Value investor Bill Nygren sees opportunity in beaten-down Salesforce

Veteran value investor Bill Nygren said the sell-off in Salesforce has created an opportunity, arguing the software company's cash generation and aggressive share buybacks outweigh investor concerns about artificial intelligence. Nygren, who has managed the Oakmark Select Fund since 1996, said Salesforce is trading at a "double-digit free cash flow yield" despite continuing to grow and positioning itself to benefit from AI. "They are radically redirecting that cash flow into share purchase," Nygren said Thursday on CNBC's "The Exchange." "They have an authorization outstanding now to buy back, I believe it's about 20% of the company. And we don't think they're done growing." The comments come after a difficult year for Salesforce. Its shares have fallen about 43% in 2026 as investors questioned whether advances in generative AI could erode demand for traditional enterprise software. The decline stands in sharp contrast to the broader market, with the S & P 500 up roughly 7% over the same period. "When you talk to Salesforce management, they believe they'll be an AI beneficiary," he said. The software giant has been leaning into AI through its Agentforce platform, which automates sales and customer-service tasks, while also pursuing acquisitions to strengthen its AI capabilities. Earlier this month, Salesforce agreed to acquire AI customer-service platform Fin for about $3.6 billion. …