Salesforce shares soar 16% on strong profit forecast
Shares of cloud-based software provider Salesforce Inc. soared 16% to $193.91, the largest intraday gain since August 2020, on Thursday after it announced strong profit forecast for the full year.
The company also increased its share buyback program to $20 billion.
Salesforce shares on Thursday closed at $186.59, 11.50% up, on the NYSE.
Salesforce on Wednesday posted better than expected fourth quarter earnings. In the fourth quarter ended 31 January, 2023, its revenue rose 14% year-over-year to $8.38 billion.
For the full fiscal year 2023, the company reported a revenue of $31.4 billion, up 18% year-over-year.
“For the full year we delivered $31.4 billion in revenue, up 18% year-over-year, or 22% in constant currency, one of the best performances of any enterprise software company our size,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce, in a statement on Wednesday.
The software maker said on Wednesday that its operating margin will be about 27% in the fiscal year 2024, higher than the 22.5% for fiscal year 2023.
For the full fiscal year 2024, the company has projected a revenue guidance of $34.5 billion to $34.7 billion, up 10% year-over-year.
“Our relentless focus on execution and proactive management of the current environment allowed us to close out a strong quarter and set us up for a transformational fiscal year 24,” said Amy Weaver, President and CFO, Salesforce, in the statement.
In past few months, Salesforce had laid off 8,000 workers, swapped board directors and lost several top executives.
The Salesforce stock had surged 26% this year, more than double the rally of Nasdaq 100.
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