Enterprise software, long one of the hottest sectors of the tech industry on the public market, has suddenly turned cold.
Fears about rising interest rates and a slowdown from pandemic-driven growth surges have delivered a double whammy to enterprise software stocks in recent months. A group of 46 such firms are down 3% so far this year, compared to 2020 when they were up 97%. The Nasdaq as a whole is up 18% on the year.
The broader cooldown signals that investors are becoming more discriminating about software stocks, said Tyler Radke, a senior software equity research analyst at Citi. “Investors are getting a little bit picky in terms of who the real winners are,” Radke said.