Salesforce stock value plummets, company loses nearly $50B in value in one day

San Francisco-based tech company Salesforce lost tens of billions in valuation this week, all after the company showed less-than-impressive growth in a quarterly financial report. 

Salesforce, which saw $31.35 billion in revenue in 2023, usually sees its stock hover around the $270 range. However, after the quarterly report was released, the stock took a deep dive. 

As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the stock value sat at $272.62. On Thursday morning, Salesforce's stock price opened at $221.88, but by the market's close, it hit $218.04. 

That's 19.87% of value lost in less than 24 hours. This lost the company almost $50 billion in revenue. With that loss comes big impacts for not just stockholders but also Salesforce's 72,0000 employees. 

It's common practice in the tech sector for employees to accept stocks as part of their compensation package, sometimes in lieu of a bigger paycheck. For a company like Salesforce, the choice to invest in stocks made great sense, until this week. 

This crash in stock value comes just two weeks after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wrote to stockholders about the "remarkable year of transformation" the company is experiencing. 

"This has been a remarkable year of transformation for our company—restructuring our business for the short and long term; increasing productivity, profitability, and operational excellence across the board; doubling down on innovation and making our core products even better; and strengthening our relationships with all of you—our stockholders. Our transformation is reflected in the strong results you saw throughout fiscal year 2024," Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wrote to stockholders two weeks ago.  

Salesforce stockholders are scheduled to come together for a meeting next month. They will vote on whether Marc Benioff and other leaders in the company will serve as directors, and determine the 2024 fiscal compensation for executive officers.