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☆ Microsoft, Salesforce woo skeptical CFOs on new generative AI tool spending
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Many other business software providers have looked to quickly introduce tools that utilize generative AI, or update their existing ones with it. The utilization of AI more broadly is nothing new for CFOs, with tools like predictive AI being used by most companies to help with core tasks. But this new wave of generative AI presents a different opportunity, and Weaver said the focus on generative AI across industries has frantically increased in the last year. However, he added that there is a challenge when it comes to generative AI tools: creating auditable processes or being able to visually inspect the processes to ensure the data or conclusions are correct. Hrncirik said that the message within Microsoft is that generative AI is a "new skill that we have to develop."

Persons: Jensen Huang, CNBC's Jim Cramer, Cory Hrncirik, Amy Weaver, Weaver, Mark McDonald, Gina Gutzeit, McDonald, we've, isn't, Hrncirik, it's, CFOs, Gutzeit Organizations: Microsoft, Nvidia, Johnson, GE Healthcare, CNBC, Microsoft's, Gartner, FTI Consulting, Solutions Locations: Krakow, Poland

However, the company also said it sees single-digit revenue growth for fiscal 2025. UBS reiterated a neutral rating alongside its $310 per share price target on Salesforce, or more than 3% upside ahead. Product revenue growth of 33% year over year in the fourth-quarter was also below Wall Street estimates. Murphy noted there's a disconnect between what Barrick has accomplished in the past five years and its stock price. "We see asset disposals and cost improvements as likely to reverse share price weakness as the market recognizes the strength of the asset portfolio."

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Snowflake, Jefferies, TD Cowen downgrades Macy's TD Cowen, Oliver Chen, Macy's, — Brian Evans, Brad Sills, Brian Evans, AutoNation Morgan Stanley, AutoNation, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Manley, Adam Jonas, Salesforce, Amy Weaver, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Bank of America's Brad Sills, Morgan Stanley downgrades Snowflake, Snowflake's, Frank Slootman, Keith Weiss, Matthew Murphy, Murphy, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Barrick, Mining, Bank of America, of America, TAM, Bank of America's, UBS, StreetAccount, Jefferies, Barrick Gold, Newmont, Newcrest Locations: Africa, East

☆ Salesforce's new data and AI hires are coming from areas of the country with 'high talent pools, low cost of living'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company laid off 10% of its workforce, which had reached nearly 80,000 employees, last year. AdvertisementJust a year after Salesforce laid off nearly 10% of its workforce, the company's head count is beginning to creep back up. "We're investing into our most productive areas — AI and data," CFO Amy Weaver said this week on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call with investors. The company reported a non-GAAP operating margin of 30.5% for the fiscal year, above the 30% threshold that activist investors had pushed for. New hires, Weaver said, are being added to Salesforce in "cost-effective ways," such as hiring people from areas that have "high talent pools and low cost of living."

Persons: Salesforce, Marc Benioff, —, Amy Weaver, Weaver, Benioff, Larry Ellison —, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Service, SEC, New, Business, Oracle Locations: New York, San Francisco, Salesforce

☆ Salesforce beats on earnings, declares dividend. Those selling the stock are missing the big picture
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Adjusted operating margin expanded to 31.4% in the quarter, missing estimates of 31.55%, according to FactSet. No, but it was an overall solid quarter for Salesforce, with the company beating on most key metrics. In its fiscal 2024, Salesforce repurchased $7.7 billion worth of stock, lowering its diluted share count by about 1 million to 983 million. For the first quarter, Salesforce guided for revenues between $9.12 and $9.17 billion, in line with estimates of $9.15 billion. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Salesforce, We're, it's, Wednesday's, Marc Benioff, we'd, Amy Weaver, Benioff, Einstein, Cash, Salesforce's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Revenue, LSEG, Club, CNBC Locations: Americas, Africa, Asia, Latin America, India, Canada, San Francisco , California

