New York, Feb 24, 2026, 17:37 (ET) — After-hours
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) shares rose about 4.1% to $185.42 at Tuesday’s close, then fell 1.8% to $182.00 in after-hours trading. (Google)
The move follows Monday’s sharp drop in software names, which helped pull Wall Street lower as investors weighed how quickly artificial intelligence could reshape jobs and profits. “You’ve seen the market react to headlines — ‘sell first, assess later,’” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. (Reuters)
Salesforce reports quarterly results after the close on Wednesday, and traders are bracing for a wide reaction. Options pricing implies the stock could swing about 9% by week’s end — a rough read of how much movement traders are paying for around earnings. Analysts expect adjusted earnings per share of $3.05 on about $11.18 billion in revenue, while UBS and Oppenheimer have trimmed their price targets to $200 and $275, Investopedia reported. (Investopedia)
Software shares got a lift earlier on Tuesday after AI startup Anthropic said it was developing new “plug-ins” with partners for tasks such as investment banking, wealth management and HR. Shares of partners including Salesforce’s Slack rose, while the S&P 500 software & services index gained 1.4% and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF jumped 2.4%. “Software stocks and the IGV particularly are just massively oversold,” said Dennis Dick, chief market strategist at Stock Trader Network. (Reuters)
The sector’s jitters have been fed by stark AI scenarios circulating among investors, including a now-viral Citrini Research report that sketched a 2028 downturn with unemployment at 10.2%. A U.S. software shares index is down 24% so far this year, Reuters reported, even as some market veterans argue the panic is getting ahead of the timeline. (Reuters)
For Salesforce, traders are likely to focus less on the quarter itself and more on what management says about demand and pricing — including whether customers are tightening budgets as they test new AI features.
Some analysts doubt one report will flip sentiment quickly. BMO Capital Markets said the earnings release may not shift the market’s view much even if the numbers are solid, MarketWatch reported. (MarketWatch)
The risk is that guidance lands soft or the company fails to show AI-related spending translating into durable growth, not just pilots. Salesforce has traded between a 52-week high of $313.70 and a low of $174.57, leaving plenty of air pockets if the outlook disappoints. (Finance Charts)
Salesforce is scheduled to release results after the market close on Feb. 25, followed by a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET — the next hard catalyst for CRM as the week’s AI-and-software debate rolls on. (Marketbeat)
