Salesforce CEO says AI handles up to 50% of work as JMP reiterates rating

Investing.com - Citizens JMP has reiterated its Market Outperform rating and $430.00 price target on Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) stock following CEO Marc Benioff’s recent comments about artificial intelligence adoption at the company. The target represents significant upside potential, with InvestingPro data showing 37 analysts have revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period.

In a Thursday interview with Emily Chang, Benioff stated that "AI is doing 30% to 50% of the work at Salesforce now," referring to various job functions including software engineering and customer service. This AI integration comes as Salesforce maintains impressive gross profit margins of 77.3% and demonstrates strong financial health, according to InvestingPro’s comprehensive analysis.

JMP’s analyst Patrick Walravens noted that the firm’s checks confirm strong return on investment for Salesforce Agentforce and AI applications in customer service environments.

The research firm also reported speaking with a mid-sized Salesforce customer on Thursday who was evaluating Agentforce for sales use cases but indicated their evaluation was ongoing.

This customer told JMP that "while their evaluation was ongoing, the one that is good for sales is Glean... with MCP, Glean has agents that take data from Salesforce, from Gong, from Outlook, and it works out of the box."

In other recent news, Salesforce has made significant announcements regarding its AI capabilities and pricing strategies. The company unveiled Agentforce 3, a major upgrade to its digital labor platform, introducing a new Command Center to monitor and optimize AI agents. This update has reportedly led to notable improvements for early adopters, such as reduced customer case handle times and increased autonomous resolution of chat engagements. Additionally, Salesforce announced a 6% price increase for its Enterprise and Unlimited Editions, reflecting ongoing innovation and customer value. The company also released new AI pricing structures, including Agentforce add-ons and enhanced Slack plans, aiming to simplify AI adoption.

Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight rating and a $325 price target on Salesforce, citing the strategic expansion of AI tools and pricing adjustments as potential drivers for broader AI adoption. Similarly, Truist Securities reiterated a buy rating with a $400 price target, expressing confidence in Salesforce’s ability to boost subscription revenue growth through transformative projects. These developments highlight Salesforce’s ongoing focus on integrating AI across its platform and adjusting its pricing to reflect the enhanced capabilities. The company reported a 233% increase in AI agent usage over six months, with 8,000 customers signing up for Agentforce, indicating strong demand for its AI solutions.

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