Salesforce Looks Beyond CRM, Bets Big On 'Digital Labor Revolution:' CEO Marc Benioff Predicts A $12 Trillion Market, Says It Is 'Much Bigger Than Software'

Salesforce Inc. CRM unveiled its plans to aim beyond customer relationship management (CRM), addressing the trillion-dollar potential in the “digital labor revolution,” during its earnings call. The company however reported a mixed quarter, missing sales expectations.

What Happened: The “digital labor revolution” as referred to by Salesforce CEO, Marc Russell Benioff during the company’s earnings call is a transformative shift in the way work is done, driven by the rise of AI-powered digital workers or agents.

“This looks like it’s anywhere from a few trillion to 12 trillion,” said Benioff.

Highlighting this revolution as “much bigger than software,” the CEO added that he thinks building software that deploys digital workers is “more exciting”. Benioff also said that the company plans to integrate this with its “deeply unified platform”.

COO Brian Millham reiterated the CEO’s point and said, “With our deeply unified platform seamlessly integrating our Customer 360 apps, Data Cloud, and Agentforce, we’re leading the digital labor revolution.”

“When you’re the No. 1 AI CRM, you’re also going to lead the digital labor revolution,” added Benioff.

Why It Matters: Salesforce exceeded earnings expectations but fell slightly short on revenue in its latest quarterly results. The company reported earnings of $2.78 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.61. However, revenue reached $9.99 billion, just missing the $10.03 billion consensus forecast. Despite the slight miss, revenue still grew year-over-year, up from $9.287 billion in the same period last year.

The company tempered expectations for fiscal year 2026 with a cautious first-quarter forecast. The company anticipates adjusted earnings per share to fall between $2.53 and $2.55, below analyst predictions of $2.61. Revenue is projected to be in the range of $9.71 billion to $9.76 billion, also lower than the $9.9 billion consensus estimate.

Price Action: CRM rose 0.47% on Wednesday and fell 5.48% in after-hours, this outpaced the 0.05% rise in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which tracks the S&P 500 index.

The stock remains 7.06% lower on a year-to-date basis and up 2.61% over a year.

Benzinga tracks 35 analysts with an average price target of $378.03 for the stock, reflecting a “buy” rating. Estimates range widely from $236 to $450. Recent ratings from Citigroup, Citizens Capital Markets, and BMO Capital average $391.67, suggesting a potential 34.83% upside.