NEW YORK, April 9, 2026, 12:17 PM EDT
Salesforce stock dropped roughly 4.1% to $169.15 around midday in New York on Thursday, edging near its 52-week low after dipping to $167.17 earlier. The latest rout in software names put fresh pressure on the shares, despite Salesforce’s record quarter in February and a bigger buyback program.
This is crucial right now: Investors aren’t fully buying that the tech giants’ AI efforts will drive growth fast enough before pricing comes under pressure from the very same technology. For Salesforce, the issue goes right to the heart of its cloud-based subscription model—the business that used to justify those lofty multiples.
This one started with Anthropic, not Salesforce. According to Reuters, Anthropic restricted broad access to its new Claude Mythos model after discovering thousands of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in key operating systems and browsers. The news rattled nerves that AI’s rapid progress could put old software at risk. “It really shows the weakness in the current crop of software,” said Michael O’Rourke, JonesTrading’s chief market strategist. The S&P 500 Software and Services Index has fallen almost 26% so far this year, factoring in Thursday’s drop. Reuters
Selling pressure has overshadowed what was shaping up to be a solid quarter. Salesforce posted a 12% bump in fourth-quarter revenue to $11.2 billion. Agentforce annual recurring revenue—a key subscription metric—hit $800 million. The company also rolled out a fresh $50 billion buyback plan and raised its quarterly dividend. CEO Marc Benioff described Salesforce as the “operating system for the Agentic Enterprise.” Salesforce Investor Relations
Investors zeroed in on guidance. Back in February, Salesforce projected fiscal 2027 revenue between $45.8 billion and $46.2 billion, which lands just shy of the consensus from LSEG. Rebecca Wettemann, who heads Valoir, pointed out Salesforce still needs to take its AI agents “from pilots to production at scale”—shifting from limited trials to regular, widespread customer use. Reuters
No lift from the latest peer snapshot. StockStory’s Wednesday roundup of sales-software names showed the group outpaced revenue expectations by an average 1.8%, but shares have dropped 3.8% post-results. HubSpot led growth among peers; Salesforce, on the other hand, turned in the lightest performance versus analyst calls and issued the most cautious full-year outlook.
Even so, Salesforce isn’t exactly sitting ducks. Last month, Reuters noted that analysts point to years’ worth of proprietary customer and sales-process data—and those steep switching costs at big enterprises—as legitimate obstacles for would-be challengers. “Deepest moat by far,” is how Ocean Park Asset Management’s James St. Aubin put it, referring to the data edge. Workday, on the other hand, faces more doubts: its core HR and payroll info, analysts say, can be standardized and replicated more easily. Reuters
There’s a catch: both scenarios might play out together. AI could crack open fresh territory for Agentforce and potentially push Salesforce’s growth back into higher gear in the latter half of fiscal 2027, just as the company has laid out. But those very AI tools also threaten to lower entry barriers, making it easier—and cheaper—for rivals to roll out alternatives, eating into Salesforce’s old competitive moat. Right now, Salesforce isn’t being traded on its buyback; instead, it’s shaping up as a bellwether for whether the software giants can stand firm against the AI wave.
