Slack Fortifies Salesforce's AI Ecosystem: Will This Boost Revenue Mix?
Slack is becoming a much bigger contributor to Salesforce, Inc.'s CRM artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. Once known primarily as a workplace messaging platform, Slack is now evolving into an AI-powered collaboration hub that connects employees, applications and AI agents. This transformation could help Salesforce generate higher-value software revenues and deepen customer relationships.
The momentum is already visible. During the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Slack accounted for nearly half of Salesforce's deals worth more than $1 million in annual contract value. Slack bookings in this category increased 80% year over year, reflecting strong enterprise demand for AI-enabled workplace solutions.
Salesforce is also embedding AI capabilities directly into Slack. Slackbot now functions as a Model Context Protocol (“MCP”) client, enabling users to interact with enterprise applications using natural language. The company reported that more than 1 million users adopted Slack MCP within its first six weeks, while Slack Agentic Work Units surged nearly 350% sequentially. These metrics highlight growing customer engagement with AI-powered workflows.
The tighter integration between Slack, Agentforce and Data 360 creates additional cross-selling opportunities. Customers using Slack can more easily adopt Salesforce's broader AI platform, helping increase spending across multiple products. This ecosystem approach also improves customer retention by making Salesforce's offerings more deeply integrated into daily business operations.
Salesforce's first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues rose 13% year over year to $11.13 billion, supported by strong AI demand. As Slack continues evolving into an enterprise AI platform rather than just a communication tool, it could contribute a larger share of Salesforce's revenue mix and support sustainable long-term growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-fiscal 2027 revenues is currently pegged at $46.09 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of approximately 11%.
How Do Salesforce's Collaboration Rivals Compare?
Two key competitors challenging Salesforce's AI-powered collaboration strategy are Microsoft CorporationMSFT and Zoom Communications, Inc.ZM. Both are embedding generative AI into workplace collaboration platforms to increase customer engagement and drive higher software spending.
Microsoft has integrated Copilot across Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365, giving users AI-powered meeting summaries, content creation and workflow automation. This strategy is helping expand the value of its productivity suite.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Microsoft reported revenues of $90 billion, up 18% year over year, while Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud revenues increased 14%. The company also reported Azure revenue growth of 43%, providing a strong foundation for continued AI investments that compete directly with Salesforce's Slack ecosystem.
Zoom is also expanding beyond video conferencing by embedding Zoom AI Companion across meetings, chat and contact center offerings. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Zoom's enterprise revenues increased 7% year over year to about $758 million, while enterprise customers generating more than $100,000 in annual revenues grew 8% to nearly 4,534.
Zoom is using AI to encourage customers to adopt multiple products, similar to Salesforce's strategy of linking Slack with Agentforce and Data 360.
Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Salesforce have plunged 29.8% year to date, while the Zacks Internet – Software industry has fallen 11.3%.
Salesforce YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, significantly below the industry’s average of 26.22.
Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 13.1% and 9.3%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2027 earnings have been revised upward in the past seven days, while estimates have been revised downward for fiscal 2028 over the past seven days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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