From commerce to culture, software is digitizing every aspect of our lives. Companies bringing it to life have been rewarded with high valuation multiples that make fundraising easier, but they have weighed on the returns lately as the industry has pulled back by 10.1% over the past six months. This drop is a far cry from the S&P 500’s 5.8% ascent.

Investors should tread carefully as only some businesses are worthy of their valuations, and luckily for you, we started StockStory to help you find them. Taking that into account, here are three resilient software stocks at the top of our wish list.

ServiceNow (NOW)

Market Cap: $179.2 billion

Founded by Fred Luddy, who coded the company's initial prototype on a flight from San Francisco to London, ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a software provider helping companies automate workflows across IT, HR, and customer service.

Why Is NOW a Top Pick?

1. Sales pipeline is in good shape as its current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) averaged 22.9% growth over the last year
2. Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 13.3% operating margin, and its rise over the last year was fueled by some leverage on its fixed costs
3. Strong free cash flow margin of 31.9% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently

ServiceNow’s stock price of $863.32 implies a valuation ratio of 12.6x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

The Trade Desk (TTD)

Market Cap: $26.58 billion

Founded by former Microsoft engineers Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) offers cloud-based software that uses data to help advertisers better plan, place, and target their online ads.

Why Are We Fans of TTD?

1. Billings growth has averaged 24.2% over the last year, indicating a healthy pipeline of new contracts that should drive future revenue increases
2. User-friendly software enables clients to ramp up spending quickly, leading to the speedy recovery of customer acquisition costs
3. Excellent operating margin of 17.7% highlights the efficiency of its business model, and its profits increased over the last year as it scaled

At $54.30 per share, The Trade Desk trades at 8.8x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

GitLab (GTLB)

Market Cap: $6.86 billion

Founded as an open-source project in 2011, GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB) is a leading software development tools platform.

Why Are We Backing GTLB?

1. ARR trends over the last year show it’s maintaining a steady flow of long-term contracts that contribute positively to its revenue predictability
2. Software is difficult to replicate at scale and leads to a best-in-class gross margin of 88.6%
3. Operating margin improvement of 14.5 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently

GitLab is trading at $41.50 per share, or 6.9x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.