The software industry is currently facing a significant split, as discussed by SA analyst Jack Bowman on Seeking Alpha’s Investing Experts Podcast, who differentiates between “road builders” and “tollbooths.” Companies such as Salesforce (CRM) and Adobe (ADBE) are categorized as road builders, providing human-facing tools, while MongoDB (MDB) and Palantir (PLTR) are seen as tollbooths, offering essential databases that are AI-callable. This distinction is critical in light of the ongoing “SaaSpocalypse,” a selloff of SaaS stocks driven by fears that AI may disrupt traditional business models for knowledge worker tools. Investors are increasingly evaluating how these dynamics will impact the software market’s resilience amid the growing influence of AI.
Seeking Alpha analyst outlines software industry’s road builders vs. tollbooths divide
