Salesforce's Double Act: A Legendary Short Seller Turns Bull as AI Panic Sweeps the Sector

Michael Burry buys Salesforce shares at $180, betting on a rebound as the company executes a $50B buyback and expands AI strategy with Google Cloud.

The software industry is in turmoil. Shares have been hammered, fear is running high, and the narrative around artificial intelligence has turned from opportunity to existential threat. Yet, in the eye of this storm, two unlikely forces are converging on Salesforce: a famed bear is buying, and the company is quietly executing one of its most ambitious strategic overhauls.

Burry's Bet Against the Panic

Michael Burry, the investor who famously bet against the housing market before the 2008 financial crisis, has flipped the script. He is now a buyer of Salesforce shares, purchasing them at around $180 each. In mid-April, he publicly described the sector-wide selloff as a reflexive panic, arguing that technical pressures from the private credit markets—not fundamental weaknesses—are driving the rout. He believes those constraints will soon ease.

The logic is straightforward. Salesforce, which controls nearly a quarter of the global customer management market, has no exposure to those distressed credit pools, giving it a safety buffer that many of its peers lack. For Burry, the selloff is an overreaction, and he is betting on a rebound.

The Numbers Tell a Different Story

The stock has certainly taken a beating. Salesforce shares have shed roughly 30% of their value since the start of the year, currently trading at €151.68. The pain was acute last week when a broad-based panic swept through the software sector. The trigger was a warning from rival ServiceNow about shrinking margins following an acquisition. Salesforce had no negative news of its own, yet it lost 9% in a single day.

Technically, the stock is deeply oversold. The relative strength index (RSI) sits at 20.1, a level that historically signals a potential bounce. The distance to the 52-week low is just over 8%. Yet the valuation tells a more compelling story. Salesforce now trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 14, a fraction of ServiceNow's multiple of 25.

A $50 Billion Backstop

While the market panics, the company is deploying its financial firepower. Salesforce generates $14.4 billion in free cash flow. It has launched a massive $50 billion share buyback program. Insiders are already taking advantage of the depressed levels, with 88 net purchases recorded from the executive suite in recent weeks.

On top of that, the company completed its acquisition of Informatica, with integration running ahead of schedule. The fiscal year 2026 ended with record revenue and cash flow, and for fiscal 2027, management expects revenue of around $46 billion, with growth accelerating in the second half.

The AI Engine Room

Behind the market noise, Salesforce is pushing hard on its artificial intelligence strategy. At the Google Cloud Next conference, the company announced an expanded partnership with Google Cloud. The centerpiece is a "zero-copy data access" feature that allows its Agentforce AI agents to process data directly from Google's Lakehouse, eliminating the need to move information. That saves time and improves security.

Salesforce is also integrating Google's Gemini models natively into its ecosystem. Users will soon be able to deploy AI agents directly within Slack and Google Workspace. The practical potential is already visible at Unisys, which is expanding its use of Agentforce 360 for technical support. The IT services firm now manages 7.4 million devices globally through the system, with 70% of monthly service appointments scheduled fully automatically, requiring no human intervention.

The Hidden Joker

There is another potential catalyst lurking in Salesforce's balance sheet. Since 2023, the company has invested over $300 million in the AI startup Anthropic. The valuation of that firm has since exploded to $380 billion. Industry sources expect an initial public offering later this year. If that happens, the value of Salesforce's stake would become visible to the market, potentially unlocking significant shareholder value.

Wall Street Stays Calm

Analysts, for the most part, share Burry's optimism. The vast majority still rate the stock a buy, with an average price target of $262, implying upside of roughly 40%. The consensus is that the selloff has gone too far.

The risk, of course, remains. New AI models from OpenAI or Anthropic could trigger another wave of selling at any time. But for now, the combination of a legendary contrarian buying in, a $50 billion buyback, a record cash flow, and a rapidly advancing AI strategy presents a picture that is hard to ignore. The market may be panicking, but Salesforce is building.