Salesforce, Inc. provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale. In addition, its platform offering comprise a flexible platform that enables companies of various sizes, locations, and industries to build business workflow and apps with customer; online learning platform that allows anyone to learn in-demand Salesforce skills; and Slack, an intelligent productivity platform. The company's marketing services enables companies to plan, personalize, automate, and optimize customer marketing journey, connecting interaction, and connected products; and commerce services, which empowers shopping experience across various customer touchpoint, such as mobile, web, social, and stores and provides click-to-code tools that offers customers to build and deploy solutions. Further, its analytics offering includes Tableau, an end-to-end analytics solution for range of enterprise use cases and intelligent analytics with AI models, spot trends, predict outcomes, creates summaries, timely recommendations, and take action from any device; and integration service including MuleSoft, which provides building blocks to deliver end-to-end and connected experiences. Additionally, the company provides data cloud, a hyperscale data engine native to Salesforce; vertical services to meet the needs of customers in industries, such as financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing and automotive and government; and offers salesforce starter for small and medium-sized businesses. Salesforce, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Salesforce looks like a mature, profitable software business with strong margins, but with notable balance sheet leverage and a mixed valuation on multiples. Its P/E ratio of 23.55 is below the industry median, which supports the idea of moderate undervaluation on earnings, while its P/FCF is also below the industry level, which is important for a company with stable cash flow. At the same time, P/S and P/B are significantly above the median, so the market is still paying a premium for scale and quality rather than cheapness. Margins look very strong: gross margin of 77.28%, operating margin of 19.88%, and net margin of 21.99% are well above the industry, confirming high operational efficiency. ROE, ROA, and ROI are also above the median and improving over the years, which indicates good use of capital and assets. Revenue, gross profit, EBITDA, and net income have generally increased compared with earlier periods, supporting the fundamental case. However, liquidity is weak: the quick ratio is 0.00 and the current ratio is 0.84, meaning short-term financial cushion is limited. Debt burden has increased noticeably: debt/equity is 1.02 and long-term debt is $39.29 billion, while equity has declined relative to prior periods, adding risk to the valuation. Dividend yield is essentially absent, so investors receive no compensation through cash yield. Overall, the fundamentals support a moderately positive view, but they do not justify an aggressive re-rating because of expensive sales multiples and balance sheet risks. For an investor, this is a story of a high-quality business with strong profitability and cash generation, but with limited upside due to the already high market premium and the need to monitor debt and liquidity.

Salesforce, Inc.

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Быки в растерянности.

Strong index, significantly down. The bulls are confused.

Сильный индекс, незначительно вырос. Рынок не поддерживает быков.

Strong index, slightly up. The market does not support the bulls.

Средний индекс, незначительно вырос. Отток средств из лонгов на высоком уровне.

Medium index, slightly up. Outflow of funds from longs at a high level.

Salesforce has strong profitability and cash flow, but its high revenue valuation and significant debt burden limit its revaluation potential.

Key Points
Salesforce has been aggressively buying back its stock, spending $27.1 billion on repurchases in Q1 alone.
The company continued to repurchase and retire shares in Q2.
Huge gains for the stock following the company's Q2 report show this was a smart move.
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has been a battleground stock over the last year. While the company's position in the customer relationship management space has generally continued to look quite strong, some investors have worried about the potential for its business to be disrupted by artificial intelligence.
Partially in response to valuation pressures affecting its stock, the company has moved forward with an aggressive share repurchasing program. In this year's first quarter, the software specialist carried out a record $27.1 billion in buybacks. On the heels of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) company's second-quarter report, this looks like a great move.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Salesforce has scored big with its buybacks
When a company believes that its shares are undervalued, buying back and retiring its own stock can be a great way for it to boost earnings per share. With the fourth-quarter report that the company published in February, Salesforce announced that its board of directors authorized a $50 billion stock buyback program.
For much of the last year, Salesforce saw its valuation depressed in conjunction with the "SaaS apocalypse" narrative that saw investors betting that many software companies would have their businesses eroded by the rise of new alternatives powered by artificial intelligence. The stock hit a 52-week low of roughly $146 per share in June and currently trades at roughly $246 per share, but the company continued to bet on itself with buybacks this year.
With the Q2 report that the company published in August, the company's confidence appears to have been vindicated. The business recorded non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $5.90 that crushed the average analyst estimate of $3.27, and sales of $11.35 billion in the period also beat the average analyst target by roughly $30 million.
The company's huge earnings beat in Q2 was heavily powered by an increase in the value of its stake in Anthropic, but that was hardly the only win for the software specialist. Salesforce's free cash flow increased 81% year over year to $1.1 billion, reflecting the combined benefits for sales growth and improved operational efficiency. And while the company didn't provide a dollar value for its stock repurchases in the quarter, it reduced its net share count by nearly 50 million even after accounting for stock-based compensation.
Thanks to its strong Q2 report, Salesforce stock rocketed 40% higher in August's trading. In other words, the company had been buying back shares through the first half of the year at a huge discount relative to its current valuation levels. Not only does this boost earnings per share at prices that increase value for shareholders, but it also shows that the company is managing capital effectively and vindicates the leadership team's confidence in the company's market position even as AI shifts the industry.
Should you buy stock in Salesforce right now?
Before you buy stock in Salesforce, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Salesforce wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $417,413!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,294!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 210% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Salesforce Spent a Record $27.1 Billion on Buybacks in One Quarter. Here Is Why That Signal Matters.

