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☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Mizuho's Greg Moskowitz and CNBC's Steve Kovach
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Mizuho's Greg Moskowitz and CNBC's Steve KovachMizuho's Greg Moskowitz and CNBC's Steve Kovach join 'Power Lunch' to discuss Salesforce's earnings results and whether the company's successful quarter will keep activist investors at bay.

☆ Salesforce's Marc Benioff says he's following 'the Oracle playbook' to improve profits — and Larry Ellison is helping him
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Marc Benioff said he was adopting Oracle's playbook and being mentored by Larry Ellison as he focuses on profitability. But on Wednesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff admitted that he was adopting Oracle's playbook and being tutored on it by Oracle's founder and chairman Larry Ellison. Benioff started his career at Oracle at age 23, and Ellison made him into a star executive by age 26. The drama started when Oracle started working on a product that competed with Salesforce, eventually leading Benioff to kick Ellison off his board. And now Benioff is publicly thanking Ellison and his Oracle playbook as Salesforce fends off no fewer than five activist investors, all pressuring the company to improve profitability.

☆ Nobody was expecting a 27% margin guide from Salesforce, says Mizuho's Greg Moskowitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNobody was expecting a 27% margin guide from Salesforce, says Mizuho's Greg MoskowitzMizuho's Greg Moskowitz and CNBC's Steve Kovach join 'Power Lunch' to discuss Salesforce's earnings results and whether the company's successful quarter will keep activist investors at bay.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Silvergate Capital, Salesforce, Macy's, Okta and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce — Shares of the cloud software maker surged more than 10% after the company beat Wall Street estimates across the board in its quarterly report and issued a better-than-expected forecast. Wall Street analysts believe Salesforce's strong results are impressive given the activist pressure it's facing. Revenue came in line with Wall Street expectations at $8.26 billion. Okta – Okta shares jumped 9% after topping Wall Street's expectations for the recent quarter and issuing better-than-expected guidance for the current period. Box — The cloud content management platform's shares slid 14% following the company's fourth quarter results.

☆ US stocks rally as traders digest comments from Fed officials on coming rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

US equities rallied Thursday as traders mulled over coming interest rate hikes. The Dow popped more than 300 points, supported by Salesforce's gains on strong corporate earnings. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he's "very firmly" in favor of a quarter-point rate hike. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped more than 300 points to lead the gains, supported by Salesforce's strong earnings.

☆ Salesforce's strong results are impressive given activist pressure, Wall Street analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce 's strong earnings were impressive, as it works toward improving profitability in the midst of ongoing activist pressure at the firm, according to Wall Street analysts. The results help Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff fend off pressure from activist investors such as Third Point and Elliott Management that have leaned on the firm. The new price target suggests shares can jump 43% from Wednesday's closing price of $167.35. JPMorgan's Mark Murphy also reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, and raised his price target to $230 from $200 — implying about 37% upside. Nevertheless, he maintained a neutral rating on the stock, with a $182 price target implying just 8% upside.

☆ Salesforce stock has 26% upside as Marc Benioff's company shows resolve on 'disciplined growth,' Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America adjusted its price target for Salesforce stock from $200 to $235 on Thursday. Shares of Salesforce jumped more than 11% Thursday to $186, and BofA's adjustment to its price target represents a roughly 26% upside for the stock. The company, Benioff explained, has scrapped its goal of hitting $50 billion of annual revenue in 2026, and also disbanded its mergers-and-acquisitions committee. In BofA's view, Salesforce looks poised to continue expanding its margins. "Reiterate Buy and view Salesforce as a top pick and emerging quality GARP stock," the bank said, referring to the acronym for growth at a reasonable price.

☆ Salesforce shares climb as growth forecast, buyback plan appease investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) jumped 15% in premarket trade on Thursday after the cloud-based software provider's revenue forecast eased concerns about slowing growth and its move to double its share repurchase to $20 billion appeased investors. Still, Salesforce's first-quarter revenue forecast implied growth of 10%, higher than analysts' estimates of 9%. Other activist investors with a stake in Salesforce include Starboard Value, Inclusive Capital Partners and ValueAct Capital. They have pushed for higher growth and margins, more share buybacks and raised concerns about recent acquisitions. Shares of Salesforce have advanced 26% this year through Wednesday's close, compared with a near 3% gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX).

