Salesforce stock jumps 14% on AI growth and Anthropic investment gain - Q2 results

Salesforce's revenue increased 11% from a year earlier in the fiscal second quarter, which ended on July 31, according to a [statement](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826213882/en/Salesforce-Delivers-Record-Second-Quarter-Fiscal-2027-Results). Net income of $3.53 billion, or $4.29 a share, jumped 87% from $1.89 billion, or $1.96 a share a year ago. The company pointed to a $2.6 billion gain on strategic investments from a stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. In May Anthropic said it had raised equity funding that valued the company at [$965 billion](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/28/anthropic-open-ai-startup-value.html). Salesforce's free cash flow spiked 81% to $1.10 billion, well above StreetAccount's $643.2 million consensus. For the fiscal third quarter, Salesforce said adjusted earning will be between $3.42 and $3.44 per share, with $11.42 billion to $11.50 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had anticipated $3.38 in adjusted EPS and $11.41 billion in revenue. Salesforce now sees $16.67 to $16.71 in earnings per share for the full year on $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion in revenue, implying 11% growth at the middle of the range. The LSEG consensus showed $46.11 billion in revenue. In May, guidance called for [$14.06 to $14.12](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/27/salesforce-crm-q1-earnings-report-2027.html) in fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings per share on $45.9 billion to $46.2 billion in revenue. Also on Wednesday, Salesforce announced [Claudeforce](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/26/salesforce-anthropic-partnership-claudeforce.html), a plugin for Anthropic's Claude that can compose emails on behalf of salespeople, arm them with information and update records through chat. During the quarter, Salesforce announced a[$1.6 billion contract](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260724264612/en/VA-Awards-Salesforce-%241.6B-Contract-to-Transform-Veteran-Care-and-Services) from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and revealed plans to acquire customer service startup Fin for [$3.6 billion](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260615943200/en/). Annualized revenue from Agentforce AI products topped $1.5 billion, up 240% year over year. The growth rate a quarter earlier was over 200%. Salesforce said it had $33.5 billion in current remaining performance obligation, a measure of revenue that is expected to be recognized in the next year. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected $33.22 billion. As of Wednesday's close, Salesforce shares were down 22% year to date, while the S&P 500 index has gained 12% in the same period. Investors have been going [back and forth](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/07/saaspocalypse-debate-intensifies-as-software-stocks-swing-wildly.html) on how big of a threat generative artificial intelligence models are to staid software companies. Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at at 5 p.m. ET. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/08/26/salesforce-crm-q2-earnings-report-2027.html