Key Points
Palantir looks like it could be one of the biggest agentic AI winners.
Salesforce has positioned itself to be an agentic AI platform, and that is finally starting to show up in its results.
Meta's new Muse AI agent opens the door to a new big revenue stream.
The age of agentic AI is here, and the world will likely see meaningful changes in the coming years. AI is advancing quickly, which is both exciting and scary.
Agentic AI is exciting in that AI agents will be able to help humans by going out and performing tasks, greatly increasing productivity and freeing up people's time. It's scary in that no one knows what this will mean for the job market in the next decade. Meanwhile, an Anthropic employee saying there is a greater than 10% chance the AI will wipe out human civilization in the next 10 years isn't exactly comforting.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
But on our way to utopia or the end of the world, let's look at three agentic AI stocks that can help your portfolio now.
1. Palantir Technologies
As AI agents advance, organizations will need a way to control them, and that is where Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) can step in with its AI platform (AIP). The company said its platform-native agent engine SDK (software development kit) will help customers answer the three most important questions about AI agent actions: who authorized it, how much it costs, and whether the action can be trusted.
When it comes to agentic AI, the stakes are high, and Palantir's AIP can act as a true agent operating system. The company's secret sauce is its ontology, which links all the data it gathers to real-world objects, workflows, and processes.
AIP is already seeing rapid growth and helping organizations across industries solve mission-critical problems. The rise of AI agents will likely only accelerate the need for their platforms, making it a stock to own despite its high valuation.
2. Salesforce
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has devoted itself to becoming an agentic AI-first company, and those efforts are starting to pay off. Last quarter, it saw annual recurring revenue (ARR) for its Agentforce agentic AI platform soar 240% year over year to $1.5 billion, while its Data 360 ARR tripled to $2.4 billion.
Salesforce has worked to make its platform a single source of truth for launching AI agents. It developed zero-copy technology to quickly and cheaply extract data from sources outside of organizations, like data warehouses and cloud providers, and it acquired master data management company Informatica to clean up and organize this data. Meanwhile, Slack has become one of its primary AI agent launching pads, with Slackbot hitting 1 million active users after debuting just five months ago.
Salesforce has both the backend and frontend to become one of the biggest agentic AI winners.
3. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) may be a surprise addition to this list, but the introduction of its Muse AI agent looks like a game changer. While most agentic AI companies have focused on enterprise AI agents, Meta has just introduced a new personal AI agent that can help individuals with routine chores and tasks.
Meta's Muse AI agent will be offered in several tiers. There will be a free tier, while people who use it more often can opt for the $20-a-month Power tier or the $100-a-month Maximum tier. The agent will be able to do such things as make purchases, book travel, send emails and party invitations, work to lower bills, and take recipes and create grocery lists. Users will have to grant the agent access to things like email, payments, and calendars, and they can also allow it to access data from other apps they use regularly.
Meta has said it won't share users' data with its ad systems, but it will still indirectly impact the ads users see. The big benefit for the company comes from capturing affiliate and processing fees when the agent purchases something on behalf of a user. This could be a huge new source of revenue for the company over time and help diversify its model away from just advertising. In fact, simply monetizing Facebook Marketplace and making it more transaction-based could be a huge driver.
Given this opportunity and the strength of its core business, the stock looks like a long-term winner.
Should you buy stock in Palantir Technologies right now?
Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Meta Platforms and Salesforce. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Palantir Technologies, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

