Wedbush Lowers Earnings Outlook for Salesforce FY2025

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is facing a revised earnings forecast as investment analysts from Wedbush have decreased their estimates for the fiscal year 2025. In a report released on December 4th, Wedbush analyst D. Ives adjusted the expected earnings per share (EPS) for Salesforce from $7.55 to $7.46 for the fiscal year.

Despite this decline in EPS projections, Wedbush maintains an "Outperform" rating on Salesforce and has set a target price of $375.00 for the stock. Currently, the consensus earnings estimate among analysts for Salesforce's full-year earnings stands at $7.48 per share.

Quarterly Earnings and Future Estimates

Looking ahead, Wedbush has provided future estimates for Salesforce’s earnings. They project the company will earn $1.95 per share in Q4 2025, $2.04 per share in Q2 2026, and $2.39 per share in Q4 2026. The fiscal year 2026 earnings are estimated to be around $8.43 per share.

Analyst Ratings and Price Targets

Other financial institutions have also shared their insights regarding Salesforce. On the same day as Wedbush’s report, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its price target for Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and assigned an “overweight” rating. Scotiabank raised their price target from $425.00 to $440.00 with a “sector outperform” rating. Cfra recently set a target price of $343.00, and Northland Securities raised their price objective from $400.00 to $440.00 while maintaining an “outperform” rating. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target as well, from $390.00 to $425.00, giving it a “buy” rating. Overall, eight analysts have a hold rating on the stock, while thirty have given it a buy rating and four a strong buy rating. MarketBeat data indicates a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $372.86 for Salesforce shares.

Recent Stock Performance

The trading of Salesforce shares has shown a decline, with the stock down 2.9%. As of last Monday, the CRM provider’s stock was opening at $351.49. Salesforce possesses a market capitalization of approximately $336.38 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 57.81, and a beta of 1.30. The current state of its financial ratios includes a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14 and both a quick ratio and current ratio of 1.11.

Latest Quarterly Results

In their most recent quarterly results released on December 3rd, Salesforce reported earnings of $2.41 per share, which fell short of analysts’ expectations of $2.44 per share by $0.03. However, the company achieved a revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, exceeding expectations of $9.35 billion. Compared to last year, Salesforce saw a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.3%, alongside a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. For the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share.

Dividend Announcements

Salesforce has also recently announced a dividend that will be paid out on January 9th. Shareholders on record as of December 18th will receive a dividend of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date for this distribution is December 18th, and Salesforce has a dividend payout ratio of 26.32%.

Insider Trading Activity

In insider trading news, Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock on September 11th at an average price of $244.81, totaling about $608,108.04. This transaction resulted in a significant reduction of 75% in his ownership of the company’s stock. CAO Sundeep G. Reddy also sold 413 shares at an average price of $285.29, totaling approximately $117,824.77. Presently, insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares valued at approximately $41,591,457 over the past three months, leading to corporate insiders holding 3.20% of the stock.

Institutional Trading Insights

Recent changes among institutional investors have also been notable. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce shares during the third quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings by 816.7%, bringing its ownership to 110 shares worth about $28,000. Additionally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stakes by 3,125.0%, now owning 129 shares valued at $33,000 after purchasing more shares. Overall, institutional and hedge funds own 80.43% of Salesforce’s shares.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc. specializes in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology, connecting businesses with their customers globally. Its suite of services assists companies in managing data, tracking leads, forecasting opportunities, analyzing insights through artificial intelligence, and delivering personalized customer support.

Salesforce, Earnings, Stocks