☆ Marc Benioff has yet to satisfy the most powerful activist investor. Elliott Management demands a 'sustainable leadership plan' for Salesforce.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Ellen Thomas | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce reported strong results, a huge new share buyback plan, and concessions for activist investors. That wasn't enough for Elliott Management, one of the most feared activist hedge funds. Benioff will have to fix Salesforce's succession crisis to appease activist investors. Salesforce reported strong results on Wednesday, announced an extra $10 billion in share buybacks, and scrapped its M&A committee, signalling no more big, pricey acquisitions. Company insiders, former employees and Wall Street analysts increasingly expect Salesforce to put a succession plan in place soon.

☆ Don't act on new activist push for board seats at Salesforce before earnings, Benioff reaction
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Hedge fund Elliott Management's decision to nominate candidates for Salesforce 's (CRM) board represents an escalation of the activist agitation at the Club holding. The Club generally believes activists' wishes for cost-cutting at Salesforce are positive, as long as Benioff remains at the helm. It's unclear whether Elliott is nominating two or three candidates for Salesforce's board, according to CNBC's David Faber, who broke the story Wednesday morning . Benioff is chairman of Salesforce's board. However, we don't want the activist pressure at Salesforce to cause Benioff to depart the company.

☆ Salesforce's put-call ratio is inching closer to parity, says Blue Line Capital's Bill Baruch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSalesforce's put-call ratio is inching closer to parity, says Blue Line Capital's Bill BaruchBlue Line Capital's Bill Baruch joins the 'Halftime Report' investment committee to discuss Salesforce's call and put ratio, the focus of activist investors in Salesforce and the timeline for activist investors to make changes.

☆ Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says that this is a 'New Day' for Salesforce, focusing on profitability above its famous 'Ohana' mantra
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As Salesforce faces activist investor pressure, profitability is now CEO Marc Benioff's key focus. Benioff is now touting a strategy called "New Day," focused solely on profitability and efficiency. Instead, those execs hammered on that "New Day" strategy, which emphasizes profitability and efficiency over all else. The company's recent layoffs, as well as Benioff's comments that employees haven't been as productive since the start of the pandemic, have weighed on employee morale. Former co-CEO Bret Taylor and other top execs like Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield have also departed Salesforce in recent months.

☆ Benioff more than delivers with Salesforce's fourth-quarter beat and sky-high guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Club holding Salesforce (CRM)'s fiscal fourth-quarter results crushed expectations across the board Wednesday, while its forward guidance made clear CEO Mark Benioff is uniquely positioned to deliver profitability at the enterprise software pioneer. Operating cash flow surged nearly 41% from the previous year, to $2.79 billion, beating estimates of $2.5 billion. Benioff said management is "reigniting [Salesforce's] performance culture" and doubling down on the accountable management of its sales organization, while reducing headcount and consolidating the company's real estate footprint. The company is trying to better integrate acquisitions and prioritizing those "core innovations that are driving customer success," Benioff said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ The US Air Force's big plan to spread out and take on China may actually make things easier for Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For the Air Force, a key part of the plan is to spread jets and airmen across bases in the Pacific. The problem is that the Air Force would need a logistical system that could sustain numerous bases across a wide area. US, Australian, Japanese, and other militaries' aircraft taxi in formation at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in February 2022. Civil engineer airmen conduct rapid airfield damage repair on Northwest Field at Andersen Air Force Base in October 2019. Air Force officials have acknowledged the complexity of defending dispersed forces.

☆ 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.

☆ Leaked document lays out Salesforce's plan to hit over 30% margins, directing the company to 'run lean and mean' and stop 'using culture as an excuse'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An internal Salesforce business plan details how the company plans to get profit margins over 30%. One obstacle toward reaching the margin is "using culture as an excuse," the plan states. A draft of Salesforce's annual planning document details how the company plans to exceed 30% profit margins, including significant cost cutting and new releases for Slack, Mulesoft, and Tableau. Insider obtained a full draft of Salesforce's V2MOM document, which stands for Vision, Values, Methods, Obstacles, and Measurements. Arjun Bhatia, an analyst at William Blair, recently noted that Salesforce's current sales and marketing spending is much higher than peers.

☆ British RAF chief calls it 'unacceptable' for China to recruit western military pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain's air force chief says it was "unacceptable" its former pilots were being recruited to train Chinese military, and intelligence agencies in Australia and Britain had shared information to warn pilots against working for Beijing. In October Britain said it would change the law to make it an offence for a former military pilot to continue training a foreign military after being warned by British intelligence agencies to stop. The Royal Air Force's Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston told the ABC in an interview at the Avalon Air Show in Australia the warnings were about China. Australia's spy chief last week hit out in his annual security threat assessment at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'". Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Salesforce losing leverage as activist investors expand board numbers, says 13D Monitor's Kenneth Squire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSalesforce losing leverage as activist investors expand board numbers, says 13D Monitor's Kenneth SquireKen Squire, founder and president of '13D Monitor,' joins 'The Exchange' to discuss activist investors' involvement in Salesforce, the potential upside of Salesforce's margins and what's behind Salesforce's proxy battle.