☆ Salesforce rallies as profitability push pays off
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company logo for Salesforce.com is displayed on the Salesforce Tower in New York City, U.S., March 7, 2019. Salesforce raised its annual forecast for adjusted operating margin on Wednesday to about 30% from 28%, with CFO Amy Weaver stressing the new figure "is a floor, not a ceiling". Wall Street analysts lauded the move, noting the benefits from an aggressive profitability push at a company that has traditionally focused on growing bigger through acquisitions. While the 11% rise in second-quarter revenue was much slower than historic growth rates of around 20% to 30%, the figure breezed past Wall Street expectations, and Salesforce also raised its annual revenue forecast. Salesforce trades at 25 times its forward 12 months earnings estimates, compared with the industry median of 15.14.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Salesforce, Amy Weaver, Marc Benioff, Raymond James said, Raymond James, Aditya Soni, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: REUTERS, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Salesforce shares pop on earnings beat and optimistic forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Here's how the company did:Earnings: $2.12 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.90 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. $2.12 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.90 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. For the current quarter, Salesforce called for $2.05 to $2.06 in adjusted earnings per share on $8.7 billion to $8.72 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected adjusted earnings of $1.83 per share and $8.66 billion in sales. It now sees $8.04 to $8.06 in adjusted earnings per share on $34.7 billion to $34.8 billion in revenue, implying 11% revenue growth.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Salesforce, Amy Weaver, Weaver, Refinitiv Organizations: Allen & Company Sun Valley Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, Refinitiv, U.S

☆ Marc Benioff touts Salesforce's 'performance culture' as the cloud giant speeds towards the profit margins Wall Street wants
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CEO Marc Benioff said the company's "performance culture" is fueling that profitability. Guidance for the company's adjusted operating margins for its current fiscal year, 2024, has been raised to 28%, CEO Marc Benioff said on Salesforce's first-quarter earnings call Wednesday. That is a significant stride towards the company's goal of exceeding 30% adjusted operating margins in the next two years, a goal Insider reported in February. Profit margins improved in the first quarter largely thanks to the company's restructuring plans, which included laying off 10% of its workforce and shedding office space. Both Benioff and chief operating officer Brian Milham touted the company's "performance culture" for driving its results in the first quarter.

Persons: Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Amy Weaver, Brian Milham, Benioff, Milham, Slack, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Elliott Management, Revenue Locations: Salesforce

☆ Salesforce raises guidance but sees pressure as customers back away from big consulting deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Here's how the company did:Earnings: $1.69 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.61 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. $1.69 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.61 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had expected $1.70 in adjusted earnings per share and $8.49 billion in revenue. It's now calling for $7.41 to $7.43 in adjusted earnings per share on $34.5 billion to $34.7 billion in revenue. During the quarter, Salesforce announced Einstein GPT generative artificial intelligence technology designed to help salespeople, marketers and customer-service agents do their jobs more efficiently.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Salesforce, Refinitiv, Salesforce's, Brian Millham, Millham, Amy Weaver, ChatGPT, Lidiane Jones Organizations: Jazz, Lincoln Center, StreetAccount, Elliott Investment Management Locations: New York, Refinitiv, Salesforce

☆ Marc Benioff says he has a successor. A leaked Salesforce org chart identifies the likely candidates.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marc Benioff's succession plan appeared to fall apart when co-CEO Bret Taylor resigned on Nov. 30. "I always have a succession plan," Benioff told Insider. A leaked Salesforce organizational chart identifies the likely candidates who are next in line. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says he has a successor in mind and a leaked Salesforce organizational chart identifies the likely candidates who are next in line. "I always have a succession plan," Benioff told Insider in an interview.

☆ Salesforce reduced a year-end 'gratitude' bonus for employees. Leaked messages show employee response: 'Record margins and 70% bonus. Hurts.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce reduced an annual cash bonus meant to show "gratitude" to employees by 30%. On Wednesday, March 1, Salesforce reported "record high" adjusted operating margins of 22.5% during its last fiscal year and guided toward 27%. Fortune earlier reported on the bonus cut. "Record margins and 70% bonus. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share?

☆ Salesforce is having its best day since 2020 after blowout earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce shares surged 12% on Thursday and headed for their biggest single-day rally since August 2020, after the cloud software vendor issued earnings and guidance that trounced analysts' estimates. After the close of regular trading on Wednesday, Salesforce reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.68 per share, 23% higher than the consensus among analysts polled by Refinitiv. Alongside the earnings report, Salesforce said it's working with Bain on a business review, and the company announced the elimination of the board's committee on mergers and acquisitions. Rangan, who recommends buying the stock, raised his 12-month price target for the second time in a week after the report. WATCH: Salesforce earnings highlight how expectation beats can move markets, says Kari Firestone

☆ There are growing expectations that Salesforce is readying a succession plan to appease activist investors. 'There's not a lot of people sitting on the bench,' one analyst said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ellen Thomas | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Analyst said any succession plan would be about giving investors "comfort" about the future. Company insiders, former employees and Wall Street analysts increasingly expect Salesforce to put a succession plan in place soon. 'If he's willing to work with the activists, then he can stay CEO'Analysts think that if a succession plan is announced soon, it won't include Benioff's immediate exit. "Benioff is Salesforce and Salesforce is Benioff," said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. Bret Taylor, former Salesforce executive SalesforceTaylor's departure in late November left Salesforce with a limited bench of potential successors.

