Salesforce shares rebound amid AI regulation debates and regulatory risks

Salesforce’s stock recovered as broader tech gains support, with company CEO advocating for AI oversight amid regulatory concerns and legal challenges impacting enterprise adoption.

Shares of Salesforce climbed on Thursday as a broader technology-led upswing in US equities lifted the company’s stock and provided early support to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The shares traded around $225.25, moving in a band between roughly $221 and $226 as investors snapped up beaten-down software names. (MarketWatch, MarketWatch)

The bounce came after a sharp pullback earlier in the week when the stock fell to about $220, a decline that leaves the company trading substantially below its 52-week high and highlights how sensitive cloud vendors remain to shifts in deal momentum and investor risk appetite. (MarketWatch)

Sentiment received an additional boost after pressure on transatlantic trade eased, with President Donald Trump softening a tariff threat to Europe and economic indicators pointing to steady demand, factors market strategists say helped reverse part of the recent selling. “The selloff that we saw had nothing to do with the Sell America trade,” Elias Haddad, global head of markets strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, told Reuters. (Reuters)

The stock’s move comes as Salesforce’s chief executive, Marc Benioff, used the World Economic Forum in Davos to press for firmer oversight of artificial intelligence. “It can’t be just growth at any cost. There has to be some regulation,” he told CNBC, underscoring a growing debate about how businesses should deploy AI responsibly. (CNBC)

Concerns about legal and compliance risks tied to AI are already materialising for some vendors. Reuters reported a California lawsuit against AI hiring firm Eightfold, one of Salesforce’s clients, alleging violations of U.S. credit-reporting laws in its handling of job applicants, a reminder that regulatory and litigation risks could complicate enterprise adoption. (Reuters)

At the same time Salesforce is pushing AI features to customers, announcing Agentforce as a capability to field AI agents that ingest inputs and carry out tasks across business functions, signalling the company’s strategy to entwine generative and task-oriented automation with its core customer-management products. While the new functionality supports the firm’s growth narrative, analysts and investors remain alert to how regulatory scrutiny and any fresh legal challenges might affect valuations and contract pipelines. (Reuters, MarketWatch)

Source Reference Map

Inspired by headline at: ^[1]

Sources by paragraph:

Source: Fuse Wire Services