SalesForce.com Inc. (CRM)

Been a lot of premature hype earlier this year, but AI is no fad and demands a long-term strategy. You need to pick the right companies, preferring large, establish companies over speculative smaller ones. AI will be a growth story in coming years.

He sold it (a small position) to add to his MSFT shares, which is a core position.

It reported today a tremendous quarter, a solid top and bottom line beat with a much better than expected operating margin, super cash flow while the data cloud division was up 42% YOY.

It reports next week. Two analysts just lowered price targets, but he likes this space, also owning Adobe and Microsoft

They have operational efficiency now and should be applauded. Before, they were spending a lot in buying companies. He bought this last April and is glad with its move up. Likes that they were focusing on their balance sheet.

He sold crm 12 months ago in tax-loss selling. Early this year, share were up, but hasn't done much since. Agrees with today's upgrade, based on growth at a reasonable price, and glad to see the CEO return. The Slack buy didn't do well, but things look more promising. Doesn't regret selling it.

Still owns it. Yes, it's been volatile, but management is good. As long as rates and inflation are steady or decline, this and its peers are the place to be. They will benefit from their super AI platform; Einstein is a powerful tool.

Still some runway, with 12-month price target of $242.75. Margins around 40%, revenue's up YOY by 10-12%. Einstein AI has been released. Continues to do collaborations. Loves it. 

They can explode their earnings higher, based on their AI, Einstein. He's met users who have been thrilled by Einstein.

Rallied before las year's interest rate hikes when the street suddenly rewarded profitable companies and sunned non-profitable tech. Activists led to the company improving operating margins and earnings. Last week's quarter really beat estimates.

He's worried that every one of the 34 analysts covering it raised estimates after the previous quarter. It comes down to CRM controlling spending. They report later today.

They report later today. Is up 61% YTD after a rough 2022. She forecasts $1.90, up 60% over 2022 YOY, and more cost-cutting. Margins are improving, because we're starting to sales rebounce after bottoming in the first 6 months this year. Expects revenue to rise 10%. Enteprise software has improved. Hopes they can bring in new coporate customers.

Reports next week and she expects a good quarter. Shares are up 50% YTD, but so will earnings. They will show better topline numbers.

CRM is another big tech stocks comeback story, rallying 20% in the past year, but 65% year-to-date after plunging to end 2022. Activist investors have been driving cost cutting to beef up profit margins rather than raise sales growth. The results: Q1 revenues topped estimates, operating margins improved and the company raised the July revenue forecast from $8.49 billion to $8.52 billion. Something is working. Add to this momentum, CRM throwing their hat into the Generative AI ring with Einstein and AI Cloud. The new tech can help enterprise clients craft emails, service briefings, case summaries and work orders. Read 3 Big Tech Stocks Making a Comeback for our full analysis.

Is up 68% YTD, caught in the hot tech rally. Activist investors in the recent past helped make the company more efficient. Just reported and is selling off in after-hours trading, a victim to high expectations. CRM reported a great quarter: an earnings beat with higher-than expected sales, huge cash and raised guidance, but that still wasn't enough. Again, expectations were so high.