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The S&P 500 is a diversified index, but a mere handful of technology stocks currently have a big influence over its performance.

It's worth noting that software sales cycles can take time, and analysts expect headwinds will stretch into 2025. Revenue estimates for next year have fallen about 5.5%. One noteworthy headline is that archrival SentinelOne recently won a deal with PC manufacturer Lenovo to include its security software in new devices.

Shares of Microsoft Corp. leaned lower in early Monday trading, after D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria became one of the rare Wall Street analysts who isn’t enthusiastic about the software giant and artificial-intelligence play.

Nvidia ( NVDA -1.59%) has been one of the best-performing stocks over the past five years, creating a lot of millionaires in the process. However, with those strong returns in its rear-view mirror, investors today might be better served to look instead for the next set of potential huge winners.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff believes Microsoft is on its way to a repeat act of creating a loathsome program meant to assist users in Copilot, the tech company’s foray into AI-powered assistance. “We all know now that Microsoft Copilot is basically the new Microsoft Clippy,

When the cofounder of a giant tech outfit like Salesforce publicly disses a rival product, it's worth noting what they say. And Benioff certainly had some choice words about Microsoft's big AI push.

At the Salesforce Dreamforce event, the iconic CEO had a few choice words about Microsoft Copilot. Salesforce is in the midst of rolling out a competiting generative AI "agent," so his motives are suspect.