"AI Is Not the Gravedigger": BofA Turns Bullish on Salesforce, Inc. (CRM.US), $30 Million Acquisition Ignites Software Stock Revaluation

Notice that Salesforce, Inc. (CRM.US) became the focus of the U.S. software sector on Monday: the company announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli AI analytics startup Loops and planned to integrate its technology and team into Tableau; almost simultaneously, Bank of America Corp rarely upgraded the stock directly from "underperform" to "buy," with its price target jumping from $160 to $285. Under the double boost, Salesforce, Inc. rose as much as 5.1% intraday and still closed up about 1.5%. From the perspective of the deal itself, this is a typical "technology + talent" acquisition. Neither side disclosed the terms, and the market estimates the transaction value at about $30 million, with completion expected in early November of Salesforce, Inc.'s fiscal 2027. Loops was founded in 2020 by CEO Tom Laufer and CTO Ido Adiv. Its platform is known for machine learning and causal analysis, focusing on answering "why metrics change" rather than just "what happened"; the AI agent Scout launched last year can also proactively push insights through Slack and email. Salesforce, Inc. said the acquisition will advance its "agentic analytics" strategy, moving customers from looking at reports to letting AI directly drive action. Analysts' views are the real driver of this round of recovery. BofA analyst Tal Liani said bluntly in a report that AI will not disrupt enterprise software, but will instead "deepen enterprises' dependence on these platforms" - platforms that carry business logic, data, workflows, and compliance systems are difficult for customers to replace. BofA pointed out that Salesforce, Inc. has adopted a "two-faced" strategy: on the one hand, it uses Slack to control user interaction, and on the other hand, it opens data and workflows to third-party interfaces such as Claude. This approach may weaken Salesforce's own user interface. "Therefore, we believe Salesforce, Inc.'s approach is a pragmatic hedging strategy, controlling the user interface through Slackforce as much as possible while providing external interface access, thereby keeping the data and its context inside the company," the analyst said. BofA also raised its subscription revenue growth forecasts for fiscal 2028 and 2029 and anchored its valuation at 16 times fiscal 2027 free cash flow. It is worth noting that Liani had warned in May this year about the structural impact of AI on enterprise software, and this "self-reversal" is interpreted as a collective capitulation by sell-side sentiment toward enterprise software pessimism. Fundamentals are also providing ammunition for the bullish case. In the second fiscal quarter ended at the end of July, Agentforce annual recurring revenue (ARR) exceeded $1.5 billion, up more than 240% year over year; Agentforce and Data 360 combined ARR approached $3.9 billion, up more than 210%; current remaining performance obligations increased about 14% year over year to $33.5 billion. The company is also advancing a new usage-based pricing model to hedge concerns about "AI replacing software seats." Of course, cautious voices have not disappeared. Bears point out that AI-related revenue still accounts for a relatively small share, and if customer adoption slows, financial realization may be delayed, while elevated short positioning also reflects that some funds remain on the sidelines. Overall, this $30 million acquisition itself is not enough to rewrite Salesforce, Inc.'s revenue curve, but it comes right at an inflection point in sell-side sentiment. A market consensus is forming: AI is not the "gravedigger" of enterprise software, but may be its new source of pricing power - the next earnings report will test whether this optimistic narrative can be delivered.