Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff outlines his plan to turn around his struggling stock

Amidst a challenging landscape for Salesforce's stock, CEO Marc Benioff has articulated a robust plan aimed at revitalizing the company's market position. In an appearance on 'Mad Money,' he emphasized the importance of prioritizing customer success and maintaining an aggressive stock buyback strategy. Benioff stated, "We're going to keep focusing on our customer success. We will continue to drive our revenue and deliver substantial cash flow." Despite facing a 1.5% decline in stock value during after-hours trading, the CEO highlighted that the company recently reported better-than-expected earnings, even as investor concerns over generative AI competition loom large. Addressing the so-called 'Saaspocalypse,' Benioff firmly rejected the notion that Salesforce is losing ground to emerging AI platforms from rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Instead, he pointed to Salesforce's record-breaking quarter, showcasing significant revenue and profit growth. In a proactive move, Salesforce has expedited its share repurchase program, having acquired $27.1 billion in stock, which CFO Robin Washington noted has led to a 10% reduction in the diluted share count year over year for the quarter. This strategy has added 23 cents to the adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter. Benioff also expressed confidence in AI as a beneficial force for Salesforce, citing the integration of Anthropic-powered features into Slack. He remarked, "By building Anthropic now into Slack, we can enhance an already successful product and provide exceptional guidance to our users."