Salesforce outlines $41.3B FY26 revenue target with Informatica acquisition and accelerated AI growth

Earnings Call Insights: Salesforce (CRM) Q1 2026

Management View

• Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO, and Co-Founder, announced the definitive agreement to acquire Informatica for $8 billion, describing it as a “transformational step” that unites Salesforce’s #1 AI CRM with Informatica’s data management and ETL capabilities. Benioff emphasized, “This is a moment where Informatica is more important to our customers than ever before because of what’s happening with AI.”
• Robin Washington, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, provided additional detail on the acquisition, stating, “We expect to achieve accretion on non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow by year 2 post close. We are laser focused on speed of integration… resulting in no share dilution. This transaction is not expected to disrupt our capital return strategy.”
• Benioff reported Q1 revenue of $9.83 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year, and highlighted strong growth in the small and medium market business as well as success with Agentforce and Data Cloud. He stated, “We have $60.9 billion in RPO, up 13% year-over-year, and we had exceptional performance with CRPO growing year-over-year in constant currency. And we’re raising our fiscal year ’26 guidance by $400 million to $41.3 billion at the high end of the range.”
• Benioff detailed Agentforce’s rapid adoption, noting “more than 4,000 paid Agentforce customers… $100 million in Agentforce ARR,” and outlined the launch of Flex Credits, a new consumption-based pricing model.
• Washington highlighted that “30% of Q1 Agentforce new bookings came through expansion deals from existing Agentforce customers,” and Data Cloud surpassed 22 trillion records, up 175% year-over-year.

Outlook

• The company raised fiscal year 2026 revenue guidance to $41 billion to $41.3 billion, up $400 million at the high end, reflecting 8% to 9% year-over-year growth. Subscription and support revenue guidance was reiterated at approximately 9% year-over-year growth in constant currency. Washington stated, “Our guidance reflects a consistent demand environment and assumes those trends continue.”
• Q2 revenue is expected to be $10.1 billion to $10.2 billion, up 8% to 9% year-over-year. CRPO growth for Q2 is expected to be 10% year-over-year in nominal, including a $300 million FX tailwind.
• The company maintains non-GAAP operating margin guidance of 34% and GAAP margin of 21.6% for the year. Operating cash flow growth of 10% to 11% and free cash flow growth of 9% to 10% remain unchanged.

Financial Results

• Q1 revenue was $9.83 billion, up 8% year-over-year. Subscription and support revenues grew 9% in constant currency.
• Non-GAAP operating margin in Q1 was 32.3%. Operating cash flow was $6.5 billion, up 4% year-over-year.
• Remaining performance obligation (RPO) at quarter end was $60.9 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Current RPO (CRPO) was $29.6 billion, up 12% year-on-year.
• The company returned more than $3 billion via share repurchases and dividends in Q1, with a 4% increase in dividend payout.

Q&A

• Keith Weiss, Morgan Stanley, asked about when Agentforce and Data Cloud will meaningfully accelerate overall growth. Benioff responded, emphasizing discipline in margin and cash flow, adding, “Now there’s one more huge transformation that is really underway, and it’s really driven by this agentic AI moment. And that is the growth transformation.” Miguel Milano, President & Chief Revenue Officer, stated, “We are aiming at 22% overall capacity growth. We’re going to be growing more on the low end of the market, the small medium business and the mid-market.”
• Brent Thill, Jefferies, inquired about customer behavior and pipeline uncertainty. Washington replied, “We do have this overall balanced portfolio… We also have the strong momentum, as you’ve heard us talk about with data and AI.”
• Raimo Lenschow, Barclays, asked about the impact of Tableau and Informatica on agent and data strategy. Srini Tallapragada, President & Chief Engineering Officer, described the integration of Tableau, Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Informatica as creating a “really trusted data platform, which is what is required to really make the promise of agents true.”
• Brad Sills, Bank of America, questioned leading indicators of the Agentforce cycle’s materiality. Benioff noted rapid deployment, stating, “I’ve never seen in my career… this idea that we now have 8,000 customers, 4,000 of whom are paying, many of them who have dense scale deployments where this is working in months.”
• Kash Rangan, Goldman Sachs, asked about accelerating Agentforce adoption and Informatica integration. Benioff explained, “There is a lot of things that could not happen… because their whole enterprise data set is not fully harmonized which is why Informatica is so critical now more than ever.” Washington clarified, “We expect that it’s going to close beginning of our fiscal year ’27… Our desire is always to under promise and over deliver.”
• Mark Murphy, JPMorgan, raised concerns about AI’s impact on white-collar jobs. Benioff stated, “We have so much opportunity. I can’t hire as many people as I want right now… we’re not at that point where all these white collar jobs are just suddenly disappearing because I think that we realize why AI can do some things. While this is very exciting in the enterprise, we all know, it cannot do everything.”

Sentiment Analysis

• Analysts pressed for clarity on growth inflection, Agentforce adoption pace, and macro uncertainty, with a tone that was neutral to slightly positive, reflecting optimism but seeking specifics.
• Management maintained a confident and upbeat tone in prepared remarks, frequently using phrases such as “we are just getting started,” but demonstrated caution and discipline regarding integration, growth pacing, and execution during Q&A. Benioff stated, “We are committed to all of those things, but I’m also deeply committed to growth.”
• Compared to the prior quarter, management’s tone shifted from performance celebration to a focus on transformative growth and execution, while analysts maintained a similar level of cautious optimism.

Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison

• The current quarter introduced the $8 billion Informatica acquisition as a strategic move to strengthen Salesforce’s AI and data platform, compared to no major acquisition in the prior quarter.
• Fiscal 2026 revenue guidance was raised to $41.3 billion at the high end, with an $400 million increase, while the previous quarter guided $40.5 billion to $40.9 billion.
• Management highlighted stronger-than-expected growth in small and medium business segments and Agentforce ARR surpassing $100 million. In the previous quarter, the focus was on Agentforce’s initial traction and early customer wins.
• The management team added Robin Washington as COO and CFO, replacing outgoing executives.
• While both quarters discussed disciplined capital allocation and margin focus, the current quarter emphasized a renewed push for growth and aggressive sales capacity expansion.

Risks and Concerns

• Management cited potential integration risks with Informatica and the need for regulatory approval, noting, “We expect to close by early fiscal year 2027.”
• Growth in some EMEA regions and sectors like retail, consumer goods, and public sector remained “more measured.”
• Washington cautioned, “Our guidance reflects a consistent demand environment and assumes those trends continue. Of course, if the environment changes, our results may be impacted.”
• Analysts raised questions about macroeconomic uncertainty and the timeline for Agentforce and Data Cloud becoming more significant growth drivers.

Final Takeaway

Salesforce leadership signaled a confident outlook anchored by upgraded revenue guidance, robust small and mid-market momentum, and the strategic $8 billion Informatica acquisition to accelerate its AI and data ambitions. The company emphasized operational discipline and growth, highlighting rapid adoption of Agentforce and Data Cloud, while preparing for the next phase of AI-driven expansion and integration. Management expects the Informatica deal to deliver accretive value by year two post-close and reiterated commitments to margin, cash flow, and capital return priorities.

Read the full Earnings Call Transcript