Despite fears of recession that began this year, particularly driven by tariff announcements and disappointing economic reports, software stocks are being identified as a potential safe haven for investors. Earlier in March this year, Bank of America highlighted the historical resilience of the software sector during economic downturns and suggested that it could offer relief for anxious traders. According to Bank of America, infrastructure and back-office application platform vendors are particularly recommended in a recessionary environment due to their more resilient spending. Historically, it takes two to three quarters for a recession to impact software revenue or billings, as IT budgets adjust downwards over time.
Tariffs are expected to impact only a portion of the software industry, primarily e-commerce vendors. However, overall, Bank of America did not anticipate a recession and observed healthy signals within the software sector. The bank maintained its expectation of reasonable year-on-year revenue growth of 13.4% for both the first and second quarters of 2025. Goldman Sachs also pointed out that software is the only AI-exposed tech sector that has seen positive revisions to consensus sales estimates for 2026. Business Research Company reported that the infrastructure software market size is expected to grow from $209.55 billion in 2024 to $220.25 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 5.1%.
That being said, we’re here with a list of the 11 best software infrastructure stocks to invest in.
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Methodology
We first used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the top software infrastructure stocks. We then selected the 11 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q1 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
11 Best Software Infrastructure Stocks To Invest In
11. Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) is one of the best software infrastructure stocks to invest in. On June 25, Affirm Holdings announced a partnership with Shopmonkey that makes Affirm a default pay-over-time option for thousands of auto shops using Shopmonkey’s payment processing solution in both the US and Canada. This allows customers to split their auto repair bills into flexible biweekly or monthly payment plans, with interest rates as low as 0% APR, and notably, no late or hidden fees.
The initiative aims to empower small to medium-sized auto shops by providing their customers with more accessible payment options. Car owners in the US typically spend ~$800 annually on vehicle maintenance. Affirm’s share price has already seen a 40% increase over the past quarter, which shows strong investor confidence.
The sentiment is further fueled by Affirm’s return to profitability in its latest earnings report and its expanding partnerships with major companies like Costco and Williams-Sonoma in Canadian markets. Over the past 3 years, Affirm’s total shareholder return soared by 248.32%, outperforming the broader US Market and the Diversified Financial industry over the last year.
Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) operates a payment network in the US, Canada, and internationally. Shopmonkey is a cloud-based auto shop management platform.
10. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is one of the best software infrastructure stocks to invest in. On June 25, CrowdStrike announced that it had been recognized as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform/CNAPP 2025 Vendor Assessment. The recognition highlights CrowdStrike’s leadership in securing modern hybrid environments, particularly as the only CNAPP provider offering unified and real-time protection across cloud, identity, and endpoint.
The company’s flagship product, called CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, is an integral part of the broader CrowdStrike Falcon platform. It unifies proactive security with cloud runtime protection, and provides end-to-end code-to-cloud visibility, AI-driven risk prioritization, and real-time detection and response capabilities to prevent breaches.
The IDC MarketScape specifically lauded Falcon for its proactive unified cloud security posture management/USPM that uses threat intelligence, end-to-end attack paths, and ExPRT.AI to reduce alert noise and attack surface. It also noted Falcon’s reactive security in the form of cloud workload protection/CWP and cloud detection and response.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity solutions internationally.
