Closing Bell: Salesforce Projects Weak Sales, Alphabet Hits Record, HP Earnings

On this episode of Stock Movers:

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Katie Greifeld, Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.

- Salesforce (CRM) projected lackluster quarterly sales growth, suggesting its artificial intelligence product isn’t yet paying off as quickly as hoped amid competition from emerging AI companies. Revenue will be $10.2 billion to $10.3 billion in the period ending in October, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated $10.3 billion. Current remaining performance obligations, a measure of bookings, will increase “slightly above” 10%, in line with analysts’ average projections. Shares initially fell in aftermarket trading.

- Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) avoided a breakup after a US judge ruled against the government’s most onerous proposals, including a forced sale of its Chrome browser, another court victory for Big Tech in the biggest antitrust case in three decades. The shares jumped on the news yesterday and continued to rally today, hitting a record high.

- HP (HPE) gave a disappointing earnings forecast for the current period, renewing concerns about tightening margins in the server computer industry. Profit will be 56 cents to 60 cents a share in the October quarter, excluding some items, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The midpoint of that range was short of the 59 cents analysts had projected. HPE predicted sales of $9.7 billion to $10.1 billion, compared with an estimate at the top end of that range. Shares initially fell in afterhours trading.

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