3 Agentic AI Stocks to Own Before AI Changes the World as We Know It

Key Points
Some tech giants already have Anthropic stakes, which you can get exposure to by investing in those companies.
The same brokers that offered pre-IPO SpaceX shares will likely offer pre-IPO Anthropic shares.
Investors can follow where Anthropic is spending money to discover new opportunities.
Anthropic is poised to be one of the hottest IPO stocks. After Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, jumped to a $2 trillion valuation, investors are wondering what's possible for Anthropic later this year.
However, you don't have to wait until Anthropic's IPO to get exposure to the stock. Investors have two creative routes to boost their exposure to the leading AI company before its shares become publicly available.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Invest in companies that have stakes in Anthropic
Some of the largest tech companies have beaten retail investors to the punch. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) are some of the companies that have invested in Anthropic. Their stakes in the AI giant are so large that they actually influence each company's earnings results.
Investors also have to assess the main company before following this strategy. Alphabet, Amazon, and Salesforce all have catalysts and risks that go well beyond their Anthropic stakes. This strategy offers limited exposure to Anthropic and isn't nearly the same thing as owning shares directly. However, it's something investors can do right now instead of waiting for IPO shares to become available.
Open a brokerage account with the right company
More brokerage accounts have allowed investors to buy shares of IPO companies just before their IPO dates. Many investors took advantage of this with SpaceX, and the firms that supported pre-IPO purchases of SpaceX shares are likely to do the same for Anthropic shares.
You can only buy these shares in a regular brokerage account instead of a retirement plan. Furthermore, you may have to fulfill minimum balance requirements or make a minimum purchase to receive shares. If the pre-IPO is overbooked, there is no guarantee your order will go through.
Follow Anthropic's money
The final creative way to get exposure to Anthropic is to follow its money. The company has committed more than $100 billion to Amazon Web Services, and it has also been aggressively buying AI chips.
As Anthropic's revenue grows, investors can expect more of its capital to flow into key AI infrastructure and components. For instance, the company signed a 20-year lease with TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF) for a 401-megawatt data center site. These types of deals may be more common as Anthropic's AI capacity needs soar.
Multiple stocks are set to benefit from Anthropic's growth. These same companies may also have exposure to rising AI capacity needs for OpenAI, hyperscalers, AI labs, and various start-ups. Buying those stocks while they have low market caps can potentially unlock the path to sizable gains.
Should you buy stock in Alphabet right now?
Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 12, 2026.
Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Founded in 1993 in Alexandria, VA., by brothers David and Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company dedicated to building the world's greatest investment community. Reaching millions of people each month through its website, books, newspaper column, radio show, television appearances, and subscription newsletter services, The Motley Fool champions shareholder values and advocates tirelessly for the individual investor. The company's name was taken from Shakespeare, whose wise fools both instructed and amused, and could speak the truth to the king -- without getting their heads lopped off.

3 Ways to Invest in Anthropic Pre-IPO

Key Points
Adobe maintains high profitability with a net margin of 30% as it integrates generative AI into its creative suite.
Salesforce dominates the CRM market and generated nearly $14.4 billion in free cash flow during its latest fiscal year.
Which software titan is the smarter investment for your portfolio in 2026?
As enterprise spending shifts toward automation and creativity, investors often find themselves choosing between Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM). Which of these cloud software titans offers the best value today?
Adobe dominates the creative world with its suite of design tools, while Salesforce leads theglobal marketfor customer relationship management. Both companies are aggressively integrating artificial intelligence to stay relevant. Comparing their growth, profitability, and current valuations helps determine which stock is better suited for a long term portfolio strategy.
The case for Adobe
Adobe provides essential tools for creative professionals, marketing experts, and business users through its integrated subscription model. The company operates through three primary segments, which include its Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud offerings. Many enterprise customers now utilize end to end solutions like GenStudio to streamline their content supply chains, showing how Adobe is successfully linking its creative and marketing software.
In its latest annual report, filed for the fiscal year ended Nov. 28, 2025, revenue reached nearly $23.8 billion, representing growth of approximately 10.5% compared with the prior fiscal year. This growth was accompanied by a net income of nearly $7.1 billion. The company achieved a net margin of 30%, reflecting its ability to generate significant profit from its high value software subscriptions.
As of its November 2025 balance sheet, the company maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of nearly 0.6x, which measures total debt relative to shareholder equity. It also reported a current ratio of approximately 1.0x, indicating that its short term assets are roughly equal to its short term liabilities. Free cash flow, which is cash from operations minus capital expenditures, was close to $9.9 billion for the year.
The case for Salesforce
Salesforce is a dominant force among tech stocks because it provides a unified, AI-powered platform for sales, service, marketing, and commerce. The company serves businesses of all sizes worldwide, from small businesses to large global enterprises, across nearly every industry. No single customer accounts for more than ten percent of total revenues, ensuring the business is not overly dependent on any one client.
According to its latest annual report, filed for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2026, revenue reached close to $41.5 billion, a 9.6% increase year over year. The company reported a net income of approximately $7.5 billion during this period. Its net margin stood at roughly 18%, which is a notable improvement over previous years as management focuses on operating efficiency.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, Salesforce maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of roughly 0.3x, which compares total debt to the equity held by shareholders. Its current ratio, which evaluates if a company has enough short term assets to cover its short term debts, was nearly 0.8x. Free cash flow for the year was approximately $14.4 billion. Note that stock-based compensation represented roughly 23.4% of operating cash flow, which inflates reported cash generation since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
Risk profile comparison
Adobe faces significant rivalry from global software and cloud-native companies, necessitating constant and costly innovation to retain its market share. The rapid integration of generative AI introduces risks including potential liability from biased outputs and high computing costs that could compress its net margin. Additionally, the company is subject to extensive global regulation and recently settled lawsuits related to subscription transparency, highlighting the risk of future regulatory actions.
Salesforce operates in a fragmented market and faces intense competition from established vendors and AI-native start-ups. The deployment of Agentforce and other AI-driven offerings presents emerging ethical and legal challenges regarding data security and accuracy. Furthermore, the company's aggressive acquisition strategy introduces execution risks, while ongoing antitrust matters, such as its legal disputes involving Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), could divert management attention.
Valuation comparison
Adobe appears cheaper based on its Forward P/E, which compares the stock price to future earnings estimates, while Salesforce carries a lower P/S ratio.
Metric
Adobe
Salesforce
Forward P/E
11.3x
14.8x
P/S ratio
4.6x
4.1x
Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
Which stock would I buy in 2026?
It's a close call, but I'd go with Salesforce. Though an Adobe trading near multi-year lows is not something a long-term investor should walk past without a second look. Adobe has built one of the most deeply embedded software franchises in the world and the valuation is more attractive than it has been in years. Fears that AI would erode its creative dominance are looking increasingly overblown. For a long-term investor who values predictable cash flows and a proven platform, it is a solid choice.
But Salesforce is executing at a higher level right now. Agentforce has closed thousands of paid deals since launch, and the AI and data cloud business more than doubled year over year. The company is on track for a record year of operating cash flow. I like that enterprises are signing larger, longer deals, which signals growing confidence in the platform's long-term role in their operations.
Both companies are benefiting from AI, but Salesforce is using it to open new doors while Adobe is using it to keep existing ones from closing. Right now, that is the more valuable position.
Should you buy stock in Adobe right now?
Before you buy stock in Adobe, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Adobe wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $409,917!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,341,724!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 11, 2026.
Sara Appino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Microsoft, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $330 calls on Adobe and short January 2028 $340 calls on Adobe. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Adobe vs. Salesforce: Which Software Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLK) where we have detected an approximate $157.4 million dollar outflow -- that's a 0.1% decrease week over week (from 651,661,794 to 650,811,794). Among the largest underlying components of XLK, in trading today International Business Machines Corp (Symbol: IBM) is up about 2.9%, Salesforce Inc (Symbol: CRM) is up about 1.8%, and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (Symbol: STX) is lower by about 2.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the XLK Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of XLK, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, XLK's low point in its 52 week range is $126.68 per share, with $198.73 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $188.50. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Further XLK Research:

