Salesforce, Inc.(CRM.US) financial report becomes the first assessment of AI agent technology: Can performance ignite a turning point in stock price and validate the commercial potential of AI?

Notice that Salesforce, Inc. (CRM.US) will announce its financial report after the local time on Wednesday, which will be a key test for the stock and what many consider to be the next major event in the field of artificial intelligence - AI agents. Salesforce, Inc. is seen as a pioneer in such tools, designed to handle multi-step processes on behalf of users without the need for human supervision. The company launched the Agentforce product in October and received positive reviews for the update released in December, meaning that the report to be released after the market closes on Wednesday will be crucial for its adoption and potential. A positive interpretation can not only boost the stock price, which has been declining all year, but also make investors believe in the broader potential of artificial intelligence to drive efficiency. Clayton Allison, portfolio manager at Prime Capital Financial, said, "AI agents are now at the forefront of software trading, and this is the first quarter where we should see concrete data." "People are questioning whether the capital expenditure on artificial intelligence is worth it, so if we see tangible results and profits from Salesforce, Inc., it may indicate that the technology is worth the premium. If performance is poor, it will be disappointing as so much growth has already been factored in." Salesforce, Inc. Stock Price Decline Ahead of Earnings Announcement Salesforce, Inc.'s previous financial report exceeded expectations in key metrics, largely thanks to artificial intelligence, which led to a rise in stock prices to historic highs. However, the company has failed to sustain this upward momentum, falling 16% since the financial report was released in December. Last week was the stock's worst-performing week since August, closing at a new low since November on Monday. The stock has dropped nearly 8% this year, underperforming the overall market and software company indexes. Despite the disappointing performance, the company is believed to be capable of deploying AI agents into its software for functions such as customer service, scheduling, and potential customer scoring. The company has been actively implementing this strategy, cutting other positions while hiring staff to sell the product. AI agent tools are on the rise; OpenAI released a research-focused tool earlier this month. However, Wall Street is optimistic about Salesforce, Inc.'s capitalization ability. Morgan Stanley believes it is "well-positioned for the shift to Agentic Computing," while Credit Suisse wrote that due to the "significant increase in customer spend on Salesforce, Inc. with Agentforce," but cautioned that short-term growth is "still a pending issue" as many customers are still in the testing phase. Data shows that this earnings season, 75% of software companies have exceeded profit expectations, with approximately 69% exceeding revenue expectations. For the overall technology industry, the proportions are 84% and 71%, respectively. With the emerging position of Agentforce and the recent underperformance of the stock, this may mean that the market has low expectations for this report, and recent management changes may dampen the company's positive outlook on the future. As the company's stock price appears relatively cheap compared to large AI stocks, an unexpected increase could be a catalyst. The stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 times, nearly half of its 10-year average level. Its stock is lower than the S&P 500 tech sector index and software index. The stock is 30% below the average target price, making it one of the tech stocks with the highest implied return in the next 12 months. Eric Clark, portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors, said, "Given Salesforce, Inc.'s stable and predictable growth trajectory, this price-to-earnings ratio looks quite reasonable, especially when you can expect Agentforce to bring a turning point in performance in the coming quarters." He expects Salesforce, Inc. to break through $500 in the next few years, with the stock closing at just over $308 on Monday. Clark emphasized that while short-term results may not show a significant improvement from Agentforce, the long-term potential is significant, especially if low-cost AI models like China's DeepSeek can accelerate wider adoption of AI services and functions. "Salesforce, Inc. has always maintained close contact with customers, and I believe Agentforce will be like super glue," he said. "It will gain tremendous momentum, even if it takes longer than the market expects, but I don't think anyone will doubt that over time, this will become a critical part of its business." Microsoft Corporation closed at its lowest point since September on Monday, the latest sign of the software giant's recent struggles. Investment bank TD Cowen stated that the company has canceled leases for some US data center capacity, raising concerns about whether it has obtained AI computing capacity beyond long-term demand, leading to a 1% drop in the company's stock price. The stock has fallen nearly 14% from its high in July.