Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is urging investors to view this week’s dramatic software stock selloff as a buying opportunity rather than an industry catastrophe. The prominent AI bull characterized the market downturn—dubbed “software armageddon”—as nothing more than a “tech stock garage sale,” offering typically high-priced AI-related stocks at significant discounts.
The selloff, which represents the worst market decline since the “Liberation Day” crash, has been driven by investor panic over AI disruption threats. Software stocks have tanked amid concerns about how artificial intelligence will reshape the competitive landscape, with companies like Anthropic and OpenAI releasing dueling AI models that have intensified fears about traditional software businesses becoming obsolete.
However, Ives and his team believe the market is overreacting. “We believe the market is baking in a doomsday scenario for software companies in the near-term, which we believe is extremely overblown,” they wrote in their industry note. The analysts argue that many enterprise customers won’t rush to implement AI strategies that could put their data at risk until migration projects become less risky.
Ives identified five tech stocks as prime buying opportunities: Microsoft (down 12% YTD, closing at $414.19), Palantir (down 16%, closing at $139.54), Snowflake (down 23%, closing at $165.29), Salesforce (down 21%, closing at $199.44), and CrowdStrike (down 8%, closing at $415.36).
Microsoft remains a cornerstone recommendation, with Ives setting a $575 price target. The company’s Azure cloud growth and its multibillion-dollar OpenAI partnership position it as a “core winner” of the AI revolution. Palantir, which specializes in data analytics and AI software, has a “golden path to becoming a trillion-dollar market cap company,” according to Ives, with a $230 price target.
Snowflake, despite suffering the sharpest selloff, is positioned as the “trusted layer between enterprise data and external models,” with a $270 target price. Salesforce’s Agentforce strategy and strong pipeline earned it a $375 price target, while CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity leadership in the AI era justified a $600 target.
While Ives acknowledges that “AI is a headwind in the near-term for software,” he maintains that the magnitude of the selloff is a “major head scratcher” that doesn’t reflect reality. His bullish stance continues a years-long pattern of urging investors to lean into tech selloffs, even as skeptics warn about overenthusiasm obscuring questions about earnings growth, competition, and enterprise AI adoption rates.
Key Quotes
We believe the market is baking in a doomsday scenario for software companies in the near-term, which we believe is extremely overblown, as many customers won’t be willing to put their data at risk to capitalize on AI implementation strategies until there is less risk with these migration projects.
Dan Ives and his Wedbush analyst team wrote this in their industry note, arguing that enterprise caution around AI implementation will slow disruption and protect traditional software companies more than investors currently believe.
Is AI a headwind in the near-term for software? YES!…however, the magnitude of this software sell-off is a major head scratcher and is factoring in an Armageddon scenario for the sector that is far from reality in our view.
Ives acknowledges AI poses challenges to traditional software but argues the market overreaction has created a disconnect between stock prices and actual business fundamentals, presenting a buying opportunity.
Palantir’s value is not in model performance, but in embedding AI into workflows with guardrails, approvals, and real-time feedback.
Ives explains why Palantir remains valuable despite AI disruption—its strength lies in practical AI implementation with enterprise-grade security and governance, not in competing on raw AI model capabilities.
One of the misconceptions in this sell-off is that enterprises are going to bypass software platforms and connect frontier models directly in the data, but enterprises require security, access controls, lineage, and governance before AI interacts/connects with production systems.
Ives defends Snowflake’s position, arguing that enterprise requirements for data security and governance will keep traditional software platforms relevant as intermediaries between companies and AI models.
Our Take
Ives’s analysis reveals a critical inflection point in the AI investment narrative. While his bullish track record is notable, this selloff exposes genuine uncertainty about which business models survive AI disruption. The stocks he recommends share a common thread: they’re infrastructure plays that enable AI rather than compete directly with it. Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership, Palantir’s workflow integration, Snowflake’s data governance layer, Salesforce’s Agentforce strategy, and CrowdStrike’s AI-era cybersecurity all represent the “picks and shovels” approach to the AI gold rush. However, the counterargument—that AI models will eventually disintermediate these platforms—cannot be dismissed. The legal software industry’s reaction to Anthropic’s tools suggests disruption may happen faster than Ives anticipates. The real question isn’t whether these companies have value today, but whether their moats are deep enough to withstand AI-native competitors building from scratch. This volatility likely continues as the market sorts winners from losers.
Why This Matters
This story highlights the growing tension between AI disruption fears and investment opportunities in the technology sector. As companies like Anthropic release AI tools that directly threaten traditional software businesses—such as their legal AI tool seen as a “shot across the bow” by the legal software industry—investors are grappling with which companies will emerge as winners and losers in the AI revolution.
The selloff reflects broader market uncertainty about AI’s timeline and impact on enterprise software. While AI capabilities are advancing rapidly, the pace of enterprise adoption remains unclear, creating volatility as investors reassess valuations. Ives’s contrarian view suggests that panic selling may be creating opportunities for long-term investors who believe in AI’s transformative potential.
For businesses and workers, this volatility underscores the real disruption AI is causing across industries. Companies must balance the promise of AI efficiency gains against implementation risks, data security concerns, and the need for governance frameworks. The stocks Ives recommends—from cloud infrastructure to cybersecurity—represent the essential infrastructure layer that will enable safe, scalable AI deployment, suggesting that the AI revolution will create winners among established tech players, not just AI-native startups.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/dan-ives-says-buy-5-stock-dips-after-software-armageddon-2026-2