--- title: "Market Assessment: Software Winners and Losers in the AI Wave; Cybersecurity Stocks Favored" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/291869475.md" description: "Evercore analysts pointed out that software stocks are experiencing severe differentiation in AI monetization capabilities: infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data platform stocks are favored, while application software stocks are being sold off. Over the past year, infrastructure software has risen by 51%, while application software has fallen by 40%. Analysts are optimistic about cybersecurity stocks such as CrowdStrike and Okta, as well as Microsoft and Oracle's performance in the second half of the year, believing they constitute a safe haven for AI deployment infrastructure" datetime: "2026-07-07T03:02:47.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/291869475.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/291869475.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/291869475.md) --- # Market Assessment: Software Winners and Losers in the AI Wave; Cybersecurity Stocks Favored The software stock market shows a split performance, with infrastructure software stocks performing strongly while application software stocks are being sold off. The market will continue to closely monitor how software companies monetize AI; cybersecurity stocks are particularly favored by analysts. According to a report by MarketWatch, Evercore analyst Kirk Materne pointed out in his latest report that software stocks are no longer viewed by the market as a single asset class. Investors are now more focused on how companies can monetize AI, with funds continuously flowing into AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data platforms; application software companies face concerns about the impact of AI on their business models. According to the software stock index tracked by Evercore ISI Research, over the past year, infrastructure software stocks have risen by 51%, while application software stocks have fallen by 40%, and vertical software (software specifically designed for certain industries) has decreased by 27%. Materne noted that software stocks have shown a complete "differentiation," with increasing gaps in investors' perceptions of the value of different companies, creating the largest intra-industry disparity in history. Materne is optimistic about cloud data monitoring platform Datadog and cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike Holdings, which he describes as "AI scaffolding," essential infrastructure for companies to deploy AI on a large scale, and they are expected to benefit from this trend, serving as a safe haven amid the AI storm. Materne lists Microsoft, Oracle, AI fleet management provider Samsara, CRM giant Salesforce, and cloud data warehousing service company Snowflake as the five software companies he is most optimistic about for the second half of the year. Cybersecurity stocks are performing strongly, with CrowdStrike and Palo Alto rising 70% and 94% respectively this year; identity management service provider Okta has also surged 70% this year; Amplify Cybersecurity ETF has increased by 37% this year; while application software stocks have been sold off, with Adobe, Figma, and Workday all experiencing significant declines. Scotiabank has raised Okta's target price to $165 in its latest report, optimistic that the growing prevalence of AI agents will benefit identity management service providers. Analysts are also beginning to seek out undervalued potential stocks in the software industry. Guggenheim Securities analyst John DiFucci this week raised the target prices for software leaders like Salesforce and ServiceNow, believing that after the significant drop in the first half of the year, valuations are now quite cheap. (This article is authorized for reprint by MoneyDJ News; main image source: shutterstock) ### Further Reading: - Adobe rebounds after deep decline; analysts call for buying, stating previous panic was overdone - Will software stocks rise in the second half of the year? 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