Salesforce reported third-quarter revenue of $10.3bn, slightly below expectations, up 8% ignoring currency moves. Within that, subscription and support revenue rose 9% to $9.7bn.
Underlying operating profit rose 17% to $3.6bn, with cost control helping push margins up.
Free cash flow rose 22% to $2.2bn. Net cash, including leases, was $0.2bn at the end of the period. The group returned $3.8bn through buybacks plus $0.4bn in dividends.
For the fourth quarter, revenue is expected to grow 10-11% to $11.1-11.2bn. Full-year guidance has been raised from 8% growth to around 9%. That includes a $0.3bn revenue contribution from the recently acquired Informatica.
The shares were up 1.7% in pre-market trading.
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Salesforce key facts
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This article is original Hargreaves Lansdown content, published by Hargreaves Lansdown. It was correct as at the date of publication, and our views may have changed since then. Unless otherwise stated estimates, including prospective yields, are a consensus of analyst forecasts provided by LSEG. These estimates are not a reliable indicator of future performance. Yields are variable and not guaranteed. Investments rise and fall in value so investors could make a loss.
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