Shares of cloud computing giant Salesforce (CRM) are up 16% after the company delivered better-than-expected earnings and issued bullish forward guidance.
The San Francisco-based company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.68 U.S. compared to $1.36 U.S. that was expected on Wall Street, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue for the fourth quarter amounted to $8.38 billion U.S., which was up 14% from a year earlier and better than the $7.99 billion U.S. that analysts had expected.
Salesforce also announced that it is expanding its stock buyback program to $20 billion U.S., which follows a $10 billion share repurchasing program announced last August.
Looking ahead, Salesforce said that it expects earnings in the range of $1.60 U.S. to $1.61 U.S. per share and revenue of $8.16 billion U.S. to $8.18 billion U.S. for the current first quarter.
The guidance was better than the $1.32 U.S. in earnings per share and $8.05 billion U.S. in revenue that analysts had penciled in for the company.
Salesforce added that it expects earnings per share for all of this year of $7.12 U.S. to $7.14 U.S. and revenue of $34.5 billion U.S. to $34.7 billion U.S.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected $5.84 U.S. in earnings per share and $34.03 billion U.S. in revenue for the entire year.
This past January, Salesforce cut 10% of its workforce, representing more than 7,000 staff. The company has been targeted by several activist investors in recent months, including Third Point, Elliott Management and Starboard Value.
The activists are pushing for improved profitability and a clearer long-term vision for the technology company.
Salesforce’s stock has declined 20% over the last 12 months to trade at $167.35 U.S. per share.
