Marc Benioff finds himself in a familiar spot—defending AI investments while Wall Street's patience wears thin. The cloud software giant's latest earnings call turned into something of a high-stakes persuasion game. Numbers came in solid enough, yet the real battle? Convincing skeptical money managers that AI isn't just another buzzword eating into margins.

Investors want proof, not promises. They've heard the AI pitch before. Benioff's challenge goes beyond reporting revenue growth—he needs to show tangible returns from those hefty AI bets. The skepticism isn't surprising. Tech CEOs have been singing AI's praises for quarters now, but many portfolios haven't seen proportional gains.

What makes this interesting: the disconnect between innovation cycles and quarterly expectations. AI infrastructure demands massive upfront spending. Payoffs arrive later, sometimes years down the line. But markets operate on different timelines. Benioff's walking that tightrope—balancing long-term vision against short-term shareholder demands. Classic tension between building the future and satisfying the present.