Earnings Call Insights: Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Q2 2026
Management View
-
Marc Benioff, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, highlighted, “We outperformed on Q2 revenue with $10.25 billion, up 10% year-over-year and 9% in constant currency… Net new bookings from deals over $1 million grew 26% year-over-year.” He emphasized the strong momentum in Salesforce’s AI and data cloud, noting the AI and data product line is up 120% year-over-year.
-
Benioff stated, “We’re on track to close out fiscal ’26 as a record year, raising our guidance on the low end for revenue, raising non-GAAP operating margin and cash flow, and we expect to finish with nearly $15 billion in operating cash flow.” He attributed these advances to success with Agentforce, now at more than 6,000 paid deals, and Data Cloud, with 140% growth in customers.
-
Benioff described the rollout of agentic capabilities across Salesforce’s product portfolio, from Sales Cloud to Marketing and Commerce, and highlighted major customer wins and use cases, such as DIRECTV, PenFed, Under Armour, Reddit, and Williams Sonoma, and the deployment of Agentforce in public sector deals like the U.S. Army.
-
Robin Washington, President, Chief Operating & Financial Officer, said, “Data Cloud and AI ARR continues to scale, reaching $1.2 billion in Q2, growing 120% year-on-year.” She reported, “Revenue in the second quarter was $10.24 billion, up 10% year-over-year… Q2 non-GAAP operating margin up 60 basis points and GAAP operating margin up 370 basis points.” Washington outlined the company’s focus on customer success, accelerated AI adoption, operational excellence, and capital allocation, including recent acquisitions and a new $20 billion expansion of the share repurchase authorization.
Outlook
-
Washington announced, “We are pleased to raise the low end of our fiscal year ’26 revenue guidance to $41.1 billion to $41.3 billion. This results in growth of approximately 8.5% to 9% year-over-year in nominal and 8% in constant currency.”
-
She reiterated, “We are reiterating our subscription and support revenue growth of approximately 9% year-over-year in constant currency, driven by the momentum in data cloud and agent force this year.” Non-GAAP operating margin guidance increased 10 basis points to 34.1% for the year.
-
Q3 revenue guidance is $10.24 billion to $10.29 billion, up 8% to 9% year-over-year.
Financial Results
-
Salesforce reported Q2 revenue of $10.24 billion, up 10% year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating margin came in at 34.3%, with GAAP operating margin up 370 basis points.
-
Current remaining performance obligation (CRPO) was $29.4 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Operating cash flow for the year is projected to reach nearly $15 billion, with annual operating cash flow growth guidance raised to 12% to 13%.
-
The company returned $2.6 billion to shareholders in Q2 and announced a $20 billion expansion in share repurchase authorization.
Q&A
-
Kasthuri Rangan, Goldman Sachs: Asked about the defensibility of SaaS against disruption from AI-native apps. Benioff responded, “It’s not about the fundamental, I would say, elimination of SaaS. What I would say, it’s the fundamental extension of SaaS.” Washington added that the company is “really confident in our strategy to monetize AI.”
-
Keith Weiss, Morgan Stanley: Inquired about the 60% increase in pilot to production conversions. Srinivas Tallapragada explained that product enhancements, such as determinism in agents and the Agentforce Command Center, enabled customers to expand use cases and scale consumption.
-
Brent Thill, Jefferies: Asked about the balance between buybacks and M&A. Benioff noted, “We are going to do 3 things with our money. One, we are going to provide a buyback… provide a dividend… and look around… we’re going to buy it.” Washington emphasized maintaining a disciplined M&A framework.
-
S. Kirk Materne, Evercore: Queried about mid-market growth. Benioff detailed the “5 segment strategy” and highlighted strong performance in small and mid-market businesses, driven by AI adoption. Miguel Milano affirmed, “The low end of the market and the mid-market is growing significantly.”
-
Mark Murphy, JPMorgan: Asked about support headcount reduction and its impact on growth. Benioff discussed the organizational transformation toward an agentic enterprise and ongoing restructuring to become “a more profitable company, a higher revenue company.”
-
Raimo Lenschow, Barclays: Sought clarity on growth outlook. Milano stated, “The bookings are very strong and I’m very confident in the future of the company.”
Sentiment Analysis
-
Analysts focused on the sustainability of growth, the pace of AI adoption, and the impact of buybacks versus M&A, reflecting a neutral to slightly positive tone with an undercurrent of skepticism about the scale and timing of AI-driven acceleration.
-
Management expressed high confidence, with Benioff declaring, “I’ve never been more excited about anything in my entire career,” and Washington reiterating the company’s commitment to “accelerate profitable growth.” The tone was enthusiastic in prepared remarks and remained assertive during Q&A.
-
Compared to the previous quarter, management’s tone was even more confident, frequently stressing acceleration and transformative opportunities, while analysts maintained a similar cadence of curiosity and cautious optimism.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
-
The company raised the low end of FY26 revenue guidance to $41.1 billion from the prior $41 billion, while maintaining the high end at $41.3 billion, reflecting continued optimism in Data Cloud and Agentforce momentum.
-
Non-GAAP operating margin guidance increased from 34% to 34.1%, and annual operating cash flow growth guidance rose from 10-11% to 12-13%.
-
Management emphasized the acceleration in AI and agentic capabilities, versus last quarter’s focus on Informatica acquisition and initial Agentforce adoption.
-
Analysts’ focus remained on growth sustainability, AI adoption, and the impact of strategic capital allocation, consistent with prior quarter themes.
Risks and Concerns
-
Management identified ongoing challenges in marketing and commerce, as well as measured performance in the U.K. and Japan, and the impact of prior measured sales performance on future CRPO growth.
-
Washington noted, “This is partially offset by weakness in marketing and commerce and slower growth in our exploration base.”
-
Analysts questioned the durability of AI-driven growth and the ability to translate bookings acceleration into top-line results.
Final Takeaway
Salesforce management highlighted a quarter of strong revenue growth, margin expansion, and accelerated adoption of AI and Data Cloud, underpinned by significant customer wins and expanding agentic capabilities across the product portfolio. The company raised its FY26 revenue and cash flow guidance, signaled ongoing investment in innovation, and reinforced its balanced approach to capital allocation. Management expressed high confidence in the trajectory of Agentforce and Data Cloud as key growth drivers for the coming quarters.