Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is no longer simply positioning AI as a future opportunity. Its AI and data offerings, notably Agentforce and Data 360, have already reached nearly $3.9 billion in annual recurring revenue.
On September 17, Stifel raised its price target on Salesforce to $300 from $275 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. Stifel cited Salesforce’s AI monetization strategy and also pointed to management reiterating confidence in the company’s medium-term growth outlook.
Salesforce is entering a more important phase of its AI strategy. The question is whether the AI momentum can accelerate Salesforce’s broader business to support its $63 billion fiscal 2030 revenue target.
Salesforce’s AI Business Is Becoming a Real Revenue Engine
Salesforce, Inc.’s latest results, for fiscal Q2 2027 ended July, show that customers are beginning to write big checks for its AI products. Agentforce and Data 360 ARR surged more than 210% YoY to nearly $3.9 billion. Agentforce surpassed $1.5 billion in ARR, indicating a more than 240% increase year-over-year.
Stifel sees multiple AI monetization paths for Salesforce beyond selling more core CRM licenses. These include premium product upgrades, Agentforce usage, Data 360, and Agent Fabric. It also highlighted opportunities in APIs, MCPs, context, and infrastructure.
Indeed, Salesforce is moving to seize the opportunities extending its platform through AIforce and Claudeforce. These offerings allow customers to use Salesforce data, workflows, and business logic across different AI interfaces.
If these products increase customer consumption and encourage purchases of higher-value offerings, AI could become a major growth driver.
The $63 Billion Target Requires Organic Growth, Not AI Adoption Alone
Salesforce, Inc. is expecting fiscal 2027 revenue to be around $46 billion, while it’s targeting $63 billion in fiscal 2030. That means the company needs to maintain a roughly 11% annual growth over the next three fiscal years.
This is where the investment thesis faces the test.
Salesforce’s AI business is growing much faster than the company’s overall business, yet it remains a small piece of the pie. That raises the question about whether the AI business becomes large enough in roughly three years to enable Salesforce to achieve its target.
That makes continued organic revenue growth important. The bear case therefore is that customers adopt AI products rapidly but spending does not expand quickly enough to change Salesforce’s overall revenue trajectory.
Investor Positioning in Salesforce Reflects Tension
Investor positioning in Salesforce, Inc. does not reflect a unanimous view on the company’s AI strategy.
In Q2, there were 99 hedge funds holding Salesforce stock, according to the InsideMonkey database. That was down from 101 funds in Q1. While the overall hedge fund exposure to Salesforce declined in the latest quarter, all three of the largest holders increased their exposure to the stock. Harris Associates raised its stake 9% to 16.2 million shares to remain the top hedge fund investor in Salesforce.
At the same time, short sellers have also become more active in Salesforce.
As of August 31, 29.21 million Salesforce shares were shorted. That’s 3.68% of the public float, and the short interest increased 10.2% from the previous reading. Yet with just 1.5 days to cover, the bearish bets remain light compared with average trading volume.
Salesforce therefore enters its next phase with strong AI product growth but a clear financial hurdle: converting that momentum into accelerating organic revenue.
The mixed signal highlights the tension in the investment thesis. Reaching Salesforce’s $63 billion fiscal 2030 revenue target will require rapid AI monetization to translate into broader organic growth across the platform rather than Agentforce adoption remaining a fast-growing but relatively contained revenue stream.
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