Largest Software Companies (2026)

Microsoft develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions, reporting three segments: Productivity and Business Processes (Office, LinkedIn and Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (server products and cloud services for businesses and developers) and More Personal Computing (Windows, Surface, Xbox, Microsoft News and Edge). Forbes records it was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1975; it is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and led by Satya Nadella as chief executive and chair. Forbes records sales of US$318.3bn, 21.6% above the prior-year figure, and profit of US$125.2bn. Microsoft alone accounts for about 45% of the combined sales of the 25 companies in this list, and its sales exceed those of the next eleven companies combined. Its market value of US$3.13 trillion is more than five times Oracle's, the second-most valuable company here. Forbes counts 228,000 employees.

International Business Machines reports Software, Consulting, Infrastructure and Financing segments; its Software segment combines a hybrid-cloud platform, including Red Hat, with automation, data and security software. IBM's 2025 results show software revenue of US$29,962m out of total revenue of US$67,535m, or 44%, making software its largest segment, ahead of consulting (US$21,055m) and infrastructure (US$15,718m). Software revenue grew 11% in 2025, and the segment's gross margin was 83.5%. Forbes records sales of US$68.9bn and profit of US$10.8bn, and IBM holds second place among the companies here. Its headquarters are in Armonk, New York, and Forbes counts 286,800 employees, the largest workforce in the list.

Oracle provides enterprise applications and infrastructure technologies through Cloud and License, Hardware, and Services segments; Cloud and License covers cloud services and licence support delivered in the cloud or on customers' premises. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and Forbes gives 1977 as its founding year. Sales were US$64.1bn, up 14.9%, and profit US$16.2bn, a 25% margin. Oracle's market value of US$554.9bn is the second-highest in this ranking. Forbes does not separate its cloud-infrastructure revenue from its database and application software.

SAP provides enterprise application software and related services, reporting Applications, Technology and Support; Qualtrics; and Services segments, with licences, support and cloud subscriptions in the first. It is headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, and Forbes gives 1972 as its founding year. Sales were US$43.3bn, up 14.7%, and profit US$8.7bn. SAP overtook Salesforce for fourth place on the prior-year comparison and is the only non-American company in the top ten. Its market value is US$195.6bn and Forbes counts 110,650 employees.

Salesforce designs and develops cloud-based software for customer relationship management, including sales-force automation, customer service, marketing automation, digital commerce, collaboration and industry-specific solutions, and its platform. Forbes records it was founded by Marc Benioff and Parker Harris in 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco. Sales were US$41.5bn, up 9.6%, and profit US$7.5bn. Salesforce slipped from fourth to fifth as SAP overtook it. On 18 November 2025 it completed its acquisition of Informatica, adding data catalogue, integration, governance, quality and master-data-management services to its platform. Market value is US$141.9bn.

Adobe provides digital media and marketing software through Digital Media (creative and document products), Digital Experience (customer-experience platform) and Publishing and Advertising segments. It is headquartered in San Jose, California, and Forbes gives 1982 as its founding year. Sales were US$24.5bn, up 11.0%, and profit US$7.2bn, a 29.5% margin. Adobe holds sixth place, as in the prior-year comparison. Its market value of US$100.1bn is lower than that of Intuit, which has smaller sales.

Intuit provides business and financial-management software through Small Business and Self-Employed (QuickBooks, payroll, payments and financing), Consumer (TurboTax), Credit Karma and ProTax segments. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and Forbes gives 1983 as its founding year. Sales were US$20.1bn, up 17.2%, and profit US$4.3bn. Intuit's revenue comes mainly from small businesses and consumers rather than large enterprises. Its market value of US$108.7bn and its 18,200 employees make it one of the most productive companies here, at about US$1.1m of sales per employee.

ServiceNow provides an end-to-end workflow-automation platform, the cloud-based Now Platform, with built-in AI and machine learning. Forbes records it was founded by Frederic B. Luddy in June 2004 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Sales were US$14.0bn, up 21.7%, and profit US$1.8bn. ServiceNow holds eighth place, unchanged from the prior-year comparison. Market value is US$98.0bn.

Constellation Software is a holding company that acquires, manages and builds vertical-market software businesses, each serving a specific industry. Forbes records it was founded by Mark Leonard and James D. Foy on 23 August 1995 and is headquartered in Toronto. Sales were US$12.1bn, up 20.6%, and profit US$741m. Its 69,000 employees are spread across many small businesses rather than a single product line. It is the only Canadian company in the ranking. Market value is US$40.2bn.

Palo Alto Networks provides network-security solutions to enterprises, service providers and government entities; Forbes records it was founded by Nir Zuk in March 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara. Sales were US$9.9bn, up 15.4%, and profit US$1.3bn. On 11 February 2026 it completed the acquisition of CyberArk, paying US$45.00 in cash and 2.2005 Palo Alto shares for each CyberArk share, and said it intended to seek a secondary listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. It is the largest cybersecurity company in this ranking, ahead of Fortinet and CrowdStrike, and has a market value of US$198.1bn.

Workday develops enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, including financial management, human capital management and analytics for companies, educational institutions and government agencies. Forbes records it was founded by David Duffield and Aneel Bhusri in 2005 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. Sales were US$9.5bn, up 13.3%, and profit US$693m. Workday holds eleventh place. Its market value of US$32.1bn is low relative to its sales compared with most cloud peers.

