Salesforce $CRM ( ▲ 0.51% ) popped after-hours on Wednesday after delivering stronger-than-expected earnings and upbeat guidance. The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.25 per share for the third quarter, well above the $2.86 FactSet consensus, while revenue rose 9 percent to $10.3 billion, matching expectations.
Guidance for the fourth quarter was another bright spot. Salesforce expects revenue between $11.13 billion and $11.23 billion, easily topping the $10.9 billion analysts had projected. It also guided for adjusted earnings of $3.02 to $3.04 per share, which is roughly in line with Wall Street expectations.
Shares climbed more than 4 percent in late trading on the results. The stock had been down about 30 percent for the year, weighed down by weak Q3 guidance last quarter.
CEO Marc Benioff pointed to Agentforce and Data 360 as the company’s biggest growth drivers. Investors will be tuned into the earnings call for more details on Salesforce’s AI roadmap and traction across its AI-powered cloud products.