Monness upgrades Salesforce to Buy, saying valuation is more attractive as AI fears fade

Salesforce received a valuation-focused boost on Thursday as Monness, Crespi, Hardt upgraded the enterprise software company to Buy from Neutral. The firm’s assessment centered on how investors have been pricing Salesforce’s ability to compete in an era of accelerating artificial intelligence deployment, even as the shares have declined.

In the note, Monness characterized the market’s worry that AI will displace Salesforce’s offerings as overblown. The analyst’s stance suggested that fears of a fundamental technology replacement are not, in its view, the dominant factor driving Salesforce’s medium-term outlook.

Monness also argued that Salesforce’s valuation is now “compelling.” The upgrade implies that, after the stock’s fall, the current price better reflects the company’s risk profile and prospects than it did previously, at least relative to Monness’s expectations.

The action comes amid broader debate in the software sector over whether AI will commoditize traditional customer relationship management and sales productivity workflows, or instead expand demand for tools that integrate AI-driven capabilities into existing business processes. For Salesforce, which has built its growth narrative around connecting customer data and workflows, the central question is how effectively AI will be integrated into that platform rather than replacing it.

Salesforce’s position in the enterprise software market makes these expectations particularly sensitive. As businesses explore AI assistants and automation for sales, marketing, and service operations, the market tends to scrutinize whether the incumbents can translate new capabilities into incremental customer value, adoption, and revenue growth.

A further implication of Monness’s upgrade is that the firm believes investors have been too pessimistic about the competitive effects of AI. When analysts move from Neutral to Buy, it typically indicates an expectation that the company’s fundamental drivers will hold up better than the stock’s recent performance might suggest.

What is not clear from the post reporting on Monness’s decision is the specificity of the assumptions behind the valuation view. The available information does not spell out changes to Salesforce’s financial estimates, detailed price targets, or explicit near-term catalysts such as product milestones, major contract wins, or guidance updates.

Investors now have a reason to watch whether Salesforce can reinforce the idea that AI is augmenting its platform rather than eroding it, particularly through product updates and customer engagement. Analysts and the market will likely continue to track whether the company can convert AI-related interest into measurable demand and whether sentiment around AI-driven disruption continues to soften.