CRM Earnings: Salesforce Plunges 14% amid Revenue Miss
Shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) plunged in after-hours trading after the software firm reported earnings for its first quarter of Fiscal Year 2025. Earnings per share came in at $2.44, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $2.37 per share. However, sales increased by 10.7% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $9.13 billion. This missed analysts’ expectations of $9.146 billion.
Looking forward, management now expects revenue for FY 2025 to be between $37.7 billion and $38 billion, with a non-GAAP operating margin of 32.5%. For reference, analysts were expecting $38 billion in revenue.
Salesforce Returns $2.6B to Shareholders
During the third quarter, Salesforce returned over $2.6 billion to shareholders. Dividends made up $400 million, or $0.40 per share, while buybacks made up the remaining $2.2 billion. The firm has regularly repurchased its shares each quarter since October 2022 (as demonstrated in the image below) and has $x billion remaining under its buyback plan.
Is CRM a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CRM stock based on 21 Buys, eight Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23% rally in its share price over the past year, the average CRM price target of $340.96 per share implies 25.92% upside potential. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
