Salesforce stocks rose by over 8% on Wednesday following the software company’s third-quarter earnings above analysts’ expectations on revenue and guidance. The robust performance underlined where the company is strong: artificial intelligence, particularly with its Agentforce product, which has been a strong driver of investor optimism.

For the third quarter, Salesforce reported its revenues up to $9.44 billion, with 8 percent year-over-year growth as compared with the analysts’ expected $9.34 billion. The net income increased by 25% to $1.5 billion compared with $1.2 billion the same period last year. This brings Salesforce to raise upward its revenue guidance for full fiscal year 2025. So, it has been brought to the level of $37.8 billion-$38 billion from the prior estimate that was at the level of $37.7 billion-$38 billion. The new range implies that the midpoint will be $37.9 billion, more than the estimated amount.

Analysts have been particularly heartened by the performance of Salesforce’s AI-driven products. One standout is Agentforce, the company’s AI agent product, which has picked up strongly. During the third quarter, Salesforce closed over 200 deals related to Agentforce, with a promising pipeline of additional deals expected in the coming quarters. This strong demand for AI technology positions Salesforce well in the competitive cloud services market.

Sales-force AI efforts are also garnering attention from some key industry analysts. Morgan Stanley maintained an overweight rating on the stock while noting that Salesforce AI efforts are strengthening its business fundamentals. The analysts highlighted impressive pipeline growth driven by Agentforce and believed this could position the company as a leader in the evolving AI space.

Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Salesforce to $400 from $360 and retained its buy rating. The firm noted that Salesforce’s Data Cloud and Agentforce, both of which are believed to be crucial elements of its growth strategy, are driving an extremely strong pipeline. Bank of America, too, increased its price target to $440 from $390 while retaining a buy rating. The firm noted that emerging AI agents enhance capabilities at Salesforce while not compromising margin expansion, a sign of healthy long-term growth potential. Generally speaking, strong third-quarter performance combined with promising AI prospects have expanded investor optimism in favor of the company’s continued success in the cloud industry.