Investing IdeasBrowse All StocksMarkets
Have your own idea? Try our Stock Screener
Header cover image

U.S. Software Industry Analysis

UpdatedJan 26, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies432
  • 7D-0.1%
  • 3M-16.7%
  • 1Y-1.1%
  • YTD-3.3%

Over the last 7 days, the Software industry has remained flat, although notably Oracle declined by 7.3%. Furthermore, the industry has been flat for the past year as well. Earnings are forecast to grow by 20% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.S. Software Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Mon, 26 Jan 2026US$6.7tUS$649.0bUS$159.9b30.8x41.9x10.3x
Wed, 24 Dec 2025US$7.2tUS$645.4bUS$164.7b31.9x43.8x11.2x
Fri, 21 Nov 2025US$7.1tUS$639.7bUS$159.9b29x44.3x11.1x
Sun, 19 Oct 2025US$7.7tUS$621.4bUS$151.7b34.9x50.8x12.4x
Tue, 16 Sep 2025US$7.7tUS$620.9bUS$151.9b34.9x50.6x12.4x
Thu, 14 Aug 2025US$7.6tUS$614.1bUS$153.0b36.5x49.9x12.4x
Sat, 12 Jul 2025US$7.5tUS$598.9bUS$131.3b40.8x56.8x12.4x
Mon, 09 Jun 2025US$6.9tUS$595.8bUS$131.6b40.1x52.8x11.7x
Wed, 07 May 2025US$6.4tUS$589.4bUS$131.0b33.3x48.8x10.9x
Fri, 04 Apr 2025US$5.8tUS$581.4bUS$131.8b29x43.8x9.9x
Sun, 02 Mar 2025US$6.1tUS$580.6bUS$129.1b34.5x47.6x10.6x
Tue, 28 Jan 2025US$6.6tUS$568.2bUS$129.2b43x51.2x11.6x
Thu, 26 Dec 2024US$6.6tUS$569.1bUS$128.8b41.2x51.5x11.6x
Sat, 23 Nov 2024US$6.5tUS$567.3bUS$127.2b42.4x50.7x11.4x
Mon, 21 Oct 2024US$6.1tUS$551.7bUS$124.1b37.6x48.9x11x
Wed, 18 Sep 2024US$6.0tUS$552.4bUS$124.0b38.9x48.5x10.9x
Fri, 16 Aug 2024US$5.7tUS$548.8bUS$121.5b35.8x47.1x10.4x
Sun, 14 Jul 2024US$6.0tUS$530.6bUS$118.4b40.7x50.9x11.4x
Tue, 11 Jun 2024US$5.3tUS$477.7bUS$107.2b40.1x49.2x11x
Thu, 09 May 2024US$5.2tUS$477.4bUS$103.8b43.8x50.1x10.9x
Sat, 06 Apr 2024US$5.3tUS$466.0bUS$98.3b43.2x54x11.4x
Mon, 04 Mar 2024US$5.5tUS$468.6bUS$98.1b42.9x55.6x11.6x
Wed, 31 Jan 2024US$5.5tUS$486.8bUS$82.4b48x67.3x11.4x
Fri, 29 Dec 2023US$5.2tUS$486.1bUS$82.9b46.8x62.4x10.6x
Sun, 26 Nov 2023US$5.0tUS$482.6bUS$79.9b46.4x62.4x10.3x
Tue, 24 Oct 2023US$4.5tUS$477.3bUS$73.7b41.9x60.5x9.3x
Thu, 21 Sep 2023US$4.5tUS$480.7bUS$73.0b45.7x61.3x9.3x
Sat, 19 Aug 2023US$4.3tUS$473.5bUS$70.4b42.8x61.6x9.2x
Mon, 17 Jul 2023US$4.6tUS$460.7bUS$60.1b48.3x77x10x
Wed, 14 Jun 2023US$4.4tUS$460.1bUS$62.1b44.8x71.5x9.7x
Fri, 12 May 2023US$4.0tUS$456.6bUS$60.1b37.9x66.6x8.8x
Sun, 09 Apr 2023US$3.9tUS$453.6bUS$60.5b43.2x65x8.7x
Tue, 07 Mar 2023US$3.6tUS$453.1bUS$59.7b43.2x61x8x
Thu, 02 Feb 2023US$3.6tUS$435.5bUS$57.9b42.3x61.8x8.2x
Price to Earnings Ratio

61.8x


Total Market Cap: US$3.6tTotal Earnings: US$57.9bTotal Revenue: US$435.5bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.S. Software Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 54.7x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the American Software industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 41.9x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 54.7x.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 10.6x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Software industry have grown 40% per year over the last three years.
  • Revenues for these companies have grown 14% per year.
  • This means that more sales are being generated by these companies overall, and subsequently their profits are increasing too.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.S. Tech industry?

