Salesforce announces first-ever dividend as Q4 earnings beat expectations

Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) just came in ahead of Street estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter. Shares of the cloud company are still losing in after-hours.

Salesforce stock down on guidance

The stock is trending down because investors aren't fully content with the guidance. Salesforce now forecasts up to $38 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2025.

Analysts, in comparison, were at $38.6 billion. Marc Benioff – the chief executive of Salesforce Inc said in a press release today:

The New York listed firm ended its fourth quarter with $27.6 billion of current remaining performance obligations – up 12%. $CRM has gained roughly 75% over the past 52-weeks.

Notable figures in Salesforce Q4 earnings report

• Earned $1.44 billion that translates to $1.47 per share
• Had $98 million of loss (10 cents a share) last year
• Adjusted EPS printed at $2.29 as per the earnings report
• Revenue jumped 11% year-over-year to $9.29 billion
• Consensus was $2.27 a share on $9.22 billion in revenue

Salesforce noted about a 12% annualised growth in its subscription and support revenue that helped offset a 9.0% hit to professional services revenue in Q4. CFO Amy Weaver said on Wednesday:

Salesforce declares a first-ever dividend

Salesforce Inc announced 40 cents a share of quarterly dividend for the first time ever on Wednesday. Its board also authorised $10 billion worth of stock repurchase today.

The California-based company saw its adjusted operating margin come in at 31.4% for the fourth quarter - including a 190 basis points hit related to restructuring.

Last month, Invezz reported $CRM to have opted for a hiring freeze. Wall Street currently has a consensus "overweight" rating on Salesforce stock.