Salesforce open to large acquisitions, but analysts have concerns
Summary
On Thursday, Salesforces fiscal first quarter results and earnings call commentary sent shares 20% lower, making it the stocks worst day since July 2004. The decline weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) during the trading session after Salesforce projected slowing sales growth in the current quarter. “I know there were some green shoots, and Marc Benioff sounded really bullish off the Q4 print, but the macro environment for software is just really, really tough right now, and I think that’s very clear.” With momentum slowing, some Wall Street analysts fear Salesforce may repeat its acquisition-rich history to initiate more growth. "Clearly, if you were to look at the investment community out there, they dont want any type of massive M&A within Salesforce,” CFRA analyst Angelo Zino told Yahoo Finance. The broader push for growth comes as companies have announced massive investments in artificial intelligence, prompting concerns that Salesforce could lag behind in the AI boom.