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF Experiences Big Outflow

Atlassian Corporation TEAM is seeing growing customer interest in its Teamwork Graph as businesses look to use AI across more workflows. The Teamwork Graph connects data from Atlassian applications and other sources to provide context for AI tools. The company says the graph now spans more than 200 billion objects and connections, giving Atlassian a large base of enterprise work data to support its AI strategy.
Atlassian believes the Teamwork Graph can improve the quality and cost of AI responses. Agents using the graph can deliver up to 44% more accurate answers while using 48% fewer tokens. Here, lower token usage can help reduce AI costs, while better answers can improve the usefulness of AI tools. This value is already showing up in customer discussions, with AI and the Teamwork Graph now among the top two reasons customers cite for upgrading to the cloud and adopting the Teamwork Collection.
The Teamwork Graph is also supporting Atlassian's AI monetization efforts. The Teamwork Collection is becoming an important way for customers to adopt AI features, including Rovo. Atlassian said customers are upgrading to get more Rovo credits, which is helping drive higher average revenue per user. Teamwork Collection customers also have four to five times more paid seats per instance than stand-alone Jira or Confluence customers. This suggests that broader adoption of the graph and AI could lead to more seats, higher ARPU and greater cross-sell opportunities.
Atlassian estimates about $14 billion of opportunity within its existing customer base without changing products or pricing. If Atlassian can keep improving Teamwork Graph and use it to drive wider AI adoption, customer upgrades and seat growth, it could support the company's next phase of expansion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TEAM's fiscal 2027 and 2028 revenues indicates year-over-year growth of 13% and 14.8%, respectively.
Atlassian Faces Stiff Competition
Atlassian faces stiff competition from other key players in the cloud software industry such as Salesforce CRM and ServiceNow NOW.
Salesforce competes with Atlassian through offerings such as Agentforce, Data Cloud and Slack, which together create a unified ecosystem that connects customer data with integrated AI across systems, apps and devices. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Agentforce’s ARR exceeded $1.5 billion, up 240% year over year. Salesforce expects this momentum to continue in fiscal 2027 on the back of robust customer demand for its agentic offerings.
ServiceNow is seeing strong demand for its Agentic AI products as enterprises look to automate more work and improve productivity. The company is expanding AI across IT, customer service, employee service and security. Management said customers now want AI that can complete tasks and deliver clear business value instead of simply assisting employees. This is helping drive adoption of the company's AI offerings. AI annual contract value (ACV) crossed $1 billion during the second quarter of 2026, and ServiceNow expects AI ACV to exceed $1.5 billion by the end of 2026.
TEAM’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
TEAM shares have jumped 11% in the year-to-date period against the Zacks Internet - Software industry’s return of 0.5%.
TEAM YTD Price Performance
From a valuation standpoint, Atlassian trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 5.96X compared with the industry’s 4.08X. TEAM has a Value Score of F.
TEAM’s Valuation
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TEAM's fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $5.52 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a year-over-year decline of 5.6%.
TEAM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Can Rising Adoption of Teamwork Graph Drive TEAM's Next Growth Phase?

