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Alphabet declined roughly 6% and Microsoft slipped in afternoon trading, pulling down the broader software and communications sector. Commvault fell 3.1%, Workiva fell 4.8%, and 8x8 fell 6.3%. The declines followed high-profile AI talent departures from Alphabet and a surge in concerns that AI agents would erode traditional enterprise software economics.
Why it matters
The market fears that AI agents — software that makes decisions and takes actions autonomously — will replace billable work and subscription seats, threatening the core revenue model of software companies. This concern intensified after Accenture, the world's largest IT services firm, cut its growth outlook and explicitly cited AI compressing demand for traditional IT services, signaling to investors that the same pressure applies to software vendors.
What to watch
The counterargument is that selling has become indiscriminate; Salesforce, for example, is a Rule-of-40 company retiring 10% of its shares through a $25 billion（約4兆円） buyback and carries the largest AI revenue line in its category. Until these companies can prove that AI revenue scales faster than it erodes the legacy subscription base, software may remain under pressure even when the rest of tech celebrates.
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