Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is having a good Thursday. The stock traded up about 13% in premarket as investors digested a Q2 double beat, upbeat guidance, and a shiny new partnership with Anthropic that the company is calling "Claudeforce."

For context, Nasdaq futures are up 1.06% and S&P 500 futures have gained 0.43%, so this isn't just a rising tide lifting all boats. Salesforce is moving on its own merits.

The company is gaining momentum across AI, Slack, and its core cloud products. CEO Marc Benioff pointed to stronger bookings, better customer retention, and expanding AI adoption after the latest quarter. Let's break down what he told CNBC's Jim Cramer.

Benioff Says Salesforce Growth Is Accelerating

Benioff told Cramer that Salesforce delivered its strongest net new annual order value growth in four years. Seats increased year over year across Agentforce, Sales, Service, and Slack, while customer attrition stayed near its lowest level on record.

He also mentioned that bookings for Salesforce's A1E and A4X bundles more than doubled sequentially, and contract lengths improved across both new business and renewals. That's a good sign for future revenue visibility.

Agentforce usage increased sixfold as AI agents made greater use of Salesforce through its Model Context Protocol connections. Benioff said nine of the 10 largest AI companies use Salesforce and Slack, with their combined spending rising 435% year over year. That's a lot of AI companies betting on Salesforce's platform.

Slack also delivered triple-digit bookings growth during the quarter. Benioff highlighted customers including Nike, General Motors, and Robinhood as examples of companies standardizing on the platform. Slack is clearly more than just a chat app at this point.

Anthropic Partnership Extends Salesforce's AI Strategy

Benioff said Salesforce's expanded partnership with Anthropic reinforces his view that advanced AI models depend on enterprise data and applications rather than replacing them. It's a philosophical stance that also happens to be good for business.

Salesforce and Anthropic developed Claude Force, which combines Anthropic's Claude with Salesforce's customer data, applications, security controls, and AI tools. Benioff expects the product to help businesses build new applications while extracting more value from information already stored across their systems.

He also emphasized Salesforce's data foundation, including capabilities added through its Informatica acquisition, as critical to supporting AI models across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and analytics. Data is the fuel, and Salesforce wants to be the engine.

Agentforce Expands Across Enterprise And Government

Benioff said more than 450 companies now use Salesforce's IT service-management offering, including a recent McAfee conversion from ServiceNow. That's a direct shot at a competitor, and it shows Salesforce is winning deals.

He also pointed to Salesforce's growing U.S. government presence. The U.S. Army expects to handle 55 million Agentforce conversations each month, while Salesforce is also working on IRS modernization. Government contracts can be sticky and lucrative.

Benioff said Salesforce has completed more than 5 million autonomous service interactions internally, with roughly 2.5 million cases automatically escalated to human agents when needed. That's a real-world proof point for the technology.

He added that Salesforce now generates nearly $47 billion in revenue, compared with less than $1 billion when he first appeared on Cramer's show in 2009. That's a remarkable growth story, and it's not over yet.

Top ETF Exposure

For ETF investors, Salesforce is a significant holding in several funds. Here are the top ones:

• SmartETFs Advertising and Marketing Technology ETF (NYSE: MRAD): 4.11% Weight
• iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS: IGV): 4.86% Weight
• First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSE: FDN): 4.66% Weight

Significance: Because CRM carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. So if you're wondering why the stock moves on days when there's no company news, ETF flows might be the answer.

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $233.13. Recent analyst moves include:

• Citizens: Market Outperform (Maintains forecast to $315.00) (Aug. 25)
• Canaccord Genuity: Buy (Maintains forecast to $225.00) (Aug. 25)
• BTIG: Buy (Maintains forecast to $255.00) (Aug. 24)

Note that the average price target is below the current premarket price of $232.70, but some analysts see much more upside. The range is wide, which suggests uncertainty about the AI opportunity.

Price Action

Salesforce shares were trading higher by 13.17% at $232.70 during premarket trading on Thursday. That's a big move for a large-cap stock, and it shows the market is excited about the AI narrative.

So what's the takeaway? Salesforce is proving that it can ride the AI wave while also growing its core business. The Anthropic partnership adds credibility, and the government deals show scale. It's a good day to be a Salesforce shareholder.