Software company Salesforce beat expectations in the second quarter. Driven by higher spending by its customers on cloud services, the company beat its revenue forecasts and exceeded last year’s net profit. For this reason, the company did not change its outlook for the full year.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, Salesforce reported revenue of $9.33 billion, up 8% and beating analysts’ expectations of $9.21 billion. The result reflected growth in the company’s subscription and support services, which rose 9% compared to the same period last year.
In addition, net income for the second quarter was reported at $1.43 billion, or $1.47 per share. For comparison, net income in the second quarter of the previous year was $1.27 billion, or about $1.28 per share.
Given these strong numbers, Salesforce is forecasting a revenue decline of between $37.7 billion and $38 billion for the full year. Earnings per share are expected to reach $6.05 to $6.13. In terms of operating cash, the company expects an increase of 23 to 25 percent for the 2025 fiscal year.
Salesforce is fully committed to artificial intelligence and is relying on the Agentforce AI platform. With the new tool, companies such as ADP and OpenTable can answer 90% of customer inquiries. Using Salesforce’s extensive data, the AI platform will increase efficiency by working with people to improve the customer experience.
“We’ve deployed Agentforce with so many of our customers now and we’re so excited because we’re helping them achieve unprecedented levels of automation in their customer service or their sales,” CEO Marc Benioff said in an interview with CNBC.
Salesforce is also looking for a new chief financial officer as Amy Weaver is leaving her roles as president and CFO. She will, however, remain an advisor to the San Francisco-based company. Weaver joined Salesforce in 2013 as general counsel and has been instrumental in restructuring the company’s operations in recent years.
Earlier this year, Salesforce announced it would reduce its workforce by 1%, affecting about 700 employees. The job cuts came in addition to a 10% reduction and several office closures in 2023.
