Cloud computing giant Salesforce (CRM) has reported mixed financial results for what was its fiscal third quarter.
The San Francisco-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $2.41 U.S. versus $2.44 U.S. that was expected on Wall Street.
Revenue in the period came in at $9.44 billion U.S. compared to consensus analyst estimates of $9.34 billion U.S. Sales were up 8% year over year.
Despite the mixed performance, shares of Salesforce are up 13% in pre-market trading on news that the company raised its fiscal fourth-quarter guidance.
Salesforce said it is expecting fourth-quarter sales of $9.90 billion U.S. to $10.10 billion U.S. Analysts were expecting $10.05 billion U.S. in fourth-quarter sales.
The company added that it anticipates Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.57 U.S. to $2.62 U.S., compared with Wall Street expectations of $2.65 U.S.
On an earnings call with analysts and media, management at Salesforce talked up the impact of artificial intelligence (A.I.), saying the company’s A.I. chatbots called “Agentforce” are growing quickly.
The company also said that it is still in the process of finding a new chief financial officer (CFO) after current CFO Amy Weaver announced in August that she is stepping down.
Prior to today (Dec. 4), the stock of Salesforce had risen 29% this year to trade at $331.43 U.S. per share.
