Salesforce Beats Earnings Expectations, But Shares Fall On Light Guidance

Salesforce.com Inc. announced better-than-expected profit and revenue Wednesday, but shares still suffered in late trading as projections for the current quarter came in a bit light. The cloud-software company reported net income of $229.6 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $2.04 billion, with GAAP profit getting a boost from a one-time tax windfall from its acquisition of Demandware. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other costs, Salesforce claimed a profit of 24 cents a share. Analysts on average projected adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share on sales of $2.02 billion, according to FactSet. Salesforce also raised its full-year revenue guidance, from a range of $8.16 billion to $8.20 billion to a range of $8.275 billion to $8.325 billion. However, the company's guidance for the current quarter was slightly lower than Wall Street expectations, with Salesforce projecting adjusted earnings of 20 to 21 cents a share on sales of $2.11 billion to $2.12 billion; analysts on average expect earnings of 24 cents a share on sales of $2.124 billion, according to FactSet. Salesforce shares fell nearly 6% in immediate late trading, ducking lower than $75 after closing with a 0.5% decrease at $79.42.