Shares in Salesforce climbed after the enterprise software maker announced its first dividend for CRM stock. Salesforce reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates while revenue guidance for fiscal 2025 came in below expectations.
The January-quarter Salesforce earnings report was released after the market close on Wednesday. "The company continued to deliver on its commitment to return capital to shareholders by initiating its first-ever dividend starting at 40 cents per share, in addition to increasing its share buyback plan by $10 billion," said Truist Securities analyst Terry Tillman in a report.
He added: "Salesforce repurchased $1.7 billion worth of shares in Q4, bringing the total share repurchases to approximately $12 billion since the program began in August 2022."
Salesforce earnings rose 36% to $2.29 per share on an adjusted basis. Also, the San Francisco-based enterprise software firm said revenue climbed 11% to $9.29 billion.
CRM stock analysts expected Salesforce to report earnings of $2.27 a share on sales of $9.22 billion. Analysts do not expect revenue growth related to artificial intelligence product upgrades to kick in until fiscal 2026.
On the stock market today, Salesforce stock rose 3% to close at 308.85.
Salesforce Stock: Sales Guidance Light
A key financial metric, current remaining performance obligations, known as CRPO bookings, topped views. In Q4, CRPO rose 12% to$27.6 billion vs. estimates of $27.09 billion. CRPO bookings are an aggregate of deferred revenue and order backlog.
For the current quarter ending in April, Salesforce projected revenue in the range of $9.12 billion to $9.17 billion vs. estimates of $9.14 billion.
For full-year 2025, Salesforce said it expects revenue in a range of $37.7 billion to $38 billion, with growth of 9% vs. estimates of $38.57 billion, or 11% growth.
In 2023, activist investors pressured management to improve margins by cutting costs.
CRM Stock: Technical Ratings
Before the Salesforce earnings release, CRM stock was up about 14% so far this year.
Salesforce offers access to business software applications based on a subscription model. Its software helps businesses organize and handle sales operations and customer relationships. In addition, the company has expanded into marketing, customer services and e-commerce.
Meanwhile, CRM stock owns a Relative Strength Rating of 93 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
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