U.S. stocks decline as Salesforce drops 19% due to poor outlook

Thursday saw major falls in U.S. markets as the Dow Jones plummeted 1.1%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. With its first quarterly revenue shortfall in over two decades and a poor annual sales forecast, Salesforce's shares fell by 19%. Reversing their price forecasts for Salesforce, analysts at Bank of America, Jefferies, CFRA, and Wedbush decreased their estimates citing concerns about slowing down growth in a difficult macroenvironment. Some experts pointed up Salesforce's AI initiatives as a potential growth source even with the downturn. Wedbush maintained a "outperform" rating while Bank of America displayed corporate confidence. As they awaited Dell Technologies' and Costco Wholesale quarterly reports, investors intently studied updates on artificial intelligence benefits and consumer resiliency. Treasury rates fell in accordance with a GDP growth in first quarter below expected level. While the shares of Oracle and UiPath under negative pressure, HP's stock surged by 9% on strong results. Salesforce's shares fell; U.S. stock futures fell as well; Dow futures dropped 0.9%; S&P futures lost 0.4%; and Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3%.

Summary News

A quarterly income shortfall and a poor sales projection caused Salesforce's shares to fall by 19%. Concerns regarding growth force Bank of America, Jefferies, CFRA, Wedbush's analysts to rethink their forecasts. One analyst noted Salesforce's artificial intelligence initiatives as a potential growth engine. Decline in Treasury rates brought on by below-expected GDP Stock of HP changed by 9%. Stock futures collapsed as well.