ServiceNow NOW shares have jumped 25% in the past three months, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 2%, reflecting improving investor confidence in the company’s AI monetization strategy, strong second-quarter 2026 execution and an increasingly diversified growth profile. AI momentum has been another important driver behind NOW’s recent price strength. The company is also benefiting from broadening demand beyond ServiceNow’s traditional IT service-management franchise. Let’s delve deep to find out whether these drivers are enough for investors to take a position in the NOW stock.
Growing AI Monetization Opportunity to Aid NOW’s Prospects
ServiceNow AI surpassed $1 billion in Annual Contract Value (ACV) during the second quarter of 2026, with net new AI ACV growing more than 40% sequentially. Deals involving five or more ServiceNow AI products increased significantly year over year, while the number of customers running Agentic AI in production increased ninefold over the past nine months. First-time Agentic AI buyer deal volume rose more than 45% year over year, while upgrades to AI-native SKUs are generating price uplifts in the company’s targeted 20-30% range.
ServiceNow’s expanding Agentic AI portfolio is expected to remain the primary catalyst over the long term. Products such as Otto, AI Control Tower, Autonomous Workforce AI specialists, Context Engine, Autonomous Data Analytics and Action Fabric broaden the company’s ability to automate complete enterprise workflows rather than merely provide AI assistance. The company is already tracking ahead of its long-term objective for AI to account for 30% of ACV by 2030, suggesting considerable room for higher consumption and cross-selling as enterprise deployments move from pilots into production.
These factors are expected to drive subscription revenues, which increased 24.5% year over year to $3.88 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Constant-currency (cc) subscription growth of 23% exceeded the high end of guidance by 150 basis points (bps). Current Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO) increased 21.5% in cc, while ServiceNow recorded 123 transactions carrying more than $1 million in net new ACV, up nearly 40% year over year. ServiceNow has also outlined long-term targets of more than $30 billion in subscription revenues.
ServiceNow is benefiting from expanding demand across multiple domains. ITOM featured in 18 of the top 20 second-quarter deals, while security and risk solutions were included in 16. CRM and Industry workflows were also represented in 16 of the top 20 deals, supported by momentum in CPQ, sales and order management. EmployeeWorks deal volumes surged more than 150% sequentially, while RaptorDB Pro deal volume climbed 80% year over year. A 98% renewal rate and increasing adoption of multiple products by large customers underscore the platform’s expanding wallet share.
Cybersecurity represents another important growth avenue for NOW. Integrating Armis’ cyber-asset intelligence and Veza’s identity-governance capabilities with ServiceNow Security Operations creates a broader platform spanning asset visibility, identity security, risk controls and automated responses. NOW’s strong partner base that includes NVIDIA, Microsoft MSFT, AWS and Accenture extends AI Control Tower and Agentic AI capabilities across major enterprise ecosystems, while collaborations with Experian, Lenovo, FedEx and TeamViewer broaden industry use cases.
NOW to Suffer From Stiff Competition, Margin Pressure
ServiceNow has been suffering from investor concerns about increasing AI competition, premium valuation, execution risks around acquisitions and elevated expectations. NOW’s SaaS business model has suffered from strong adoption of AI-native solutions. Intensifying competition from Microsoft, Oracle ORCL and Salesforce CRM has been a headwind for the company. Shares of Oracle have dropped 20.9%, while Microsoft and Salesforce have returned 22% and 41.7%, respectively.
NOW Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ServiceNow is facing stiff competition from Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce as these players are investing significantly to deliver enterprise AI agents, workflow orchestration, governance, security, AI copilots and enterprise data integration.
ServiceNow faces near-term margin pressure as it expands its AI and cybersecurity capabilities. The company expects fiscal 2026 subscription gross margin of 81%, with higher usage of hyperscaler partnerships and accelerating AI adoption weighing on profitability. The Armis acquisition alone is expected to reduce full-year subscription gross margin by roughly 25 bps, operating margin by around 75 bps and free cash flow margin by approximately 200 bps.
Acquisition-related execution and balance-sheet risks have also increased. ServiceNow acquired Armis for approximately $7.6 billion and Veza for roughly $1.2 billion, substantially expanding its security portfolio. To help finance Armis, ServiceNow issued $4 billion of senior notes, while commercial paper outstanding totaled $2.1 billion as of June 30, 2026. Acquisition-related costs totaled $101 million in the first six months of 2026, while the transactions substantially increased goodwill and intangible assets.
NOW’s Earnings Estimate Revision Shows Downward Trend
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOW’s 2026 earnings has declined 6 cents to $4.07 per share over the past 60 days and indicates 15.95% growth from 2025’s reported figure. The consensus mark for NOW’s third-quarter 2026 earnings estimate is currently pegged at $1.03 per share, down four cents over the past 30 days and suggests 7.29% growth over the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
ServiceNow, Inc. Price and Consensus
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOW’s 2026 revenues is pegged at $16.20 billion and indicates 22.02% growth from 2025’s reported figure. The consensus mark for NOW’s third-quarter 2026 revenues is currently pegged at $4.1 billion, suggesting 20.27% growth over the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
ServiceNow Stock Trades at a Premium
ServiceNow stock has a Value Score of D, which suggests a stretched valuation at this moment.
The stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 8X, higher than the broader sector’s 6.09X, Salesforce’s 4.36X and Oracle’s 4.55X. However, NOW shares are trading below Microsoft’s P/S multiple of 9.22.
NOW Stock’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
ServiceNow continues to post strong subscription growth driven by robust enterprise demand and accelerating AI adoption. However, the company’s strong execution has been overshadowed by investor concerns that AI leaders such as Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce are rapidly expanding into workflow automation, AI agents and enterprise governance – areas that have historically differentiated ServiceNow. This, along with a stretched valuation, makes the stock a risky bargain for investors.
