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Salesforce has been battered in 2026. Bank of America sees more losses ahead

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 301 words · By Liz Napolitano
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What to know about Salesforce has been battered in 2026. Bank of America sees more losses ahead

Salesforce has been under pressure of late, and that decline is due to deepen despite the cloud-based software firm's efforts to modernize its business with artificial intelligence, according to Bank of America.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Salesforce has been under pressure of late, and that decline is due to deepen despite the cloud-based software firm's efforts to modernize its business with artificial intelligence, according to Bank of America.

Why it matters

The bank reinstated coverage of the software name with an underperform rating.

Common ground

BofA also put a $160 price target on shares, suggesting roughly 8% downside from Friday's close.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/salesforce-has-been-battered-in-2026-bank-of-ame…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
check_circle Corroborated 3
cancel Disputed 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
Claim 1: “The analyst noted that Salesforce's AI initiatives added less than 2% to its top line in the most recent quarter.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While one source mentions single-digit revenue growth (8%), none of the provided evidence specifies that AI initiatives contributed 'less than 2%' to the top line.
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce, Inc., is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides software for sales, customer service, marketing automation, e-commerce, analytics,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce
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web search NEUTRAL — Despite its investments into AI, Salesforce has delivered just single digit revenue growth in its most recent quarter (which ended on April 30), with sales rising by 8% to $9.8 billion -- that's slowe…
https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/07/03/this-tech-giant-no…
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web search NEUTRAL — Why AI Revenue Is Scaling Faster Than SaaS Ever Did. Surprisingly, this isn’t just about chatbot subscriptions.Once a company integrates an AI model into its software stack, usage tends to compound. M…
https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/05/14/it-took-salesforc…
info
Claim 2: “Salesforce stock has slumped 35% in the year to date”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence includes general Wikipedia and guide information about Salesforce, but does not contain specific stock price percentage changes for the year-to-date period.
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce Customer Secure Login Page. Login to your Salesforce Customer Account.
https://login.salesforce.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce launched a suite of features called Salesforce Foundations in September 2024, bundling connected functionality across department-specific Sales Cloud and Service Cloud products.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce
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web search NEUTRAL — May 4, 2026 · What is Salesforce? Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that helps businesses manage sales, services, marketing and customer data.
https://www.cloudwards.net/what-is-salesforce/
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Claim 3: “Of the 52 analysts covering Salesforce, 39 have a buy or strong buy on the stock, LSEG data shows.”
DISPUTED
The evidence provides conflicting data: one source cites 28 of 37 analysts (TheStreet), while another mentions a median price target from 48 analysts (LSEG) without specifying the exact count of 'buy' ratings as 39 of 52.
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web search NEUTRAL — 28 of 37 analysts rate CRM Buy or higher (TheStreet financial data).TheStreet reports that 28 of 37 analysts covering Salesforce recommend Buy, with an average price target of $262—representing roughl…
https://australiareview.net/blog/salesforce-share-price-crm-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The current median price target of the 48 analysts covering Salesforce is now $275, up from $257.50 a month ago, and their current recommendation is "buy," according to LSEG data.
https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/enterprise…
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web search NEUTRAL — The average analysts' 12-month price target for Palantir is $39.57, based on data compiled by financial markets infrastructure and data provider LSEG. That's more than 40% below Palantir's current sha…
https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/12/03/palantir-stock-cou…
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Claim 4: “BofA also put a $160 price target on shares”
CORROBORATED
TipRanks and another news source explicitly state that BofA issued a $160 price target for Salesforce shares.
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web search NEUTRAL — What would you like the power to do? At Bank of America, our purpose is to help make financial lives better through the power of every connection.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Established in 1996, Bank of Beijing grasps the opportunities of this era and has achieved several development milestones, including introducing overseas strategic investors, public listing, and geogr…
https://bankofbeijing.com.cn/en
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web search NEUTRAL — At its establishment, the bank was named "Beijing City Cooperative Bank Co., Ltd.". Bank of Beijing is one of the earliest city commercial banks established in China, with a registered capital of 1 bi…
https://baike.baidu.com/en/item/Bank+of+Beijing+Co.,+Ltd./66…
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Claim 5: “CEO Marc Benioff also cited AI as a driver of Salesforce's sweeping layoffs last year”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
The evidence directly contradicts the claim. Marc Benioff explicitly stated that blaming AI for layoffs is the 'lazy way out' and 'too simplistic,' arguing that AI is not the real reason for the layoffs.
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web search NEUTRAL — However, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is insistent that Salesforce’s AI will not lead to mass white-collar layoffs, but what exactly makes Salesforce so different? Understanding the AI-Driven Layoffs.
https://www.salesforceben.com/marc-benioff-on-ai-layoffs-and…
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calls it a ‘lazy way out’. Speaking on Matt Berman’s show The Future Live, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said it is “too simplistic” to blame AI for layoffs, warning that the…
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/story/ai-isnt-the-re…
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says blaming AI for tech layoffs is the "lazy way out." So what's really driving workforce cuts?The wave of tech layoffs over the past 18 months has come with a familiar ex…
https://www.cxtoday.com/workforce-engagement-management/beni…
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Claim 6: “Salesforce has integrated AI into its offerings, even using the technology to power an army of customer service bots called 'Agentforce.'”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm the launch of 'Agentforce' as an AI-powered platform for customer service and sales.
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web search NEUTRAL — AI Agents to Transform Customer Service, Sales, and Beyond.Salesforce has launched a new AI-powered platform called Agentforce, positioning it as a key driver in the "Third Wave of AI."
https://smallcapsdaily.com/salesforce-launches-agentforce-to…
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce has launched a Gen AI powered Agentforce for Consumer Goods offering, equipping customer service, sales, and field teams with digital labour support.
https://cxmtoday.com/news/sharkninja-fisher-paykel-partner-w…
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce Agentforce 360 is Salesforce’s broader AI-powered ecosystem designed to connect humans, AI agents, customer data, applications, and workflows together inside one platform.
https://hicglobalsolutions.com/blog/salesforce-agentforce-36…
info
Claim 7: “It previously rated Salesforce as buy.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general homepages for Bank of America and Salesforce; none of the sources mention the previous rating of the stock.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Bank of America Corporation is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America
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web search NEUTRAL — Log in to Mobile & Online Banking to access your personal and small business accounts, see balances, transfer funds, pay bills and more.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/online-banking/sign-in/
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web search NEUTRAL — Salesforce is a leader in B2B digital commerce.
https://www.salesforce.com/
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Claim 8: “The bank reinstated coverage of the software name with an underperform rating.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (TipRanks, CNBC, and another news report) confirm that Bank of America reinstated coverage of Salesforce with an 'underperform' rating.
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web search NEUTRAL — As previously reported, BofA analyst Tal Liani reinstated coverage of Salesforce (CRM) with an Underperform rating and $160 price target Salesforce remains "a deeply entrenched platform," but the firm…
https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/salesforce-reinstated-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday.
https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/salesforce-nysecrm…
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web search NEUTRAL — The bank reinstated coverage of the software name with an underperform rating.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/salesforce-has-been-battered…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.