Not all software stocks appear to be losers after the sector’s recent carnage, according to Goldman Sachs. Software companies have been among the most oversold stocks in the S & P 500 in recent weeks, and continued to weigh on the broader market during Tuesday’s session. The group has gotten slammed on fears that artificial intelligence tools will disrupt the traditional “per-seat” subscription models used by traditional software giants, replace their products and weigh on companies’ pricing power. Analyst Gabriela Borges wrote in a Monday note to clients that the quickly evolving nature of agentic technology has ultimately made it challenging to determine the terminal values of stocks and gauge their valuations. Borges noted that existing software systems, or system of record (SoR) companies, continue to own the vast amounts of historically accurate data that AI models rely on. “AI technologies function primarily as a powerful intelligent layer rather than a foundational replacement: they are reliant on systems of record to maximize their own value,” Borges said. “The existing systems of record are the reservoirs of this data. Existing SoR companies including SAP, Salesforce, Oracle, and Workday have spent decades building robust processes for data validation, governance, and compliance.” In this environment, Borges said, the firm continues to “look for proof that domain experience drives higher quality agentic outcomes, and stable to improving fundamentals through earnings.” Shorter term, the analyst called out several software companies that Goldman believes can push past fears of AI disruption. “We highlight business models with a clear architectural moat that extends beyond the application layer,” the analyst said, naming Snowflake , MongoDB , Shopify and CrowdStrike among the firm’s buy-rated software picks. Shares of Snowflake and Shopify have declined about 20% and 30% year to date, respectively. Shopify shares remain well-favored among analysts across the Street. Analysts polled by LSEG have a price target that suggests Shopify shares have roughly 43% potential upside. Mizuho and TD Cowen last week upgraded the e-commerce company following its fourth-quarter report , noting strength in Shopify’s revenue results and free cash flow. Database software maker MongoDB, which has plummeted about 17% this year, similarly remains in favor among analysts polled by LSEG, who expect the stock could still gain more than 28%. MongoDB rallied in December after topping third-quarter earnings estimates and raising its guidance for the full year.
