Salesforce Stocks Soar 12% After Beating Earnings Projections

Salesforce shares surged by 12% in extended trading on Wednesday after the cloud software vendor reported results that exceeded Wall Street projections.

The company's revenue increased 11% from a year earlier, reaching $11.35 billion in the fiscal second quarter, which ended July 31. Net income jumped 87%, reaching $3.53 billion or $4.29 per share.

Salesforce attributed its strong performance to a $2.6 billion gain on strategic investments, primarily from its stake in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup valued at $965 billion after raising equity funding in May. The company's free cash flow also spiked 81% to $1.10 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.

Salesforce's guidance for the fiscal third quarter and full year exceeded Wall Street projections as well. The company sees adjusted earnings per share of $3.42 to $3.44 and revenue between $11.42 billion and $11.50 billion. For the full year, Salesforce now expects revenue of $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion, implying 11% growth at the midpoint.