driven by its AI initiatives and a significant valuation gain from its investment in Anthropic, an AI startup.

Salesforce reported adjusted earnings of $5.90 per share and revenue of $11.35 billion, edging past the consensus of $11.32 billion and representing an 11% increase from the same quarter last year.

The company's net income climbed to $3.53 billion, or $4.29 per share, up 87% from $1.89 billion, or $1.96 per share, a year earlier, thanks in part to a $2.6 billion gain tied to Anthropic's valuation.

Salesforce also unveiled Claudeforce, a plugin designed for Anthropic's Claude model that helps draft sales emails and update records through chat, as part of its broader push to integrate AI into its customer relationship management platform.