SaaStr: Software Now Trades at a Discount to the S&P 500 for the First Time Ever

SaaStr·high signal

SaaStr documents that the 2026 SaaS rout has pushed the public software index to trade at a discount to the S&P 500 for the first time in history — a structural re-rating, not a dip. The market is openly questioning whether the growth assumptions embedded in SaaS valuations survive agentic AI substitution. For builders, it confirms the capital environment now rewards AI-native efficiency (high ARR-per-head) over classic seat-expansion SaaS.