From 'Straw Man' To 'Steel Man', Goldman Lays Out The 7 Software Bear-Case Debates

Relative to prior Software sector corrections, the 2026 YTD one is squarely anchored to terminal value debates: instead of analyzing a change in near-term demand trendline or the mathematical impact of higher interest rates, the market is questioning software moats and business models.

While this debate is centered primarily on the application software companies; to a lesser extent, investors are also questioning whether the infrastructure/security stack could be impacted, and the ROI tied to hyperscaler capex.

1. System of Record “rip and replace” - risk score 1