Throughout the first quarter of the year, the technology sector was as sharp as the fear of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) bubble taken from the selloff that began in October 2025.
But since the start of the second quarter, that corner of the market has grown significantly — so much so that it has become the strongest performer among the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 by 2026.
But within tech, there has been one notable omission from the circle: software. As fears about AI's entry into the industry continue, battered stocks operating in that space have racked up their worst year-to-date (YTD) losses in the market as a whole.
However, executives at some software companies view this correction as a good opportunity to take advantage of undervalued stocks, indicating that they believe the market has lost their stock price.
In the following three companies, that is evidenced by the authorization of share repurchases which can be wise decisions in the long term.
Salesforce Announces Largest Stock Buyback Ever
Salesforce Today
- 52 week interval
- $163.52
▼
$276.80
- Dividend Yield
- 0.92%
- The P/E ratio
- 22.11
- Target Value
- $257.97
Authorized stock repurchases allow—but do not require—companies to repurchase their own stock. Anyway, San Francisco-based Salesforce NYSE: CRM you all come in.
The cloud software company, which specializes in customer relationship management and enterprise applications, announced a share repurchase program on March 16, the largest in its history.
An accelerated $25 billion stock buyback program makes up more than 14% of CRM's outstanding shares.
According to the company's press release, the plan calls for the repurchase of 103 million shares and “represents the immediate execution of a portion of the $50 billion in capital stock authorized by Salesforce's Board of Directors in February 2026.”
Those 103 million shares account for about 80% of all the shares the company expects to repurchase. As of Jan. 7 YTD high, CRM fell more than 38% before its YTD low on April 10. Since then, the stock has gained 9.1%.
Of the 39 analysts currently covering Salesforce, 26 have given it a buy rating. Overall, it gets a consensus rating of moderate buy with a 12-month target price that suggests about 35% upside potential.
Adobe Repurchase Program Aims to Take Advantage of 5 Years of Dormancy
Adobe Today
As of 05/29/2026 04:00 PM Eastern
- 52 week interval
- $224.13
▼
$421.48
- The P/E ratio
- 15.10
- Target Value
- $338.15
On April 21, San Jose-based Adobe NYSE: ADBE announced a $25 billion stock repurchase authorization that will account for approximately 25% of the company's outstanding shares.
According to the company's report, Adobe aims to return value to shareholders while reducing the cleanup.
The program is “a direct expression of self-confidence [Adobe’s] strong cash flow and… long-term value,” said Dan Durn, vice president and CFO.
Shareholders are hoping the plan could act as a shot in the arm for the sluggish stock. After posting a four-year average revenue growth of 21.31% from 2018 to 2021, Adobe has seen that metric drop to an average of just 10.77% over the past four years.
That led to a dramatic drop in the company's net cash and cash equivalents, falling from $472 million in 2024 to $2.2 billion in 2025. Still, Adobe has beaten expectations for 13 consecutive earnings, and 15 of the last 17 dating back to Q1 FY2022.
But investors have had to endure some pain. ADBE shares are down about 28% YTD, about 40% over the past year, and over 50% over the past five years. The stock has been relatively low since the company announced its share repurchase plan, but based on analysts' 12-month price estimate, it could see about 35% potential upside.
Despite Impressive Earnings, ADP Still Has to Turn Around
Automated Data Processing Today
Automatic Data Processing
As of 05/29/2026 04:00 PM Eastern
- 52 week interval
- $188.16
▼
$329.93
- Dividend Yield
- 3.07%
- The P/E ratio
- 20.69
- Target Value
- $249.00
While the $6 billion share buyback approval may pale in comparison to the $25 billion announcements of two other listed stocks, New Jersey-based Automatic Data Processing. NASDAQ: ADP plans to buy back 403 million common shares, or about 6% of the company's outstanding shares.
As ADP—which provides payroll processing, workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax, and compliance services software—announced the plan on Jan. 14, the stock continued to lose nearly 27% before its YTD low on April 10. Since then, the stock has gained more than 16%.
That was welcome news to investors who saw earnings growth slow from a four-year high of around 10% in 2022 to just over 7% in 2025. Still, ADP has managed to beat earnings expectations for 24 consecutive quarters dating back to Q4 FY2020, and 34 of 35 quarters dating back to Q4 FY201F.
Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, however, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of hold and a 12-month price target implying a potential upside of 13%.
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