Salesforce raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook after reporting second-quarter sales of $11.35 billion, up 11% from a year earlier, while saying annualized revenue from its Agentforce artificial-intelligence products had exceeded $1.5 billion. The outlook increase and AI metric helped send the company’s shares up 12% in extended trading after the Aug. 26 report, according to CNBC’s earnings coverage.
The results offer investors two different readings of Salesforce’s position in the enterprise-software market. Demand indicators—including quarterly revenue, third-quarter guidance and contracted business yet to be recognized—came in above the cited Wall Street benchmarks. But the sharp increase in reported net income also included a $2.6 billion gain on strategic investments associated with Salesforce’s stake in Anthropic, separating a major portion of the profit increase from the company’s software operations.
Revenue outlook moves higher
Salesforce forecast third-quarter revenue of $11.42 billion to $11.50 billion, compared with an LSEG consensus estimate of $11.41 billion cited by CNBC. It projected adjusted earnings per share of $3.42 to $3.44 for the period, against a cited $3.38 consensus estimate.
For the full fiscal year, Salesforce lifted its revenue outlook to $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion. Its prior forecast, issued in May, called for $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion. At the midpoint, the new range is $200 million higher than the old midpoint—an increase of roughly 0.4%—so the revision is meaningful as a directional signal but modest relative to a business expected to generate more than $46 billion in annual sales.
| Measure | Salesforce result or forecast | Cited benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal second-quarter revenue | $11.35 billion | $11.32 billion LSEG consensus |
| Fiscal third-quarter revenue | $11.42 billion to $11.50 billion | $11.41 billion LSEG consensus |
| Fiscal third-quarter adjusted EPS | $3.42 to $3.44 | $3.38 LSEG consensus |
| Current remaining performance obligation | $33.5 billion | $33.22 billion StreetAccount expectation |
Current remaining performance obligation, a measure of contracted revenue expected to be recognized over the next 12 months, reached $33.5 billion. That was about $280 million above the StreetAccount expectation cited by CNBC, a 0.8% difference. The metric does not equal immediate revenue, but it gives investors a more forward-looking read on customer commitments than one quarter of recognized sales alone.
One important qualification applies to the earnings comparison. CNBC reported adjusted second-quarter earnings per share of $5.90, but said it was not immediately clear whether that figure was comparable with the LSEG estimate of $3.27. The reported adjusted EPS therefore should not be described as an earnings beat against that benchmark without confirmation of the calculation’s comparability.
Anthropic stake reshapes the profit picture
Salesforce reported net income of $3.53 billion, or $4.29 a share, up from $1.89 billion, or $1.96 a share, in the year-earlier period. The $2.6 billion strategic-investment gain tied to Anthropic is larger than the $1.64 billion year-over-year increase in reported net income, underscoring how substantially the investment result affected the headline profit comparison.
That does not mean Salesforce’s operating performance was weak: revenue rose 11%, and both its revenue outlook and remaining-performance-obligation measure exceeded the cited expectations. It does mean the net-income figure combines software operations with an investment revaluation that can move differently from subscriptions, cloud consumption and sales execution.
The gain is connected to a relationship that predates the current AI-product push. In a February post, Salesforce Ventures said it first invested in Anthropic’s Series C round in early 2023 and continued participating through Anthropic’s Series G financing in February 2026. The corporate venture arm described the investment as part of its effort to support companies developing AI technologies for enterprise use.
CNBC reported that Anthropic’s May equity round valued the company at $965 billion, citing Anthropic’s announcement. Salesforce Ventures’ account confirms the timing and continuity of its investments but does not independently establish that valuation. For Salesforce shareholders, the immediate accounting effect is clearer: the strategic-investment gain materially lifted reported quarterly profit.
Agentforce becomes a measurable AI business
Salesforce said Agentforce annualized revenue exceeded $1.5 billion, up 240% from a year earlier. Annualized revenue extrapolates a current revenue run rate rather than representing booked annual sales or a guarantee of future revenue, but the disclosure puts a dollar figure on a product category that has been central to investor debate around generative AI’s effect on established software companies.
The figure also needs to be read beside Salesforce’s broader scale. Agentforce’s reported annualized revenue is roughly 3.3% of the midpoint of the company’s new full-year revenue forecast. That makes it a rapidly growing business line rather than the primary driver of Salesforce’s overall sales base, which remains much larger and more diversified.
Management also acknowledged uneven conditions in parts of the portfolio. Chief operating and financial officer Robin Washington said on the earnings call that integration and analytics software-license sales faced headwinds and volatility, CNBC reported. Salesforce expects its acquisition of customer-service startup Fin to close during the fiscal third quarter, ahead of its original schedule, adding another AI-focused asset as the company attempts to convert Agentforce’s early revenue momentum into a larger part of its growth profile.
