Guggenheim turns more positive on Salesforce, Check Point and ServiceNow, arguing AI worries may be exaggerated

Guggenheim Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce, Check Point Software Technologies and ServiceNow, arguing that recent investor anxiety around artificial intelligence has been overdone and has distorted how the market is valuing enterprise software companies. The decision adds to a theme that has been circulating across software markets: that AI has shifted expectations for growth and margins, but that the fears about the near-term economics or competitive dynamics of AI may have moved faster than fundamentals. Guggenheim’s call, described in a report circulated by Yahoo Finance, resulted in Buy ratings for all three companies. For Salesforce, the upgrade positions the company within a group of large enterprise technology firms whose businesses depend on long-lived customer spending on customer relationship management (CRM) software and related cloud offerings. For Check Point, the focus is on network and cybersecurity protection sold to businesses, while ServiceNow is tied to workflow automation platforms that help companies run IT service and other internal business processes. The Yahoo Finance report did not provide a detailed breakdown of what specifically changed in Guggenheim’s view for each stock, at least in the information available for this editorial draft. It also did not outline specific financial targets, expected timeframes, or quantified valuation measures in the excerpted material, according to what is provided here. As a result, the upgrade’s core rationale, as stated, centers on sentiment and valuation rather than a disclosed change in company guidance. A key element of the Guggenheim argument is that AI-related concerns have been the dominant driver for software stock pricing, leading to an overly pessimistic read-through on the sector. In practice, investors have grappled with questions like whether AI features will accelerate revenue growth, how quickly customers will adopt AI-enabled tools, and whether the incremental costs of AI infrastructure will pressure margins. Guggenheim’s stance suggests that those concerns may already be reflected in market expectations and that the remaining risk could be less severe than some investors believe. Software companies, meanwhile, have increasingly leaned into AI as a differentiator across their platforms. Salesforce, for example, has continued to highlight AI capabilities in its product and customer announcements through its newsroom, reflecting a strategy to embed intelligence into sales, service, and workflow use cases. ServiceNow has similarly positioned AI as a way to improve automation and decision support inside enterprise operations. Check Point’s product messaging has focused on security efficacy, where AI can support threat detection and operational response, although the specifics of how Guggenheim views those capabilities are not detailed in the available report excerpt. Still, the publicly circulated upgrade commentary included here leaves several questions open. Without access to the underlying research note in full, it is unclear whether Guggenheim expects a particular catalyst, such as new product releases, a change in customer demand patterns, or evidence that AI monetization is improving faster than expected. It is also not possible from the provided information to verify whether Guggenheim’s upgrade included a specific price target, a revised earnings model, or a detailed discussion of risks beyond the broad claim that AI fears are exaggerated. What to watch next is whether the upgraded outlook is followed by comparable moves from other research firms, and whether company disclosures or earnings calls show strengthening demand indicates tied to AI features. For market participants, the immediate test is not just the rating change, but whether fundamentals and guidance align with the argument that software valuations have become too cautious. If subsequent results demonstrate improving enterprise spending and stable or rising margins, the rationale behind the upgrades could gain traction; if not, the market’s sensitivity to AI narratives could persist.

Source transparency note: This story is based on the reported upgrade summary and does not restate the full text of the cited article. Specific quantitative targets or model changes were not provided in the excerpted information available for this draft.