Marc Benioff, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., speaks during the opening keynote of the 2019 DreamForce conference in San Francisco on Nov. 19, 2019. Salesforce.com Inc.s annual software conference, where it introduces new products and discusses its commitment to social causes, was interrupted for the second year in a row by protests against the company’s work with the U.S. government.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Salesforce shares were down as much as 4% in extended trading on Thursday after the enterprise-software company issued earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates, but Salesforce came up short on its full-year earnings forecast as it factors in the implications of buying team communication app Slack.
Here’s how the company did:
- Earnings: $1.04 per share, adjusted, vs. 75 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $5.82 billion, vs. $5.68 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
The company reported 20% year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter of the company’s 2021 fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31, according to a statement. In the previous quarter revenue grew 20%.
Salesforce generated $1.36 billion in subscription and support revenue from its key Sales Cloud product for tracking sales leads, translating into roughly 11% annualized growth, compared with 12% in the prior quarter. Acquisitions have helped Salesforce expand over the years, and the Tableau data visualization software Salesforce bought in 2019 contributed to Salesforce’s $1.81 billion in subscription and support revenue from Platform and Other products, up 26% and accelerating from 24% in the prior quarter.
In December Salesforce said it planned to acquire Slack for over $27 billion. Salesforce said it expects to close the deal late in the quarter that ends on July 31. Also in the quarter Salesforce announced Vaccine Cloud, a tool that government agencies and companies can use to manage deployment of coronavirus vaccines.
Salesforce had $18 billion in current remaining performance obligations at the end of the quarter, up 20%. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 16% growth, and the growth rate was 20% in the previous quarter.
With respect to guidance, Salesforce sees 88 cents to 89 cents in adjusted earnings per share in the fiscal first quarter on $5.875 billion to $5.885 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share on $5.72 billion in revenue.
For the full 2022 fiscal year, which would include impact from Slack, the company called for $3.39 to $3.41 in adjusted earnings per share in the fiscal first quarter on $25.65 billion to $25.75 billion in revenue. That includes $600 million in revenue from Slack. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had been anticipating $3.49 in adjusted earnings per share and $25.42 billion in revenue.
Salesforce shares have risen 4% since the start of 2021, while the S&P 500 index is up about 2%.
Executives will hold a conference call with analysts to discuss the results starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
WATCH: Trusted technology is needed in vaccine distribution: Salesforce
