Salesforce Drops on Mixed Earnings, Analyst Says LT Narrative is 'Bent, Not Broken'

© Reuters. Salesforce Drops on Mixed Earnings, Analyst Says LT Narrative is 'Bent, Not Broken'

By Senad Karaahmetovic

Shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) are down over 6% after the software company reported mixed Q2 results and guidance for the third quarter and full fiscal year.

Salesforce reported an adjusted EPS of $1.19 on sales of $7.72 billion while analysts were looking for an EPS of $1.03 on revenue of $7.69 billion. CRM also reported that its subscription and support revenue grew 21% YoY to $7.14 billion, slightly below the consensus of $7.19 billion.

For this quarter, Salesforce expects to see revenue between $7.82 billion and $7.83 billion, lower than the consensus of $8.05 billion. The adjusted EPS is seen between $1.20 and $1.21, again below the average analyst estimate of $1.29.

Shares were mostly hit by the fact that CRM slashed its full-year forecast. Revenue is now seen between $30.9 billion and $31 billion, down from the prior outlook of $31.7 billion to $31.8 billion. Analysts were looking for $31.74 billion in full-year revenue from Salesforce.

The adjusted EPS is expected in the range of $4.71 to $4.73, slightly lower than the prior range of $4.74 to $4.76 while the consensus stood at $4.75.

The software company also announced a $10 billion share buyback authorization.

A Morgan Stanley analyst has focused on the slashed guide, which she believes is a de-risking move from CRM given the weakening macro conditions rather than the reflection of the slowing growth.

“The magnitude of management's cut to the FY23 revenue targets ($600 million excluding FX impacts) took many by surprise, and overshadowed real fundamental improvements in the story around margins and capital allocation,” he said in a client note.

An Evercore ISI analyst cut the price target to $225 from $250 on CRM as Q2 proved to be “a confessional quarter.”

“While this was admittedly a harder landing that we were anticipating in terms of the 2H outlook, the silver lining is that the guidance now better reflects the macro backdrop, CRM remains committed to margin expansion, and the buyback should help quell some of the lingering questions about dilution and the broader capital strategy. To sum it up, while we are not surprised by the near-term reaction to the 2H outlook, we believe the long-term narrative is bent, not broken,” he said in a client note.