Salesforce has moved to counter growing fears that artificial intelligence could spell trouble for the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry, arguing instead that AI agents are making SaaS products more relevant and valuable. Speaking during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, said the narrative around a so-called “SaaSpocalypse” misunderstands how businesses are actually using AI.
Salesforce’s comments came alongside a strong financial showing. The company reported $10.7 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, a 13 per cent increase year-on-year. Annual revenue stood at $41.5 billion, up 10 per cent, supported in part by Salesforce’s $8 billion acquisition of data management firm Informatica last year. Net income reached $7.46 billion. Looking ahead, Salesforce forecast revenue of $45.8 billion to $46.2 billion for the coming year, pointing to continued growth despite market uncertainty.
Yet numbers alone have not eased investor anxiety. SaaS stocks have come under pressure in recent weeks amid concerns that AI agents could replace traditional subscription-based software, particularly models that charge customers per employee or per seat. This fear has been dubbed the “SaaSpocalypse,” suggesting a future where AI systems reduce the need for large software licences altogether.
Benioff directly addressed the issue during the earnings call. “You’ve heard about the SaaSpocalypse? And it isn’t our first. We’ve had a few of them,” he said. Later, he added, “If there is a SaaSpocalypse, it may be eaten by the Sasquatch because there are a lot of companies using a lot of SaaS because it just got better with agents.”
To underline its confidence, Salesforce announced a nearly 6 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share and unveiled a $50 billion share buyback programme. Such moves are typically aimed at reassuring shareholders about long-term stability and cash generation. The company also altered the tone of its earnings call, blending financial commentary with customer testimonials and product demonstrations.
Benioff interviewed senior executives from SharkNinja, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and SaaStr, all of whom spoke positively about Salesforce’s AI-powered agent tools. The company is basically trying to say that rather than reducing the need for SaaS, AI agents are expanding what enterprise software can do by automating tasks that were previously manual or time-consuming.
Salesforce also introduced a new way to measure the impact of its AI agents, called agentic work units (AWU). Unlike traditional AI metrics that focus on token usage, AWU tracks whether an agent completes a concrete business task, such as updating a record or executing a workflow. Salesforce president and CMO Patrick Stokes explained, “You can ask it a question and it can write you a poem, but that’s not really all that valuable in the enterprise world.”
Beyond metrics, Salesforce outlined its vision for how AI will change enterprise software. In this model, SaaS platforms remain the system of record and control most of the technology stack, while AI models operate in the background as interchangeable tools. This view stands in contrast to architectures proposed by AI-first companies, where the AI layer sits at the centre and business software becomes secondary.