ServiceNow currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which implies that investors should avoid the stock for the time being.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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ServiceNow Jumps 25% in 3 Months: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Adobe ADBE is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Sept. 10.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Adobe expects total revenues between $6.67 billion and $6.72 billion. The company expects fiscal third-quarter non-GAAP earnings between $6.05 per share and $6.10 per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $6.69 billion, suggesting growth of 11.75% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings has been unchanged at $6.08 per share over the past 30 days, indicating 14.5% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
ADBE’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 2.51%.
Consensus Estimate Trend
Let us see how things have shaped up for ADBE stock prior to this announcement.
Adobe Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Factors to Note Prior to ADBE’s Q3 Earnings
Adobe’s third-quarter fiscal 2026 results are expected to have benefited from continued strength in its subscription business. The Business Professionals & Consumers business is expected to have benefited from robust demand for Acrobat and Express and increasing adoption of AI-powered capabilities. In the preceding quarter, Acrobat and Express monthly active users surpassed 850 million, increasing approximately 20% year over year, while Acrobat AI Assistant ARR nearly tripled. Continued strength across commercial and government enterprises is also likely to have supported subscription revenues.
Creative & Marketing Professionals revenues are expected to have gained from healthy Creative Cloud demand, particularly the Creative Cloud Pro offering, alongside increasing adoption of Adobe’s generative-AI products. Creative freemium MAU exceeded 90 million in the fiscal second quarter, rising more than 70% year over year, while Firefly ARR approached $300 million. Strong generative-credit consumption across video and audio and increasing AI usage within Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere are likely to have supported monetization during the quarter.
Adobe’s enterprise business is also expected to have benefited from growing demand for AI-powered Customer Experience Orchestration solutions. ARR across GenStudio, Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and apps, and Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and Agentic Web increased more than 20% year over year in the preceding quarter. GenStudio ARR grew more than 25%, while AEP and native-app subscription revenues increased more than 30%. More than 80% of AEP and AEM customers were already using agentic capabilities, suggesting continued adoption momentum entering the fiscal third quarter.
The Semrush acquisition is likely to have provided an additional boost. Semrush added roughly $480 million of ARR upon closing and expanded Adobe’s capabilities across search engine optimization, generative engine optimization and brand visibility. Adobe was rapidly integrating Semrush with its agentic web applications, while management cited a robust enterprise pipeline and expressed confidence in a seasonally strong second half.
However, Adobe faces stiff competition in the AI and Generative AI (GenAI) space from the likes of Microsoft MSFT, OpenAI, Alphabet GOOGL, Salesforce CRM, Midjourney and Canva. Adobe’s aggressive shift toward freemium offerings is likely to have limited near-term ARR growth. The company is directing more traffic to friction-free experiences across Firefly, Acrobat and Express to accelerate user acquisition. Rising investments could also have weighed on profitability.
ADBE Shares Underperform Sector
In the year-to-date period, Adobe shares have lost 23.8%, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 18.2%.
The company’s shares have also underperformed its peers, which include Microsoft, Alphabet and Salesforce. Alphabet and Microsoft shares have appreciated 8.2% and 3.3% over the same time frame, while Salesforce dropped 2%.
ADBE Stock’s Price Performance
ADBE shares are cheap, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 3.73X compared with the broader sector’s 6.11X, Microsoft’s 9.22X, Alphabet’s 8.16X and Salesforce’s 4.36X. ADBE has a Value Score of B.
ADBE Stock’s Valuation
ADBE Benefits From Expanding Partnerships
Adobe’s long-term growth is expected to benefit from expanding adoption of AI across its creativity, productivity and customer-experience portfolio. Firefly, Acrobat AI Assistant, GenStudio and Adobe Experience Platform are seeing increasing customer engagement and monetization. AI-first ARR more than tripled year over year to above $500 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, while Firefly ARR approached $300 million. Growing generative-credit consumption and integration of AI agents across Creative Cloud should further strengthen recurring revenues over time.
Adobe’s expanding enterprise footprint represents another important growth catalyst. Demand for customer experience orchestration, GenStudio, AEP and agentic web applications is increasing as enterprises automate content creation, personalization and marketing workflows. More than 80% of AEP and AEM customers were already using agentic capabilities, while Semrush expands Adobe’s capabilities in SEO, generative engine optimization and brand visibility. The combination should help Adobe deepen relationships with marketers and capture a larger share of enterprise spending.
However, Adobe faces intensifying competition as generative AI lowers barriers to content creation and expands the number of standalone AI tools available to consumers, creators and enterprises. Rapid shifts in customer behavior require Adobe to continuously innovate and integrate new AI models while maintaining differentiated, commercially safe offerings.
Adobe’s shift toward freemium offerings also creates monetization risk. The strategy is aimed at expanding monthly active users and lifetime customer value, but management expects it to reduce near-term ARR growth from individual subscribers. The decision to defer Creative Cloud line optimizations similarly postpones potential pricing benefits.
Conclusion
Adobe’s expanding AI portfolio, strengthening enterprise adoption and growing monetization across Firefly, Acrobat AI Assistant, GenStudio and AEP support its long-term growth prospects. The Semrush acquisition should further broaden its opportunity across digital marketing and AI-driven search. Moreover, ADBE’s discounted valuation relative to the broader sector and key peers appears attractive.
However, intensifying competition in generative AI, rising investments and near-term ARR pressure from the shift toward freemium offerings remain concerns. Given these offsetting factors and uncertainty ahead of fiscal third-quarter results, investors may prefer to wait for greater clarity on AI monetization, ARR growth and profitability before taking a position in ADBE stock.
Adobe currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Adobe Before Q3 Earnings: Should You Hold or Fold the ADBE Stock?

