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Salesforce, Inc. (CRM), headquartered in San Francisco, California, offers customer relationship management software that allows businesses to access, manage, and share sales information. Valued at $333 billion by market cap, the company also develops applications focused sales, customer service, marketing automation, application development, and analytics, enabling businesses to build custom workflows, and enhance operations with tools like Slack, Tableau, and MuleSoft.
Shares of this cloud giant have underperformed the broader market over the past year. CRM has gained 15.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 22.8%. In 2025, CRM stock is down 1.1%, compared to the SPX’s 3.4% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, CRM’s underperformance is also apparent compared to iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 24.7% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF’s 1.5% gains on a YTD basis outshines the stock’s losses over the same time frame.
CRM's underperformance stems from significant near-term challenges. Revenue growth has slowed due to cautious enterprise spending amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical pressures. Businesses are now prioritizing smaller, incremental projects over large-scale digital transformations, forcing Salesforce to adapt. Moreover, foreign exchange headwinds and competition from Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Oracle Corporation (ORCL) further complicate its near-term outlook.
On Dec. 3, CRM reported its Q3 results, and its shares closed up by 11% in the following trading session. Its adjusted EPS of $2.41 missed the Wall Street expectations of $2.44. The company’s revenue was $9.4 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $9.3 billion. For Q4, CRM expects adjusted EPS to be between $2.57 and $2.62, and expects revenue to be between $9.9 billion and $10.1 billion.
For the current fiscal year, ended in January, analysts expected CRM’s EPS to grow 23.4% to $7.48 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 45 analysts covering CRM stock, the consensus is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 33 “Strong Buy” ratings, three “Moderate Buys,” seven “Holds,” and two “Strong Sells.”
This configuration is more bullish than a month ago, with its overall rating of “Moderate Buy,” consisting of 32 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy.”
On Feb. 6, Stifel Nicolaus analyst J. Parker Lane maintained a “Buy” rating on CRM with a price target of $425, implying a potential upside of 28.5% from current levels.
The mean price target of $397.81 represents a 20.3% premium to CRM’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $450 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 36%.
