Adobe Stock Looks Like a Huge AI Bargain After a Nosedive. Should You Buy?

"Undoubtedly, the software stocks, especially Adobe, have been gravitating lower for well over a year now, but something certainly feels different about the latest shocker, which likely has something to do with Anthropic's AI agent Cowork, which, believe it or not, was made primarily by an AI model Claude. And unlike most other "buzzy" agents that have been touted in the past year, Cowork actually gives a nice preview of what's to come."

"Undoubtedly, agentic AI made some ripples last year, but Claude Cowork seems to have generated a massive tidal wave that could change the way investors think about agents. The Cowork headlines really do beg the question if agents really are going to change the working world for good. While recent Anthropic studies seem point to AI augmenting workers rather than replacing them, one has to wonder what the longer-term fate of software will be as agentic AI advances and flexes its muscles in a way to change how investors think about the SaaS companies that fared so incredibly well through the 2010s. Of course, the software companies, including Adobe, aren't just going to sit around waiting to be disrupted."

"They've got an AI agent to respond, but the big question is whether it's enough to fight agentic rivals with one's own AI agents. Of course, there's the data advantage that firms like Adobe possess. But whether that's enough to keep up-and-coming rivals, some of which can code competing products, at bay remains the multi-trillion-dollar question. For now, if you're a believer in AI innovation, software, even the ones effectively embracing the rise of AI, seem to be risky."

Adobe shares have fallen sharply amid an AI-driven scare sparked by Anthropic's agent Cowork, which was largely built by the Claude model. Cowork shows a more advanced form of agentic AI that could reshape work by augmenting or altering roles. The rise of such agents raises questions about the long-term prospects for SaaS companies that dominated the 2010s. Established firms like Adobe hold data advantages and are developing their own agents, but emerging rivals with coding capabilities could produce competing products. Investor sentiment now treats even AI-embracing software companies as higher-risk assets.

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