At the closing bell on 2/6/2026, those holding SaaS equities like Salesforce saw $285 billion erased in four days. The market punished every per-seat company equally — but the exposure wasn't equal. Interface-layer SaaS faced existential risk. Systems of record had a window.
$285B
Market Cap Erased
Feb 3–6, 2026
70%
Multiple Compression
2021 peak → 2026
91%
CIOs Increasing AI Spend
Gartner · 2,501 surveyed
Equity Declines by Exposure Layer
Sorted by magnitude. Color indicates where the company's value resides — a distinction the market failed to make.
Interface Layer — High Exposure
Transitional
System of Record — Lower Exposure
The Multiple Collapse
Public and private SaaS valuation multiples converged by February 2026. The market stopped paying a premium for either.