US Market-0.36%
Tech-0.95%
Software-0.12%
Systems Software0.13%
Application Software-0.67%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Application Software industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 0.87x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 24.3%, which is lower than the prior year's growth of 41.1% per year.
  • Investors are most pessimistic about the Systems Software industry, which is trading close to its 3-year average of 40.2x.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Application Software industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 24% over the next 5 years.
  • However this is lower than its past earnings growth rate of 41% per year.
  • In contrast, the Systems Software industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 17% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
MSFT MicrosoftUS$465.951.3%
+US$45.3b		7.2%PE33x
NOW ServiceNowUS$133.114.6%
+US$6.0b		-41.7%PE79.8x
INTU IntuitUS$563.973.4%
+US$5.2b		-5.7%PE38.1x
FTNT FortinetUS$81.648.3%
+US$4.7b		-15.6%PE32.4x
DDOG DatadogUS$130.139.3%
+US$3.9b		-8.5%PE427.4x

Latest News

ZM
US$85.78
Zoom Communications
7D
6.0%
1Y
4.6%

ZM: Partner-First Pivot And AI Monetization Are Expected To Drive Upside

Analysts have nudged their price targets for Zoom Communications higher, with Citi and Rosenblatt citing what they see as an undemanding valuation, a path toward about 5% sales growth, new AI and contact center products, and progress on a partner first go to market model. These factors support moves such as Citi's increase to US$106 from US$94 and Rosenblatt's lift to US$115 from US$110.
IOT
US$32.10
Samsara
7D
-8.0%
1Y
-34.9%
SNPS
US$501.39
Synopsys
7D
-2.9%
1Y
-1.8%

SNPS: NVIDIA Alliance And IP Headwinds Will Shape Balanced 2026 Outlook

Analysts have nudged their fair value estimate for Synopsys slightly lower, from about $556.73 to $555.65. This reflects concerns that prolonged growth headwinds for its $1.75b IP business, as engineering and fabrication capacity shift toward AI and high performance data center chips, could make 2026 more challenging.
ORCL
US$177.16
Oracle
7D
-7.3%
1Y
11.9%
CRCL
US$71.33
Circle Internet Group
7D
-9.3%
1Y
n/a
ADBE
US$301.07
Adobe
7D
1.7%
1Y
-31.4%

ADBE: Future AI And Semrush Deal Will Reshape Cash Flow Profile

Analysts have reduced their Adobe fair value estimate by about US$7 to roughly US$578, citing a lower future P/E assumption and recent price target cuts that reflect concerns about near term growth momentum and competitive pressures. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research on Adobe has tilted more cautious, with several firms cutting ratings and price targets as they reassess expectations around AI driven growth, competitive intensity and near term execution.
MSFT
US$465.95
Microsoft
7D
1.3%
1Y
7.2%

MSFT: AI Infrastructure Buildout And OpenAI Partnership Will Sustain Cloud Leadership

Microsoft's updated analyst price target edges slightly lower, with fair value now at about $622.19, as analysts balance modest tweaks to the discount rate and P/E assumptions against ongoing AI related demand signals highlighted in recent research. Analyst Commentary Recent research around Microsoft clusters into two broad camps, with most commentary still constructive on AI driven growth and cloud execution, while a smaller group is more cautious on capital intensity and hyperscaler economics.
DDOG
US$130.13
Datadog
7D
9.3%
1Y
-8.5%
NOW
US$133.11
ServiceNow
7D
4.6%
1Y
-41.7%
APP
US$524.41
AppLovin
7D
-7.8%
1Y
52.9%

APP: Heavy Buybacks And Lofty Margins Will Likely Cap Future Upside

Analysts have nudged their fair value estimate for AppLovin to $544.25, a modest move from $538.97. The change reflects refreshed assumptions around revenue growth, profit margins, discount rate and future P/E multiples.
NBIS
US$94.50
Nebius Group
7D
-13.1%
1Y
262.3%

NBIS: Long Term Power Contracts And Capacity Buildout Will Support AI Demand

Analysts kept their Nebius Group price target at US$211, citing updated assumptions for slightly lower discount rates, modestly higher revenue growth and profit margins, and a marginally lower future P/E that together support the existing valuation framework. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Nebius Group has leaned constructive, with several bullish analysts highlighting the company’s positioning in high performance compute and artificial intelligence infrastructure, as well as the support from large customer contracts.
INTU
US$563.97
Intuit
7D
3.4%
1Y
-5.7%

Intuit: Why Tax Complexity Keeps Compounding the Long-Term Opportunity

At first glance, Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) can look like a mature software company operating in a slow-moving space. Tax filing, bookkeeping, and payroll aren’t exactly growth buzzwords.
FTNT
US$81.64
Fortinet
7D
8.3%
1Y
-15.6%

FTNT: Hardware Refresh Caution Will Contrast With Stronger Margins And Buybacks

Analysts have nudged their implied fair value for Fortinet lower from about $110 to $108, as a reduced future P/E assumption and more cautious views on hardware refresh demand offset still solid revenue and billings metrics reflected in recent research updates. Analyst Commentary Recent research has been mixed, but there are still clear pockets of optimism around Fortinet that center on execution, earnings quality, and how those feed into valuation support.
TEAM
US$131.75
Atlassian
7D
11.1%
1Y
-50.8%

TEAM: AWS Partnership And Margin Expansion Will Drive Long Term Upside

Analysts have trimmed their price target for Atlassian from $371.17 to $353.51, citing updated assumptions on discount rate, revenue growth, profit margins and future P/E expectations. Analyst Commentary Bullish analysts are framing the latest price target adjustment for Atlassian as a recalibration of assumptions rather than a change in the long term thesis.
PANW
US$180.18
Palo Alto Networks
7D
-4.0%
1Y
-4.8%
PLTR
US$169.60
Palantir Technologies
7D
-0.8%
1Y
124.8%