☆ Salesforce's upbeat revenue forecast, buyback plan boost shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 1 (Reuters) - Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) on Wednesday forecast first-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates and increased its share repurchase program to $20 billion, sending shares of the cloud-based software provider up 14% in extended trading. May be this takes some of the wind out of the activists' demands," said Steve Koenig, managing director at SMBC Nikko Securities. The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $8.16 billion and $8.18 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $8.06 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Revenue for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 was $8.38 billion, above analysts' average expectation of $7.99 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.68 per share, compared with estimates of $1.36 per share.

☆ Salesforce shares jump 13% on better-than-expected forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Salesforce shares soared 16% in extended trading on Wednesday after the cloud software maker beat Wall Street estimates on profit and issued a better-than-expected forecast. Here's how the company did:Earnings: $1.68 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.36 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. $1.68 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.36 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue: $8.38 billion, vs. $7.99 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Salesforce sees adjusted earnings per share for the full 2024 fiscal year of $7.12 to $7.14 and revenue of $34.5 billion to $34.7 billion.

☆ Boeing says MQ-28 drone could be a fit for U.S. Air Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jamie Freed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat fighter-like drone is kept on display at the Australian International Airshow, in Avalon, Australia February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jamie FreedAVALON, Australia Feb 28 (Reuters) - Boeing Co's (BA.N) MQ-28 Ghost Bat fighter-like drone developed in Australia could fit the U.S. Air Force's requirements for a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), the company's defence division head said on Tuesday. "We're developing the MQ-28 to fit into a set of requirements that fit into that category of CCA and hopefully there is an intersection there," Boeing Defense, Space and Security Chief Executive Ted Colbert said on the sidelines of the Australia International Airshow. Boeing is developing the MQ-28 in Australia alongside the Royal Australian Air Force, in what is the country's first homegrown combat aircraft to be manufactured in more than 50 years. The MQ-28, which made its first flight in 2021, was on public display at the air show.

☆ Salesforce has been reportedly paying Matthew McConaughey $10 million a year to act as a 'creative adviser' despite laying off 8,000 employees last month
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce reportedly struck a deal with the actor Matthew McConaughey, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly agreed to pay McConaughey $10 million a year to serve as creative advisor and TV pitchman. McConaughey starred in an ad Salesforce ran during the 2022 Super Bowl donning an astronaut suit. But the cloud-based software company may still be paying millions to harness the star power of actor Matthew McConaughey. Salesforce reportedly agreed to pay McConaughey $10 million a year to serve as its "creative advisor and TV pitchman," The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday, citing people familiar with the arrangement.

☆ The US Air Force is finally getting rid of its A-10s, and its focus may be straying from the Warthog's unique mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Those retirements would shrink the Air Force's A-10 fleet to 260 aircraft, and Air Force leaders plan to continue decommissioning A-10s in the years ahead. Not so closeUS Air Force joint terminal attack controllers during a close air support training with an A-10 in Nevada in September 2011. Michael HolzworthCurrent and former Air Force officials have said that the F-35 would take over the A-10's mission after the Warthog left the fleet. So it will perform the mission very differently," said Kendall, who is now the Air Force's top civilian official. Those skills "are perishable," Boeding added, "and the stakes are too high to not train dedicated crews (ground and air) in purpose build close air support aircraft."

Here's an update on technology-related holdings in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use at the CNBC Investing Club. Jim ran through the 35 stocks during the Club's inaugural Annual Meeting, an in-person event Saturday in New York City. Big picture, we think AMD shares will continue to increase in value as its leadership over Intel is further cemented. But sentiment is improving, with AMD shares climbing around 21% year to date. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ The Buffett test: This one chart shows how much every Club holding spends on stock buybacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

When Warren Buffett speaks, Wall Street listens — and the "Oracle of Omaha" issued a full-throated defense of stock buybacks in his latest annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. After spending more than $1.2 billion on stock buybacks in 2022, Coterra's board approved a $2 billion buyback authorization last week. Costco: In January, the wholesale retailer's board reauthorized a $4 billion stock repurchase program , which is set to expire in four years. It's part of a $10 billion buyback authorization issued by Salesforce's board last August. As the chart makes clear, the vast majority of Club holdings engage in some level of stock repurchases, which is good news for shareholders.

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