Key Points
ServiceNow stock benefited from strong quarterly results from fellow enterprise software company Salesforce.
AI is transforming the software industry, and ServiceNow shares will likely remain volatile as investors try to gauge how well the company is adapting.
Shares of ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), a cloud-based enterprise software company, jumped last month as investors shook off their fears that artificial intelligence would eliminate the need for traditional software companies.
Salesforce shares popped 33% in August, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, following strong quarterly results from fellow enterprise software company Salesforce.
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Fears of a "SaaS-pocalypse" were tamed, for now
Investors have been skittish about ServiceNow and other software stocks this year, worried that AI will eliminate the need for traditional software. And while some companies are being disrupted, it's not necessarily the case for ServiceNow and its peers.
The best example of this, and what helped ServiceNow stock jump last month, was Salesforce's recent quarterly results. Salesforce's second-quarter revenue rose to $11.3 billion, ahead of consensus estimates, and its non-GAAP earnings per share of $5.90 far outpaced Wall Street's average estimate.
Salesforce's management also issued strong revenue guidance for its full fiscal 2027, with revenue estimates of about $46.3 billion, at the midpoint, representing a nearly 12% increase from 2026.
Adding to the good news for Salesforce -- and by association, ServiceNow -- was the fact that the company's AI "Agentforce" achieved an annualized revenue run rate of $3.9 billion -- up 210% from the year-ago quarter.
That achievement was particularly important for ServiceNow investors because the company has its own AI agents that operate within its software, automating tasks and streamlining workflows. ServiceNow investors hope that if Salesforce can grow its AI agent revenue and fend off AI competitors, ServiceNow may be able to do the same.
Rising optimism for ServiceNow stock, but volatility is likely
In August, Bank of America analyst Tal Liani raised his price target for ServiceNow stock to $150, up from $130, and maintained a buy rating. More recently, an analyst at BTIG Research raised their price target for ServiceNow to $170 from $150, while maintaining a buy rating.
That's provided some additional optimism for ServiceNow shareholders, but the stock will likely remain volatile until investors settle on whether AI will overpower some software stocks. It's a difficult question to answer, and while I personally think companies like ServiceNow can benefit from AI, I understand that it isn't a closed debate just yet.
ServiceNow shareholders will get more insights when the company reports its third-quarter results in late October. But I suspect that ServiceNow and its peers will continue to experience frequent share price fluctuations as investors process the threat of AI in real time. That doesn't mean ServiceNow shares aren't worth owning, but just know it could be a bit of a ride for a little while longer.
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Why ServiceNow Stock Popped 33% Last Month

