Salesforce's Agentic AI Push Breaks Growth Stall
Salesforce is betting its next growth phase on agentic AI-systems that automate tasks, generate insights, and help teams make decisions faster. The bet is paying off. The company reported 12% year-over-year revenue growth in its fourth quarter, breaking six consecutive quarters of single-digit gains.
The company's Agentforce suite is the engine behind this shift. In the fourth quarter, Agentforce generated $800 million in recurring revenue, a 169% year-over-year increase. Combined with Data Cloud, AI-driven offerings brought in $2.9 billion in recurring revenue, up 200% annually.
More than 60% of Agentforce deals came from existing Salesforce customers, signaling strong cross-selling momentum. The company ended the quarter with $35.1 billion in remaining performance obligations-a 16% increase year-over-year, driven largely by larger deals and early renewals.
Salesforce projects fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 10-11%, with analyst consensus at 10.9% year-over-year.
How Competitors Are Responding
Microsoft and ServiceNow are also pushing AI automation in enterprise software. Microsoft has embedded Copilot tools into Dynamics 365 to handle email writing, report generation, and meeting summaries. The advantage: most companies already use Microsoft products, making integration straightforward.
ServiceNow's Now Assist platform automates IT service management, customer support, and human resources tasks. Like Salesforce, ServiceNow is rolling out industry-specific AI tools.
The Stock and Outlook
Salesforce shares have fallen 30.1% over the past year, compared with a 5.1% decline in the broader Internet-Software industry. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, well below the industry average of 27.42.
Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward in the past month, implying year-over-year growth of 4.8% and 11.9% respectively.
For sales professionals, the takeaway is straightforward: AI-driven CRM tools like Agentforce are moving from experimental to core revenue drivers. Understanding how to work with these systems is becoming essential. Explore AI for Sales courses and certifications to get up to speed, or for sales managers, review an AI learning path designed for your role.
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