- On February 17, 2026, a wave of software stocks fell sharply following Anthropic’s launch of Claude Sonnet 4.6, the latest generative AI model backed by Google and Amazon.
- Oracle shares dropped 3.4% to around $154; Thomson Reuters fell 3%; Salesforce decreased 2.7%; Intuit plummeted 5.2%; Adobe lost 1.4%.
- ServiceNow dipped 1.1%; Atlassian fell 3.1%; Applovin lost 2.5%; Palo Alto Networks and Autodesk both decreased by over 2%, noting that these two have already fallen more than 11% and 23% since the beginning of the year.
- The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) fell 2% during the session and has lost over 22% year-to-date; Microsoft also declined by more than 1%.
- Anthropic introduced Claude Sonnet 4.6 to both free and paid users, calling it a “comprehensive upgrade” in coding, computer use, long-context reasoning, agent planning, knowledge work, and design.
- The company admitted the model still lags behind top human experts but emphasized its “astonishing” pace of progress and significant improvements in coding skills.
- Previously, Anthropic released plugins for the Claude Cowork AI agent, claiming it could automate customer service, product management, marketing, legal, and data analysis.
- A Bank of America survey shows that 25% of fund managers fear AI-exposed stocks are overvalued; 30% warned that surging AI spending could trigger a credit crisis.
- Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are expected to spend approximately $610 billion on AI in 2026.
- Some experts from LPL Financial, WedBush, and JPMorgan believe the market is overreacting and pricing in the “worst-case scenario.”
📌 Conclusion: On February 17, 2026, software stocks plummeted following the debut of Claude Sonnet 4.6. The sell-off saw drops ranging from 1% to 5.2% in a single session. Available to all users, Sonnet 4.6 is described as a “comprehensive upgrade” across coding, reasoning, and agent planning. While Big Tech plans to invest $610 billion in AI in 2026 and some fear credit risks, many analysts argue the market is inflating fears, as corporate revenue and profit foundations remain stable.
