Salesforce Surprises Analysts With Better-Than-Expected Second Quarter

Software company Salesforce beat expectations in the second quarter. Fueled by customers spending more on cloud services, the company blew past revenue projections and exceeded the prior year’s net income. As a result, the company did not change its full-year outlook.

For Q2 fiscal 2025, Salesforce brought in $9.33 billion in revenue, an 8% increase, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $9.21 billion. The earnings result represents growth in the company’s subscription and support services, which was up 9% compared to the same period a year ago.

Also reported for the second quarter was a net income of $1.43 billion, or $1.47 a share. Comparatively, net income for the second quarter last year was $1.27 billion, about $1.28 per share.

With such strong numbers, Salesforce predicts revenue will fall between $37.7 billion and $38 billion for the year. Earnings per share should hit $6.05 to $6.13. As for operating cash, the company expects a 23% to 25% increase for fiscal 2025.

Salesforce is going all-in with an artificial intelligence strategy, namely its Agentforce AI platform. With the new tool, companies like ADP and OpenTable can answer 90% of customer inquiries. Using Salesforce’s extensive data, the AI platform will increase efficiency by working alongside humans to enhance the customer experience.

“We have deployed Agentforce now to so many of our customers, and we’re so excited because what we’re helping them to do is to deliver a level of automation with their customer service or with their sales that they’re never seen before,” CEO Marc Benioff said in an interview with CNBC. 

Salesforce is also looking for a new chief financial officer as Amy Weaver is leaving her positions as president and CFO. She will, however, remain an advisor for the San Francisco-based company. Weaver joined Salesforce as general counsel in 2013 and has been integral in reengineering company operations in recent years.

Earlier this year, Salesforce announced it will reduce staff by 1%, affecting about 700 employees. The job cuts were in addition to a 10% reduction as well as several office closings in 2023.