12:41 PM EDT, 05/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Salesforce's (CRM) fiscal first-quarter results are expected to meet relatively modest projections amid a "tenuous"environment for the software-as-a-service industry, Deutsche Bank said Tuesday.

The customer relationship management platform is scheduled to report results May 27. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP earnings of $3.13 a share on sales of $11.05 billion for the three-month period.

"We expect Salesforce to report a seasonally slow but steady start to (fiscal 2027), with results likely meeting muted expectations amidst a tenuous backdrop for SaaS,"Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick said in a note to clients Tuesday.

The brokerage's insights suggest less upside in the company's key metrics versus recent quarters. "Accordingly, we think (the first quarter) is unlikely to result in any meaningful estimate revisions, which we believe is required to sway sentiment and catalyze the stock,"Zelnick wrote.

Salesforce shares were little changed in Tuesday afternoon trade. So far this year, the stock has lost 32% in value.

Commentary on the company's net new annual order value growth trajectory and incremental gains on its Agentforce artificial intelligence-powered agent platform will be a main area of focus, after being "disappointed"with the exclusion of any new leading metrics in its go-forward disclosure update intra-quarter, Zelnick said.

The risk/reward "leans favorably,"with Salesforce's shares having underperformed the iShares expanded tech-software sector exchange traded fund by about 21% since it posted its last financial results, with fiscal 2027 set for a second-half acceleration, according to Deutsche Bank.

However, Salesforce's depressed valuation reflects long-term uncertainties surrounding AI and potentially limiting the stock's outperformance in the short term, barring "substantial estimate revisions,"Zelnick said.

"We tend to believe AI-related concerns underappreciate the opportunity for software companies to adapt to new paradigms, in addition to the timeline over which any disruption might occur,"the analyst wrote.

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