New York, February 24, 2026, 14:36 EST — Regular session
- NOW shares rose about 2% in afternoon trade after a sharp sector-led slide on Monday.
- Traders are still digesting AI disruption worries that have hit U.S. software stocks this month.
- Fresh company announcements — including an AI partnership with TCS — added to the mix.
ServiceNow shares rose about 2.1% to $102.95 in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after moving between $100.53 and $105.68 earlier in the session. The enterprise software maker’s market value was about $108 billion, according to Kraken pricing data. (Kraken)
The bounce follows Monday’s 3.33% drop to $100.80, a move that came with heavier-than-usual trading volume. Salesforce fell 3.78%, Oracle slid 4.57% and Synopsys dropped 4.35% on the same down day for software and the broader market, MarketWatch data showed. (MarketWatch)
Why this matters now: investors have been re-pricing subscription software — recurring-fee products often sold as “SaaS,” or software delivered over the internet — as artificial intelligence reshapes what customers expect and what they will pay for. The mood has been fragile as new U.S. tariffs took effect on Tuesday, adding another layer of uncertainty for risk assets. (Reuters)
A big driver of the latest nerves is a viral report from Citrini Research that sketches out a 2028 “dystopia” scenario, including unemployment rising to 10.2% after AI-driven layoffs, Reuters reported. Nick Ferres, CIO at Vantage Point Asset Management, urged investors to “take it seriously, not literally.” (Reuters)
On the company front, Tata Consultancy Services and ServiceNow said on Monday they signed a multi-year partnership to help enterprises speed up AI adoption, with TCS building industry-specific solutions on ServiceNow’s platform. ServiceNow executive Amit Zavery said the goal is to “move beyond isolated AI experiments.” (Tata Consultancy Services)
ServiceNow also pushed product news tied to healthcare, saying it is launching “Healthcare Operations” at the ViVE 2026 conference — a workflow product designed to sit inside an electronic medical record, or EMR, and route operational requests. Children’s Health executive Jonathan Patrick said, “We plan to use AI and automation to give them time back.” (ServiceNow Newsroom)
Analysts, meanwhile, are trying to separate perceived “durable” software business models from those seen as most exposed if AI lowers switching costs — how easy it is for customers to move to a rival. Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said Salesforce was “best-positioned among apps vendors to deliver on AI agents,” a term for software that can take actions on its own rather than just answer prompts. (Streetinsider)
A Form 144 filing also showed a proposed insider sale. Paul Fipps, listed as an officer, filed notice of a planned sale of 3,696 shares through Fidelity, with an aggregate market value shown at about $376,142; the filing also listed a prior sale of 9,641 shares on Feb. 18. (A Form 144 is a notice tied to SEC Rule 144 that can precede a sale of restricted or control securities.) (Streetinsider)
The broader software group steadied on Tuesday after a rout on Monday, helped by sector headlines around AI tools and partnerships. Reuters reported that the U.S. software ETF IGV jumped 2.4% and a strategist at Stock Trader Network called the group “massively oversold.” (Reuters)
But the downside case is still straightforward: if AI-driven “fear trades” come back — or if customers start pushing harder on renewals and pricing — high-multiple software stocks can get repriced quickly. A Reuters Breakingviews column noted that the debate is now centered on whether AI changes the economics of software profits, not just boosts productivity. (Reuters)
What traders are watching next is Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday, a key checkpoint for the market’s AI narrative, alongside any fresh tariff headlines that could jolt risk appetite again. That combination has been moving software shares in quick bursts, even on days when company-specific news is relatively light. (Reuters)
