Software ETF Gains 21% in May as Snowflake, Okta Surge
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- iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF rose 8% this week and closed May up 21%, its strongest monthly gain since October 2001.
- Snowflake logged its best day ever on Thursday, surged nearly 50% over the four trading days after the holiday, and announced a $6 billion cloud‑and‑chip partnership with Amazon while raising its guidance.
- Okta jumped a record 30% on Friday after beating earnings expectations and warned that the shift to “agentic AI” is driving businesses to invest heavily in identity‑security tools.
- Atlassian climbed 26% for the week, while peers such as ServiceNow, Shopify, Workday, and Asana each rose at least 14%, underscoring a broader software‑sector rebound despite prior AI‑related “SaaSpocalypse” fears.
- Microsoft rose almost 8% on the week but remains down 7% YTD, the worst performance among tech megacaps, while the Nasdaq overall is up 18% in 2026.
Why it matters: Enterprise buyers gain from accelerated AI‑ready data and identity solutions, while lagging AI‑tool developers see slower adoption; Snowflake’s $6 billion Amazon deal and Okta’s 30% stock surge signal rising demand for secure, unified data pipelines.
