SI
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)·Q2 2026 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q2 FY26 delivered record revenue of $10.24B (+10% YoY; +9% CC) and non-GAAP operating margin of 34.3%, beating Wall Street estimates on both revenue and EPS; cRPO rose 11% YoY to $29.4B .
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.91 vs. consensus ~$2.78; revenue was $10.236B vs. ~$10.138B consensus, marking clean beats on the top and bottom lines (S&P Global estimates)*.
- Management raised FY26 guidance on the low-end revenue ($41.1–$41.3B), lifted non-GAAP operating margin to 34.1%, and increased operating cash flow growth to ~12–13% YoY .
- Capital return accelerated: $2.2B buybacks and $399M dividends in Q2; board expanded repurchase authorization by $20B to $50B total, supported by robust cash generation .
- Catalysts: AI/Agentforce adoption (ARR >$1.2B, +120% YoY), flex consumption pricing, and a larger buyback underpin estimate revisions and sentiment into H2; near-term watch items include mixed regional demand (UK/Japan constrained) and measured retail/public sector pacing .
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Strong beats and margin expansion: revenue grew 10% YoY to $10.236B; non-GAAP operating margin reached 34.3% (+60 bps QoQ), and cRPO rose 11% YoY to $29.4B .
- AI momentum and monetization: Data Cloud & AI ARR surpassed $1.2B (+120% YoY); >12,500 Agentforce deals since launch (6,000 paid), with 40% of Q2 bookings from existing customers expanding .
- Capital return stepped up: $2.6B returned to shareholders (including $2.2B buybacks and $399M dividends) and a $20B increase to repurchase authorization to $50B total .
Management quotes:
- “We exceeded all our financial targets while achieving our tenth consecutive quarter of operating margin expansion” — Robin Washington .
- “We remain on track for fiscal 2026 to be a record year with nearly $15 billion in operating cash flow” — Marc Benioff .
What Went Wrong
- Regional and industry mixed signals: UK and Japan were constrained; retail/consumer goods and public sector remained measured despite strength in US, Netherlands, and Switzerland .
- Marketing & Commerce softness: management cited weakness there and slower growth in the expiration base offsetting momentum in Data Cloud and Agentforce .
- CRPO impacted by prior sales performance: while normalized bookings are improving, CRPO remains influenced by measured sales performance starting in Q2 FY23, tempering near-term trajectory .
Financial Results
Core P&L and cRPO trends
Results vs Wall Street consensus (S&P Global)
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.
Segment revenue breakdown (Subscription & Support)
Geographic revenue
KPIs and Cash
Guidance Changes
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “We outperformed on Q2 revenue…non-GAAP operating margin came in strong at 34.3%…and we expect to finish with nearly $15,000,000,000 in operating cash flow” — Marc Benioff .
- “Data Cloud and AI ARR continues to scale, reaching $1.2 billion in Q2, growing 120% year on year” — Robin Washington .
- “We brought people to hubs…we hire faster…The low end of the market and the mid market is growing significantly” — Miguel Milano .
- “We created…forward-deployed engineering…to enable observability and track [agents] and performance manage at scale” — Srini Tallapragada .
Q&A Highlights
- SaaS vs AI-native disruption: Benioff framed AI as an “extension of SaaS,” emphasizing agents + humans with trusted data, not elimination of apps .
- Pilot-to-production conversion: Technology catalysts include determinism, agent command center, and enterprise-grade observability to scale use cases across industries .
- Capital allocation: “Trinity” of buybacks, dividends, and strategic M&A; $20B buyback expansion alongside disciplined, non-dilutive M&A (Informatica, Regrelo) .
- Growth trajectory: AE capacity +20% YoY with focus on mid-market/SMB; pipeline growing in high teens with big-deal pipeline ~20% growth .
- Guidance clarifications: Q3 revenue $10.24–$10.29B, cRPO “slightly above 10%” nominal; FY26 non-GAAP margin raised to 34.1% and OCF growth to 12–13% .
Estimates Context
- Q2 FY26 beat: non-GAAP EPS $2.91 vs. ~$2.78 consensus; revenue $10.236B vs. ~$10.138B (S&P Global estimates)* .
- Q1 FY26 also beat: non-GAAP EPS $2.58 vs. ~$2.55; revenue $9.829B vs. ~$9.75B (S&P Global estimates)* .
- Next quarter (Q3 FY26): Company guides revenue $10.24–$10.29B and non-GAAP EPS $2.84–$2.86 vs. consensus ~$10.273B and ~$2.862 (S&P Global estimates)* .
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Multi-faceted beat with margin expansion suggests durable profit discipline alongside AI-driven growth; estimate revisions likely positive for FY26 EPS and FCF trajectories .
- AI monetization is real: consumption pricing (Flex Credits) and agent expansion underpin ARR growth; watch consumption velocity and expansion “refill the tank” cycles to gauge upside .
- Capital returns are now a core pillar: $20B buyback authorization boost and recurring dividends provide downside support and EPS accretion .
- Data stack as strategic moat: Informatica, Data Cloud, MuleSoft, Tableau integrated in the “AI Foundation” can increase share in enterprise AI workloads post-close (no FY26 contribution assumed) .
- Near-term risk checks: regional constraints (UK/Japan), measured retail/public sector, and the lagged CRPO impact from prior sales performance; monitor H2 pipeline conversion .
- Operating cash flow outlook raised to 12–13% growth with capex <2% of revenue supports consistent FCF and buyback capacity .
- Trading lens: strong execution, raised margin/OCF guidance, and accelerating AI adoption create a constructive setup into Dreamforce and Q3; watch guidance cadence vs consensus each print .