Cloud computing stock Salesforce (CRM) today lost a hefty slug of ground after also losing its chief operating officer. The reports of who will be taking over the slot in the C-suite did little to soothe investors, and shares of Salesforce lost over 4% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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Brian Millham, a 25 year veteran and the company’s 13th employee ever, announced plans to retire May 1. Millham’s tenure saw the company grow into the massive, “world-class customer success operation” that it is today. This led current CEO Marc Benioff to declare that Millham had “…shaped the very DNA of Salesforce.” Benioff also noted that his “…impact will be felt for decades to come.”
In his place, Robin Washington will be stepping in as both chief operating officer and chief financial officer, taking over for Amy Weaver, who announced her own departure back in August. Weaver noted that she would step down once the company had found a replacement, and that appears to be the case now. Combining a role like this could be an issue, but apparently, Washington had previously engaged in such role combinations as both financial and operational leadership at places like PeopleSoft and Hyperion.
Abandon Ship
Salesforce has been losing people left and right, and recently, the pitch only seems to have amplified. Yesterday, reports emerged about large-scale layoffs, with 1,000 roles cut at the company. Reports suggest that the company was increasingly turning to “AI hiring” instead.
Other reports note that the layoffs are impacting divisions, and ranks, all throughout Salesforce. LinkedIn, reports note, is swarming with tales of former Salesforce employees, from marketing to sales and other divisions, with ranks as high as manager and director all telling their stories publicly. With the C-suite getting consolidated, and Salesforce’s rank and file getting winnowed down, it becomes easy to wonder just how Salesforce is actually doing these days.
Is Salesforce a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CRM stock based on 32 Buys, seven Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 15.93% rally in its share price over the past year, the average CRM price target of $396.94 per share implies 19.22% upside potential.