☆ More than 500 Salesforce employees wrote to execs demanding layoff answers. Read the leaked messages showing how management responded.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Salesforce appeared to have responded to employees' questions through a Q&A titled "Top Questions from Employees," posted to an internal Slack channel by Salesforce executive vice president of employee communications and engagement Jill Unikel. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share? SELECTION CRITERIAQuestion: What criteria was used to decide who was in the 10% of employees affected? If an affected employee finds a new role internally before their termination date, they will remain a Salesforce employee and not receive their communicated severance. BENEFITS FOR AFFECTED EMPLOYEESQuestion: Did affected employee receive benefits included in their severance?

☆ Leaked audio: Salesforce execs cancel famously lavish holiday parties and dodge layoff questions while imploring workers to 'focus on delivering Q4'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce chief people officer Brent Hyder addressed layoff rumors in a town hall meeting. Benioff did not join Tuesday's town hall, according to two Salesforce employees. In a Slack screenshot viewed by Insider, one Salesforce employee bemoaned a lack of transparency from management on the subject of impending layoffs. Salesforce also announced in the town hall meeting that it's cancelling holiday parties this year. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share?

☆ Salesforce has a succession crisis. Cofounder Marc Benioff is taking increasing control over the company — alienating his top lieutenants and dialing up pressure on employees.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Salesforce insiders attribute these departures to Marc Benioff's response to recent economic headwinds. Last week, Salesforce revealed heir apparent Bret Taylor's plans to leave the company — exactly one year after taking over as co-CEO alongside Benioff. Lately, employees said, Benioff has turned those meetings into a tribunal for his sales executives. While the pandemic was a boon for the company, Salesforce has since trimmed its annual revenue projections to roughly $30 billion down from the roughly $31 billion in May. Salesforce's co-CEO model has failedAs Benioff puts pressure on sales executives, people close to him said he's exerting increasing control over C-Suite executives.

☆ Salesforce is losing the key execs behind some of its biggest and most expensive bets at a critical moment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is also departing, along with some other product-focused execs. The departing execs championed Salesforce's product strategyThe departures of Taylor, Butterfield, and Nelson come as Salesforce's strategy comes under the microscope on Wall Street. With Slack and Tableau, Salesforce already had a lot to prove. Salesforce has already said that Lidiane Jones, an executive VP, will take over for Butterfield as Slack CEO. What it does mean, however, is that Salesforce, Slack, and Tableau are all losing the biggest champions of the integrated product strategy right as the company faces hard questions.

☆ Salesforce employees say they're blindsided by Bret Taylor's departure as Marc Benioff swears he'll get him back: 'don't think you're gonna somehow get out of this alive because you're not'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Matthew Lynley | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Salesforce co-CEO and heir apparent Bret Taylor announced he is leaving the company. Benioff wasn't alone: many at the company were blindsided by the departure with no notice given, employees and others close to the company told Insider. At Salesforce, Taylor oversaw the $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack as COO and the launch of its real-time customer analytics tool, Genie, as co-CEO. "Just when Benioff thought he had his succession plan all figured out Taylor steps down," a recent former employee told Insider. Multiple people close to the company told Insider that Salesforce's "bench" was thin, though Benioff heavily complimented Taylor's team when asked about a potential replacement on the earnings call.

☆ Marc Benioff's 2023 to-do list after his co-CEO's shocking departure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Salesforce is seeing it's co-CEO Bret Taylor depart and facing slowing revenue growth. While earnings beat analyst expectations, it also revealed the slowest revenue growth in the past two years, at 14%. Figure out the future of SlackTaylor's departure also raises questions about Slack, since Taylor spearheaded the $27.7 billion acquisition in 2020. Figure out how to jump-start revenue and land big customersWhile it wasn't a huge shock given the overall economic environment, Salesforce's slowed revenue growth is worrying. Secondly, as part of its larger platform strategy, Salesforce has been going after larger customers and looking to land deals for multiple Salesforce products versus just one or two.

