Workday Inc

NASDAQ:WDAYUnited States

By Dan Gallagher It hasn't been a great earnings season for cloud software companies, and even the leader is not getting a break. Especially the leader, in fact. Salesforce is the largest pure-play provider of cloud-based enterprise software, both by revenue and market capitalization. But the latter took a major hit Thursday following the companys disappointing report for its fiscal first quarter. The stock sank more than 20% Thursday morning. Its fallen more than 20% in a single day only one time before: in July of 2004, about a month after the company went public. Salesforce was added to the Dow in 2020, so the Blue Chip index also paid a heavy price, falling 1% Thursday morning. But the latest results were seen as a particularly bad sign for other cloud software vendors, many which have also had a rough earnings season. The BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index fell 2.7% Thursday morning, reflecting major drops at cloud players such as ServiceNow, Adobe and Workday. ServiceNow had been one of the best performers of the group, with its stock up 36% over the last 12 months. It fell nearly 10% Thursday morning. Like some of its peers, Salesforce blamed the weak results on factors such as elongated deal cycles and high levels of budget scrutiny. But as Heard on the Street notes in a column today, some analysts are starting to wonder if a growing level of generative AI investments across the landscape are crowding out spending in other areas of technology. In a report Thursday , Morgan Stanley analysts cited a recent CIO survey predicting that 12% of public cloud spending will be attributable to AI in three years, compared to about 5% now. Salesforce and other cloud software vendors will be scrambling to make sure they are not left out in the cold. This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage). (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 30, 2024 11:16 ET (15:16 GMT)