Software stocks are shares in companies that sell programs and digital services, usually by subscription. It is the largest theme on the US market and the most varied: the same heading holds profitable giants and loss-making growth companies whose value sits entirely in expectations. Below, our model ranks every US-listed software stock by score and momentum, updated after each close.
The theme spans the whole range. Zoom and Nutanix sell subscriptions to businesses; Science Applications International works largely for government; Sabre runs infrastructure for travel booking; PagerDuty and OneSpan are smaller specialists. The differences matter: a company whose customers renew every year behaves very differently from one selling a project at a time.
Growth versus profit. The market pays for growth, and punishes it fast when growth slows — even if profit is fine. A single guidance cut can reset the valuation.
Renewals. The whole model rests on customers staying. Net retention says more about the business than a quarter of new sales does.
Interest rates. Value that lies far in the future is worth less when rates rise. That is why the most expensive software names moved hardest when rates changed.
Dilution. Paying staff in shares is normal here, and it costs existing owners a slice of the company even when nothing else changes.
Because much of their value is earnings expected years out. A higher discount rate makes distant profit worth less today, and the more of the value that sits in the future, the bigger the effect.
A subscription is paid continuously and has to be renewed; a licence is bought once. Subscription revenue is more predictable, which the market usually rewards — but it also means a company can lose a customer base gradually rather than all at once.
The quality score measures how soundly a company is run, compared with every other stock. A company spending heavily to grow, without profit yet, will score low — that is what the number is meant to show, not a judgement on the product.
After every close. Score, momentum and price targets are recalculated automatically, so the order always reflects the latest trading day.