Roper Technologies is a diversified technology company operating through Application Software (including Aderant, Deltek, Vertafore and PowerPlan), Network Software (including DAT, ConstructConnect and iPipeline) and Technology Enabled Products segments. It is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. Sales were US$8.1bn, up 15.3%, and profit US$1.7bn. Roper is included because two of its three segments are software; Forbes classifies it as a software and services company. Market value is US$32.4bn.

Synopsys provides electronic design automation (EDA) software used to design and test integrated circuits, and semiconductor intellectual property, reporting Design Automation and Design IP segments; its Design Automation segment now includes Ansys products. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Sales were US$8.0bn, up 31.9%, the second-fastest growth in this ranking, which moved it from fifteenth to thirteenth. Profit was US$1.1bn. Synopsys and Cadence are the two chip-design software companies in the list. Market value is US$96.2bn.

Autodesk develops design software and services including AutoCAD, Revit, Civil 3D, Fusion 360, Inventor, Maya and 3ds Max, for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing and media. It is headquartered in San Francisco and Forbes gives 1982 as its founding year. Sales were US$7.2bn, up 17.8%, and profit US$1.1bn. Autodesk holds fourteenth place, unchanged. Market value is US$50.0bn.

Dassault Systèmes provides software and consulting services, reporting by industry: transportation and mobility, aerospace and defence, high-tech, industrial equipment, infrastructure and energy, architecture and construction, and life sciences and healthcare. Forbes records it was founded by Charles Edelstenne on 9 June 1981 and is headquartered in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France. Sales were US$7.2bn, up 6.0%, and profit US$1.4bn. Slower growth moved it from thirteenth to fifteenth as Synopsys and Autodesk passed it. It is the only French company in the ranking. Market value is US$30.6bn.

Fortinet provides cybersecurity products for enterprises, service providers, governments and small businesses, across network security, secure access service edge, enterprise networking, security operations, application security and operational technology. Forbes records it was founded by Ken and Michael Xie in October 2000 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Sales were US$7.1bn, up 19.4%, and profit US$2.0bn, a 27.5% margin. It moved from seventeenth to sixteenth. Market value is US$90.0bn.

SS&C Technologies develops software for the financial-services and healthcare industries, with products including Advent Geneva, Axys, DST Vision and AWD. Forbes records it was founded by William C. Stone in March 1986 and is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut. Sales were US$6.4bn, up 7.5%, and profit US$810m. It fell from sixteenth to seventeenth. Market value is US$15.6bn, the second-lowest in this list.

AppLovin develops and operates a mobile-marketing platform, offering AppDiscovery, MAX, Adjust and SparkLabs, which help app developers market and monetise their applications. Forbes records it was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Palo Alto. Sales were US$6.2bn, up 30.9%, and profit US$3.9bn, a 63% margin, the highest in this ranking. With 898 employees it generates about US$6.9m of sales per employee, far more than any other company here. Market value is US$168.3bn.

Cadence Design Systems provides products for the design and development of integrated circuits and electronic devices, reporting by geography (Americas, Asia, EMEA, Japan). It is headquartered in San Jose, and Forbes records its founding in June 1988. Sales were US$5.5bn, up 19.1%, and profit US$1.2bn. It moved from twentieth to nineteenth. Its market value of US$95.8bn, close to Synopsys's, is high relative to sales.

Twilio develops communications software and cloud platforms, reporting Twilio Communications (messaging and voice) and Twilio Segment (customer data, Engage, Flex, email) segments. It is headquartered in San Francisco and Forbes records its founding in March 2008. Sales were US$5.3bn, up 18.9%, and profit US$104m, after a loss of US$109m in the prior-year profit column. It moved from twenty-first to twentieth. Market value is US$30.1bn.

Palantir Technologies builds and deploys software platforms that serve as operating systems for its customers' data, reporting Commercial and Government segments; its platforms are used in defence, intelligence, health care, energy and financial services. Forbes records it was founded in 2003 and lists its headquarters as Aventura, Florida. Sales were US$5.2bn, up 82.3%, the fastest growth in this ranking, which moved it from twenty-fifth to twenty-first. Profit was US$2.3bn, a 44% margin. Palantir's market value of US$321.2bn is the third-highest in the list, above IBM's and SAP's.

Gen Digital provides consumer cyber-safety products under brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG and CCleaner. It is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Sales were US$5.0bn, up 28.5%, and profit US$973m. It is the only company in the ranking focused on consumer security software. Market value is US$14.2bn, the lowest in the list.

Zoom Communications provides a communications and collaboration platform and reports by geography: Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA. Forbes records it was founded by Eric S. Yuan in 2011 and is headquartered in San Jose. Sales were US$4.9bn, up 4.4%, and profit US$1.9bn, a 39% margin. Slow growth moved it from nineteenth to twenty-third. Market value is US$29.5bn.

CrowdStrike provides cloud-delivered protection across endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data, along with threat intelligence, managed security services, threat hunting and log management. Forbes records it was founded by George Kurtz, Gregg Marston and Dmitri Alperovitch on 7 November 2011 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Sales were US$4.8bn, up 21.7%, and it reported a loss of US$183m. It fell from twenty-second to twenty-fourth. Its market value of US$151.2bn is high relative to its sales.

Snowflake provides cloud data-warehousing software through its Data Cloud, supporting data warehousing, data lakes, data engineering, data science, application development and data sharing. Forbes records it was founded in 2012 and lists its headquarters as Menlo Park, California. Sales were US$4.7bn, up 29.2%, and it reported a loss of US$1.33bn, the largest loss in this ranking. It holds twenty-fifth place. Market value is US$54.4bn.