Salesforce Inc. on Wednesday cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts over “measured” spending from clients and a hit from a stronger dollar, sending its shares down 7 percent in extended trading.
Salesforce also announced stock repurchase of up to $10 billion, its first-ever buyback, while warning of challenges in North America and major European markets for some of its products.
The company’s tempered expectations mark a significant change in its stance from May, when it had shrugged off any material impact from uncertain macroeconomic environment on its profit.
“We see customers becoming more measured in the way they buy. Sales cycles can get stretched … we started seeing this in July,” Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said in a conference call….