Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Salesforce (CRM). Shares have lost about 14.8% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Salesforce due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.CRM Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on ARR MilestoneSalesforce delivered a solid first-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of $3.88 per share, up 50.4% year over year. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 24.4%.Revenues rose 13.3% year over year to $11.13 billion and exceeded the consensus mark by 0.68%. Results reflected continued customer demand for Salesforce’s agentic offerings, with Agentforce ARR surpassing the $1 billion milestone.Salesforce’s Q1 Performance in DetailSubscription and support revenues (95.1% of total revenues) increased 13.9% year over year to $10.59 billion, accounting for the bulk of total revenues. Professional services and other revenues (4.9% of total revenues) totaled $540 million, indicating relatively stable services activity during the quarter.Within the updated revenue disclosure framework, Agentforce Apps revenue was $6.91 billion, while Data 360, Headless Platform and Other contributed $3.68 billion. Regionally, the Americas (65% of total revenues) generated revenues of $7.23 billion and grew 11.8% year over year. Europe (24.7% of total revenues) delivered revenues of $2.75 billion, reflecting year-over-year growth of 17.8%, while Asia Pacific (10.25 of total revenues) contributed revenues of $1.15 billion, up 12% year over year.Profitability also improved. Non-GAAP operating income totaled $3.87 billion, up 22% from the year-ago quarter’s $3.17 billion. Moreover, the non-GAAP operating margin expanded 250 basis points to 34.8%, supported by operating leverage and disciplined spending. Management emphasized productivity gains from the internal adoption of AI tooling, even as it continued to invest in go-to-market capacity.Salesforce’s Balance Sheet & Other DetailsSalesforce exited the first quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $11.83 billion, up from $9.57 billion at the end of the previous quarter. CRM generated an operating cash flow of $6.70 billion and a free cash flow of $6.56 billion in the first quarter.As of April 30, the current remaining performance obligation (CRPO) was $33.6 billion, up 13.5% year over year. The company returned $27.5 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $27.1 billion in share repurchases and $365 million in dividends. CRM also launched a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase program, with an upfront delivery of 103 million shares, which management said boosted both GAAP and non-GAAP per-share results in the quarter.Salesforce Lifts FY27 Revenue OutlookLooking ahead, Salesforce raised the midpoint of its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to $45.9-$46.2 billion. The company reiterated non-GAAP operating margin guidance of 34.3%, reflecting higher restructuring.For the second quarter, Salesforce expects revenues of $11.27-$11.35 billion and non-GAAP earnings of $3.25-$3.27 per share.Management expects momentum in Agentforce, Data 360 and Slack to continue, while noting that Marketing and Commerce weakness, along with softer Tableau bookings and renewals, remains a key item to watch.How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.VGM ScoresCurrently, Salesforce has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a score of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Salesforce has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks