Salesforce shares climbed 23 percent on Thursday, marking the company's best single-day performance since 2020 and its second-largest increase since its 2004 IPO. The rally followed an earnings report that topped analyst estimates and a new partnership with Anthropic.
The stock surge erased most of Salesforce's losses for 2026, though shares remain down about 5 percent for the year. The broader software sector has underperformed the market during concerns that new AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI could disrupt traditional software business models.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has dismissed those concerns. "This is not our first SaaSpocalypse," he said on a February earnings call, referencing a 21 percent stock decline the prior year. "We have been through many SaaSpocalypses."
The latest earnings report showed quarterly revenue increased 11 percent year-over-year, surpassing expectations. The company projected growth closer to 12 percent for the current period at the midpoint of guidance, also beating analyst predictions.
The real mover: annualized revenue from Agentforce AI products soared 240 percent year-over-year, reaching more than $1.5 billion. This expansion of AI revenue—not the modest core growth—is what moved the stock.
Salesforce is also cashing in on its strategic bets. The company reported a $2.6 billion gain from its three-year-old investment in Anthropic, which could grow as Anthropic moves toward an anticipated initial public offering.
Benioff also told CNBC's Jim Cramer that the broader narrative around AI replacing CRM was misguided. "Frontier models depend on CRM," he said. "They don't replace it."
The company is also recruiting talent. Last week, Benioff posted on X that Kaylin Voss, formerly vice president of the Americas at OpenAI, was returning to Salesforce after five months. Peter Doolan, who served as global head of AI transformation at OpenAI for a similar period, is also rejoining.
According to The Information, 22 additional former Salesforce employees currently at OpenAI are in discussions to return. A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed that "boomerang talent is a celebrated part of our culture" but did not specifically comment on those returning from OpenAI.
