4 Reasons Why AI-Battered Software Stocks Are a Buy Right Now

TL;DR AI replacement fears have hammered software, consulting, and cybersecurity stocks by 25–52%. But a study tracking 164,000 workers tells the opposite story: post-AI adoption, work volume actually increased 94%. These companies are still growing double digits — and their valuations just hit bargain territory.

A study tracking 164,000 workers over 180 days just dropped its findings.

The verdict? AI isn't replacing jobs — it's creating more work. Deep focus time dropped 9%, but time spent on emails, apps, and business tools surged 94%. Every hour AI saved got immediately redeployed into other tasks.

Yet the market has been in full panic mode. Salesforce down 25%. Accenture down 24%. Zscaler down 52%. Hundreds of billions in market cap evaporated this year on AI fear alone.

In my assessment, this is an overreaction. And overreactions create opportunities.

1. Salesforce (CRM): An AI Beneficiary Trading at 15x Earnings

Salesforce is down 25% this year, but the fundamentals haven't changed.

Over 50 trillion records managed across thousands of corporate systems built over more than a decade. You don't just switch that off because of AI headlines. In fact, Salesforce's own AI product, Agent Force, saw a 300% increase in agent tasks performed by clients in the past year.

Key numbers:

• Expected revenue this year: $50 billion (double-digit growth)
• Current P/E ratio: 15x
• Actively ramping share buybacks

This stock traded at 56x earnings just last January. At 15x now, even a re-rating to 30x implies a $400 share price. The market isn't overvaluing this — it's undervaluing it.

2. Accenture (ACN): The Consulting Doom Narrative Has a Flaw

The "AI will replace consultants" thesis has dragged this stock down 49% from its peak.

But here's what's actually happening:

• McKinsey survey: Two-thirds of companies haven't even started scaling AI
• PwC survey: Half of employers have seen zero financial benefit from AI yet
• AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are now paying consulting firms to help enterprises implement their products

Accenture's new AI bookings last quarter: $2.2 billion — up 22% from the prior quarter.

Earnings report comes Thursday. Street expects 7% revenue growth and $2.85 EPS. This company consistently beats. At just 14x forward earnings, a return to 20x P/E means a 37% gain to $276 per share.

3. Zscaler (ZS): The Cybersecurity Paradox

Cybersecurity stocks have been in freefall since November. CrowdStrike down 17%. Palo Alto Networks down 23%. Zscaler down 52% in four months.

The trigger was Anthropic releasing a model that could scan code for bugs. But here's the irony nobody's pricing in.

While everyone fears AI replacing security companies, AI is simultaneously expanding the attack surface for hackers and driving an explosion in AI-generated attacks. One software provider had to shut down its bug bounty program because AI was hallucinating bugs that didn't exist.

No enterprise is going to hand the keys to its most critical security infrastructure to AI alone.

Zscaler numbers:

• Revenue growth: 20%+ this year (approaching $4 billion)
• EPS: $4 (strong double-digit growth)
• Current P/E: 38x (down from 90x last October)

38x isn't cheap in absolute terms. But against 20% growth and compared to the 90x it traded at months ago, this is a compelling entry point.

4. One to Watch Out For: Workday (WDAY)

Not every beaten-down stock deserves your money.

Workday is down 42% over the past year, but it faces a different risk profile than the others. Its core products automate HR and payroll processes — tasks that are more routine and standardized than other enterprise software functions. AI could start meaningfully cannibalizing this revenue sooner than elsewhere.

Don't let fear drive your decisions, but do evaluate each company's specific risk profile individually.

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In 25 years of investing, one lesson stands out: the market takes every narrative to the extreme. Euphoria or despair, there's no middle ground.

Will AI eventually take a meaningful bite out of cybersecurity, consulting, and software revenues? Possibly. But that's years away at minimum. Right now, these stocks have sold off into strong value territory, and investors willing to go against the crowd stand to do very well.