Salesforce shares jumped 22% on Thursday, the company's second-best trading day ever, after a second-quarter earnings beat and an expanded partnership with Anthropic. The rally lifted software stocks broadly as the results pushed back against fears that generative AI would disrupt the sector.
Salesforce shares jumped 22% Thursday after the company reported a second-quarter earnings beat and announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic. The move gave Salesforce its second-best day ever, trailing only an August 2020 session when shares rose roughly 26%.
Claudeforce plugs Salesforce into Anthropic's Chatbot
CEO Marc Benioff and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei joined CNBC to unveil Claudeforce, an effort that brings Salesforce into Anthropic's Claude chatbot through a plug-in built to help salespeople access critical data. The AI expansion also fueled optimism across the sector: Adobe, Palantir, ServiceNow, Autodesk and Figma all rallied, and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF climbed roughly 5%.
Software stocks have taken a hit this year on fears that generative AI could disrupt the software-as-a-service business model. According to CNBC, Benioff said on Wednesday's earnings call: "This is not the SaaSpocalypse", adding that predictions about models eating software haven't come true for the company.
Earnings beat estimates across the board
Salesforce posted revenue of $11.35 billion, versus the $11.32 billion analysts expected, up 11% year over year. The company also reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.90, sailing past estimates of $3.27 a share.
Net income, meanwhile, rose 87% from a year ago to $3.53 billion, or $4.29 a share, versus $1.89 billion, or $1.96 a share, a year earlier. Salesforce also noted a $2.6 billion gain from its strategic investment in Anthropic, whose valuation has grown to $965 billion ahead of its anticipated IPO.
Source: CNBC
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