UiPath’s PATH latest results merit another look after the market has had time to digest them. Shares have fallen 24% since the Sept. 3 release, even though second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues exceeded expectations and management lifted its annual targets.
The reaction appears less about the reported quarter than the outlook’s magnitude and composition: the fiscal third-quarter revenue midpoint sits below the consensus mark, while the modest ARR-guidance increase leaves investors waiting for clearer AI-driven acceleration. That reset, however, creates a more interesting entry point, provided execution continues.
PATH’s YoY Revenue Growth Beats Expectations
Fiscal second-quarter revenues rose 13.4% year over year to $410.3 million, beating the $397.8 million consensus mark by 3.1%. Revenues nevertheless have declined 1.9% sequentially from $418.4 million. License revenues increased 10.4% year over year to $123.8 million but fell 17.1% from the fiscal first quarter.
Subscription-services revenues advanced 11.6% year over year and 5.2% sequentially to $266.1 million, improving the recurring-revenue mix. Professional services and other revenues surged 81.6% year over year and 25.8% quarter over quarter to $20.3 million, although they remained a small contributor.
PATH’s Margin Expansion Confirms Better Operating Discipline
GAAP gross profit increased 10.9% year over year but declined 3.5% sequentially to $329.7 million. The corresponding gross margin was 80%, down two percentage points both year over year and sequentially. Non-GAAP gross margin similarly contracted to 82% from 84% a year ago and 83% in the prior quarter.
Lower operating expenses offset that pressure. GAAP operating income reached $31.6 million, reversing a $20.2 million loss a year earlier and rising 12.9% sequentially. Operating margin improved to 8% from negative 6% and 7% in the prior year and prior quarter, respectively. This marked UiPath’s fourth consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability.
Non-GAAP operating income climbed 42.9% year over year to $89 million, though it slipped 3.7% sequentially. Its 22% margin expanded five percentage points year over year and held steady quarter over quarter. Adjusted earnings were 15 cents per share, unchanged both year over year and sequentially.
ARR Gains Support the AI Thesis, but Acceleration Is Still Needed
ARR reached $1.938 billion, up 12.5% year over year and 1.9% sequentially. Net new ARR was $37 million, 19.4% above the prior-year quarter but 24.5% below the first quarter’s $49 million. Dollar-based net retention was 109%, improving one percentage point year over year and remaining flat sequentially. Gross retention held at 97%, with attrition concentrated among smaller customers.
AI appeared in 18 of the quarter’s 20 largest deals, suggesting it is becoming central to enterprise purchases. UiPath’s proposition combines probabilistic AI with rules-based automation, while model neutrality and integrations with major coding assistants broaden its relevance. Larger outcome-oriented contracts could lift deal sizes, but evolving transaction-based pricing makes near-term monetization less predictable.
Raised Guidance Is Positive, Yet the Upside Looks Measured
Fiscal third-quarter revenue guidance of $440-$445 million has a $442.5 million midpoint, lower than the $444.3 million Zacks Consensus Estimate. ARR is projected at $1.992-$1.997 billion, implying 2.9% sequential growth at the midpoint, while non-GAAP operating income of roughly $100 million suggests a margin near 22.6%.
Full-year revenue guidance increased to $1.789-$1.794 billion from $1.776-$1.781 billion, representing a 0.7% midpoint raise and higher than the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78 billion. The ARR range moved up just 0.3% at the midpoint to $2.065-$2.070 billion, while non-GAAP operating-income guidance rose 3.5% to $445 million. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to approximate $425 million. The sharper profit revision is encouraging, but the restrained ARR increase helps explain why the market focused on competitive AI risk rather than the headline beat.
ServiceNow and Salesforce Set a Demanding Competitive Bar
ServiceNow NOW and Salesforce CRM provide useful benchmarks for UiPath’s AI-automation opportunity. ServiceNow embeds AI agents and workflow orchestration across its enterprise platform, giving it a large installed-base advantage and substantial cross-selling reach. Salesforce similarly connects autonomous agents with customer data, applications and workflows through Agentforce, making it a formidable competitor for enterprise automation budgets.
Yet UiPath retains differentiation in deterministic robotic automation, model neutrality and governance across mixed human, software and agent processes. ServiceNow may appeal to customers standardizing IT workflows, while Salesforce is strongest around customer-facing processes. UiPath’s opportunity lies in serving as the controlled execution layer across both domains, especially for complex, regulated operations over the coming investment cycle.
Cash Generation Moderated, but the Balance Sheet Remains Strong
Operating cash flow fell 26.2% year over year and 76.7% sequentially to $30.7 million. Adjusted free cash flow was about $31 million, down 31.1% year over year and 76.2% sequentially, reflecting quarterly timing following a strong first quarter.
UiPath still ended the period with $1.405 billion in cash and investments, down only 1.1% sequentially, and no debt. It also repurchased 2.4 million shares at an average price of $9.63, providing modest support while preserving substantial financial flexibility.
Verdict: The Selloff Makes PATH a Buy
The post-earnings decline has created an attractive entry point for investors willing to tolerate volatility. UiPath is pairing durable recurring-revenue growth with stronger retention, disciplined spending and sustained profitability, while its debt-free balance sheet provides room to keep investing. The market’s concern that general-purpose AI tools could erode traditional automation demand is legitimate, and near-term growth remains measured. However, enterprises still require accuracy, governance and orchestration when automated decisions reach core operations. UiPath’s model-neutral platform is designed for precisely that need. With execution improving and expectations reset after the selloff, the risk-reward balance supports a Buy for patient investors today.
PATH stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).