Companies like Salesforce have reaped the benefits of the
pandemic, with organizations doubling down on their effort for digitization and
switch to remote working and learning. The fresh restrictions from the spread
of the Omicron variant also added a boost.
San Francisco, California-based Salesforce's subscription
and support revenue for the fourth quarter rose 24.7 percent to $6.83 billion.
Along with demand for its platforms like Customer 360, the
recent addition of Slack's workplace app also helped the cloud-based software
maker in adding users.
"Slack continues to exceed our expectations that I
think is benefiting not only from the trend towards this new way of working ...
It's also benefiting being a part of our Customer 360 portfolio," Bret
Taylor, Salesforce co-chief executive officer, said on a call.
Rival Microsoft in January also reported 26 percent growth
in second-quarter revenue for its biggest segment, which offers cloud services
and includes its flagship cloud offering, Azure.
For 2023, Salesforce expects revenue of $32 billion to $32.1
billion, above expectation of $31.78 billion.
The company's revenue rose 26 percent to $7.33 billion in
the quarter, beating analysts' estimate of $7.24 billion, according to IBES
data from Refinitiv.
On an adjusted basis, Salesforce earned 84 cents per share,
topping estimates of 74 cents. However, its current-quarter and full-year
adjusted earnings guidance came below expectations.
The company also forecast first-quarter revenue to be
between $7.37 billion and $7.38 billion. Analysts on average expect it to be
$7.26 billion © Reuters