Salesforce’s AI Data Foundation Delivers Results
▼ Summary
– Salesforce reported strong Q3 FY2026 results with $10.3 billion in revenue, a 9% year-over-year increase, and raised its full-year revenue guidance.
– The company’s Data 360 and Agentforce products were standout performers, driving nearly $1.4 billion in ARR with explosive 114% year-over-year growth.
– Agentforce’s annual recurring revenue alone reached approximately $540 million, representing a massive 330% year-over-year increase.
– Data 360 processed 32 trillion records in the quarter, a 119% year-over-year increase, highlighting its role as a foundational data platform for AI.
– This rapid growth significantly exceeded earlier conservative forecasts, as executives had previously expected a more meaningful revenue contribution from Agentforce only in fiscal year 2027.
The pace of innovation in artificial intelligence is staggering, and Salesforce’s latest quarterly earnings provide a powerful case study in how foundational data infrastructure drives real business results. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $10.3 billion, a solid 9% increase compared to the same period last year. Perhaps more telling, Salesforce raised its full-year revenue guidance, now expecting between $41.45 billion and $41.55 billion for fiscal 2026. While these top-line figures are strong, the true story of the quarter lies in the explosive growth of its core AI and data platforms.
During the earnings call, Chair and CEO Marc Benioff highlighted the remarkable performance of Data 360 and Agentforce, which together reached nearly $1.4 billion in annual recurring revenue. This represents a staggering 114% year-over-year gain. Benioff pointed to over 9,500 paid Agentforce deals and the processing of 3.2 trillion tokens as evidence of the company’s leadership in what it terms the “Agentic Enterprise.” This rapid adoption marks a significant acceleration from expectations set just ten months prior.
In February 2025, executives had projected that a meaningful financial contribution from Agentforce was still more than a year away. At that time, then-President and CFO Amy Weaver noted the focus was on early customer deployment, anticipating only a modest revenue impact in fiscal 2026. However, the groundwork was already being laid. Even then, nearly half of the Fortune 100 were using both Salesforce’s AI tools and its data platform, which was a crucial indicator of future success.
The critical link between organized data and effective AI cannot be overstated. Before businesses can deploy intelligent agents to interact with customers and employees, they must first consolidate and govern their information. This is the exact role of Data 360, which unifies data and establishes necessary guardrails. Salesforce now positions Data 360, Agentforce, and other infrastructure components like the recently acquired Informatica as the essential “data foundation” for building AI agents. The latest metrics suggest this foundation is not only solid but scaling rapidly.
The individual growth numbers are compelling. Agentforce’s annual recurring revenue alone hit approximately $540 million, soaring 330% from the previous year. Meanwhile, Data 360 ingested a massive 32 trillion records in the quarter, a 119% year-over-year increase. A key indicator of product strength and customer satisfaction is expansion within the existing client base. Notably, half of all new bookings for both Agentforce and Data 360 came from current customers choosing to invest more deeply in the Salesforce ecosystem.
This robust data foundation sets the stage for the next phase of growth. The focus now shifts to what will be constructed upon this powerful infrastructure in the coming fiscal year. The momentum established in 2026 provides a formidable platform for further innovation and customer success as Salesforce continues to execute its AI-driven vision.
(Source: MarTech)