☆ What the heck happened to Salesforce?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Exhibit A: software giant Salesforce. Salesforce (CRM) has lagged the performance of top cloud software rivals such as Microsoft (MSFT), Germany’s SAP (SAP) and Oracle (ORCL). Salesforce said it now expects earnings per share of about $1.20 to $1.21 for this quarter and sales of $7.82 billion to $7.83 billion. So is Salesforce, led by co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor, due for a comeback in 2023? Salesforce has spent nearly $50 billion since 2018 to buy application software company MuleSoft, data visualization software leader Tableau and workplace productivity suite Slack.

☆ Salesforce cut hundreds of employees on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce on Tuesday confirmed that it cut some employees this week after the enterprise software maker saw demand lighten in some countries and industries. One person familiar with the matter said Salesforce let go of fewer than 1,000 people on Monday. Unfortunately, that can lead to some leaving the business, and we support them through their transition," a Salesforce spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. Several technology companies, Salesforce included, have announced plans to add employees at a slower rate than before this year to weather rougher business conditions as prices and interest rates move higher. One of Salesforce's top competitors in business software, Microsoft , announced a round of job cuts in October.

☆ Companies Focus On Constant-Currency Metrics to Soothe Investors’ Nerves
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Reporting results on a constant-currency basis can be beneficial to global companies whose results have been hit by swings in foreign-exchange rates. To report on a constant-currency basis, companies must have a full understanding of their exposure to foreign-exchange rates, Mr. Koester said. Revenue was $4.43 billion, up 13% year-over-year on a reported basis and 15% on a constant-currency basis. Ralph Lauren Corp. said in August that its fiscal first-quarter revenue grew 8% on a reported basis and 13% on a constant-currency basis. Ralph Lauren said it expects, on a constant-currency basis, to report fiscal 2023 revenue growth in the high-single-digit percentages, around 8%, compared with 2022.

☆ Two potential opportunities for value creation emerge as Starboard takes a stake in Salesforce
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Starboard views Salesforce as a high quality and sticky business at an attractive valuation with the potential for significant value creation through a better balance of growth and profitability. Salesforce peers are operating at a "rule of 50" – average revenue growth plus adjusted operating margins of peers equals 49.4. Salesforce currently has a revenue growth rate of 17.0% and 20.4% operating margins, which brings it to 37.4 combined. Starboard has had extensive experience with growth companies that begin to see slowing growth rates and need to either regain that growth and/or focus on margins. Even if they were to hit that target, this would only bring them to a growth + margin of 42.

☆ Salesforce aims for 25% operating margin in 2026 with more efficient spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company is aiming for a 25% adjusted operating margin, including future acquisitions, she said. That compares with the 20% target Salesforce announced one year ago for its 2023 fiscal year. Salesforce indicated that it intends to push adjusted sales and marketing spending as a percentage of revenue below 35% by 2026 through increasing self-serve efforts, alliances with partners, and productivity improvements for salespeople. Additionally, Salesforce is keen to manage general and administrative spending, in part by evaluating real estate assets for a hybrid workplace. The company has begun buying back its own shares as part of its first share-repurchase program, Weaver said.

☆ Leaked Salesforce org chart shows the 12 most important execs under Marc Benioff and and outgoing co-CEO Bret Taylor
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( Matthew Lynley | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce co-CEO and heir apparent Bret Taylor is leaving the company. A leaked organizational chart shows who the top execs under Taylor and Marc Benioff are now. A leaked Salesforce organizational chart viewed by Insider shows most of the company's top executives report directly to Taylor, and only two reporting to Benioff. That's compared to 2021, when Insider viewed an org chart that showed Benioff with 13 direct reports, including then-COO Bret Taylor. Read on for the details on how these 12 execs became the new leaders of Salesforce as co-CEO Taylor exits the company.

☆ Salesforce CFO Amy Weaver says the secret to managing the cloud giant's growth is to scale up efficiently but not to be afraid to make big bets
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-01 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over the past year, Salesforce has been balancing investing in the future and managing risk. CFO Amy Weaver is spearheading Salesforce's efforts to spur innovation while spending wisely. For example, Weaver said much of Salesforce's sales and product marketing is now done virtually via apps like Zoom, reducing travel expenses. Finally, Weaver said, Salesforce must be willing to make big investments where it sees a real opportunity, as it did with Slack. Making smart bets now means more revenue later, which will allow it to invest even more in its own efficiencies.

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