Salesforce Just Made Chamath Rethink SaaS? After Calling RPO Worthless Just Months Ago, He Says Software Valuations Will ‘Snap Back’

• Palihapitiya said CRM stock had gained 41% since his call.
• Salesforce reported 11% revenue growth, more than doubled adjusted EPS and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook.
• CRM’s rally lifted software stocks, pushing IGV up 8% versus QQQ’s 1.4% gain.

Billionaire venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya pointed to Salesforce’s (CRM) blockbuster second-quarter (Q2) results as validation of his May view that the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector was approaching a bottom, predicting that depressed software valuations could “snap back” even after warning just months ago of a major SaaS meltdown driven by artificial intelligence.

CRM stock soared 23% to $252.05 on Thursday, marking its second-best session on record. Palihapitiya said the stock had gained 41% since his call.

Salesforce Results Defy SaaS Fears

Salesforce posted what CEO Marc Benioff called the “#1 Q2 in Salesforce history,” reporting revenue of $11.3 billion, up 11% from a year ago, and current remaining performance obligations of $33.5 billion, up 14%.

Non-GAAP earnings per share more than doubled to $5.90, while trailing 12-month free cash flow hit $15.2 billion. The company raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to between $46.1 billion and $46.4 billion. Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue was $3.9 billion, while customer attrition remained near historic lows. Benioff dismissed the “SaaSpocalypse” theme as “nonsense,” saying that AI agents still require trusted enterprise data and business context. “Every AI agent needs somewhere to land,” Benioff said.

Chamath Backs Salesforce’s AI Moat 

Palihapitiya said AI “models and harnesses” will require tight integration with systems of record to deliver their next phase of enterprise value. His argument echoes Benioff’s view that AI agents will rely on established enterprise platforms rather than make them obsolete.  “People like Benioff are too good,” Palihapitiya said. “They will do good deals on their behalf as this evolves.”

Salesforce also announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic, dubbed “Claudeforce,” reinforcing its strategy of embedding leading AI models within its enterprise platform.

Palihapitiya’s latest comments follow his stark January warning that the “Great SaaS Meltdown” had begun and that there was “no going back.” He argued that AI had disrupted the industry’s long-standing “grow now, harvest profits later” model, with high-growth, unprofitable companies offering replaceable “heuristics, APIs and CRUD” products particularly vulnerable to cheaper, AI-native workflows.

In January, he had also argued that investors should value software remaining performance obligations (RPO) at zero because of AI-related risks. By May, on the All-In podcast, he said SaaS was bifurcating: lower-end software was “basically finished,” while higher-end software remained relatively safe. He did not explicitly declare that the broader SaaS downturn had bottomed.

CRM Rally Lifts Software Stocks

Salesforce’s results helped ignite a broader software rally on Thursday. CrowdStrike (CRWD) jumped 21% following its own earnings, Veeva Systems (VEEV) surged 15%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) gained about 13%, and ServiceNow (NOW) and Fortinet (FTNT) each rose 10%.

Adobe (ADBE) climbed about 6%, while Snowflake (SNOW), DocuSign (DOCU) and Fastly (FSLY) advanced between 5% and 8%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped 8%, compared with a 1.4% gain for the Nasdaq-100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ).

Intuit (INTU), however, rose just 0.6% after tumbling 12% a day earlier on cautious guidance.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About CRM?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for CRM was ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volume.

One user said, “$CRM In a nutshell...Nvidia and others pay Anthropic to dev and run AI. Anthropic, and others, essentially pay Salesforce to deploy  AI for which Salesforce receives revenue from enterprise customers. That's a pretty good deal for these guys, lol”

Another user said, “$CRM Nothing more powerful than a re-rating story. Salesforce  trading at 13 X  implied end of growth forever. Perception is reality in short term & Claudeforce changed everything. That's why its up 150% more than the expected move.”

CRM stock has risen 2% over the past year. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: TSLA Stock’s 3-Week Rally Faces A Test — Why Waymo’s ‘Defensive’ Turn Makes This Bullish Analyst Love Tesla Even More