Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for May 31st in 3:07 minutes.

🏖 We’re getting some much-needed R&R on Monday, and we hope you will be too. If anyone gets lost in all the fun, we’ll meet you back here on 2nd June. Cool?

Today's big stories

Salesforce’s earnings surged past analysts’ expectations late last week, with demand for its cloud software as strong as ever
Markets have steered clear of a crash so far, so here's what to expect next – Read Now
Costco reported strong quarterly results, the latest of the big-box retailers to do so

Unstoppable ‘Force

What’s Going On Here?

Salesforce’s earnings punched past analysts’ expectations late last week, with demand for its cloud software looking as strong as ever.

What Does This Mean?

Companies around the world continue to clamor for cloud-based software solutions, even as many of the planet’s economies reopen in some shape or form. So much so, in fact, that cloud specialist Salesforce says its clients aren’t just the most optimistic they’ve been since the start of the pandemic right now – they’ve also restarted large-scale investment in software upgrades.

Many of the company’s clients expect at least some of their workers to remain remote indefinitely, with sales calls via teleconference also likely to continue being a thing. And that’s making Salesforce feel good about the future: it upped its sales estimates for the remainder of the year ahead of what analysts had penciled in. The company’s share price proved to be far from an immovable object as a result: investors initially sent Salesforce’s stock 6% higher on Friday.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: No cloud cuckoo land.
Cloud computing appears to be here to stay: the pandemic, after all, has forcibly removed any lingering reluctance companies had regarding the movement of mission-critical work online. Leading research firm Gartner now expects global cloud computing revenues to increase 23% this year. That’s up from its forecast of 18% growth just a few months back – and more than double the rate at which the industry expanded in 2020 (tweet this).

For markets: Salesforce on sale?
Despite the positive outlook and Friday’s bump, Salesforce’s stock still hasn’t risen as much as the broader US stock market this year. Analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley reckon now’s a good time to buy in: the thinking is that a leading firm in a sector that’s expected to see consistently strong demand over the coming years won’t stay cheap for long.

You might also like: Three ways to work out what Salesforce is really worth.

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2. Analyst Take

Markets Have Mostly Stuck To The Script This Year. So What Happens Next?

As May comes to an end and the typically quieter summer period starts, it’s a good time to take stock of markets’ movements so far this year – and look at where we go from here.

An economic rollercoaster has slowly leveled out, and the consensus expectation of slow but steady growth for stocks, with some rotation from growth sectors to value sectors, has been proved broadly correct.

January’s biggest pessimists have meanwhile been confounded, with only crypto markets suffering any serious selloff – and even then remaining well in the green for the year.

But as US economic surprises threaten to trend negative once again, the recovery phase could give way to a new and uncertain period for markets.

And that’s today’s Insight: how inflation data is likely to be key for the rest of 2021, dictating how hard central banks can keep pumping in support for the economy – and for your investments.

Read or listen to the Insight here

This year’s real estate must-knows

2020 changed everything, and real estate is no exception.

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Analysis of the factors impacting property investment right now: check. An expert outlook for the market this year: double check.

You’ll even find Crowdstreet’s top places to invest for 2021. There’s a clear winner, and you might be surprised where it is.

Head over to Crowdstreet to get your free copy today.

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