B2B software valuations continue to recover, but remain well below historical averages

The B2B Software Universe gained 12.9% in May 2026, outpacing the S&P 500 (up 5.1%) and the Nasdaq (up 8.4%). EV/Sales NTM multiples rose to 4.6x, the third consecutive monthly improvement, but remain 18% below January 2026 and significantly below the 10-year average of 6.6x. The recovery is real, but the gap to historical norms is not yet closed.

Cybersecurity led all segments with a 34% monthly gain, driven by Rackspace Technologies (+254.1%), Okta (+67.4%), and Snowflake (+87.3%). ERP/HCM and CRM/CMS remain the weakest year-to-date at -27% and -31% respectively. The premium investors place on revenue growth over free cash flow margin has compressed from 77% in March 2025 to 22% in May 2026. The market is demanding both simultaneously.

Download the full May 2026 Market Intelligence briefing to access the complete analysis and data behind this month's insights.

What this month's report covers

Dedale Intelligence's June 2026 Market Session covers five key themes across the B2B software and technology investment landscape:

Valuations and market performance

‍EV/Sales NTM at 4.6x, EV/EBITDA at 16.5x, and a detailed breakdown of performance across all B2B software segments, growth cohorts, FCF margin cohorts, and Rule of 40 buckets. North American software trades at a 93% premium to European peers, up from the 10-year average of 46%.

RegTech and Financial Crime software deep-dive

‍AI in financial crime compliance has moved from experimentation to institutionalisation. 75% of financial institutions surveyed are already using or piloting AI in their compliance stacks. The report covers the full deal landscape across KYC, AML, and identity verification, including Feedzai's $75M Series E at a $2bn valuation, FIS's partnership with Anthropic for agentic AML investigations, and NICE Actimize's approximately $2.5bn sale process with five bidders in Phase 2 due diligence. ‍

Deal activity across PE, corporate M&A, and venture capital

‍Q2 2026 quarter-to-date deal volume is ahead of Q2 2025 levels across all three segments. Corporate M&A has reached approximately €18bn, lifted by Autodesk's acquisition of MaintainX (approximately €3bn at approximately 26 to 27x ARR) and the Forsta transaction (approximately €5.7bn). VC volume has surged to approximately €66bn across 626 deals, driven by Anthropic's $65bn Series H at a $965bn post-money valuation. 2026 YTD VC volume has reached €225bn, a 153% jump versus full-year 2025, while total 2026 YTD AI investment has already surpassed the full-year 2025 total of $223bn, reaching $306bn in just five months.

IPO activity

‍May 2026 saw 41 IPOs across all sectors, above the long-term average of 32. The only notable B2B software listing was HawkEye360, a geospatial analytics platform that raised $416M and listed on the NYSE at approximately $2.4bn valuation. The broader recent vintage of B2B software IPOs remains largely underwater, with the exception of CoreWeave (+151%).

Q1 2026 earnings across 33 companies

‍All 33 reported year-over-year revenue growth. 32 of 33 beat consensus. 24 of 33 raised guidance. Yet 15 of 33 fell on earnings day. Snowflake led all companies with a +59.8% stock reaction on net revenue retention rising to 126% and RPO up 38% to $9.21bn. Cloudflare fell 27.3% despite 33.5% revenue growth, as a surprise restructuring charge and gross margin compression to 72.8% overshadowed the beat. The market is pricing quality of beat, not just the fact of it.

The AI use case to watch

This month's session features a focused AI use case on Sona Technologies, an AI-native workforce management platform for frontline operators in social care, hospitality, and retail. Having raised $102M since its 2021 founding, Sona illustrates the disruption risk of facing legacy HCM vendors with pre-AI architectures across scheduling, payroll compliance, and demand forecasting for large multi-site estate operators.

The full report contains detailed valuation tables by segment and cohort, the complete RegTech AI opportunity matrix and exit window analysis across five FinCrime platforms in hold periods, deal-by-deal analysis across all three transaction types, earnings tables covering all 33 companies, and the segment zoom covering financials and valuations across the full B2B software universe.

Download the June 2026 Market Intelligence report

To discuss any of the themes in this report or explore how Dedale Intelligence's research can support your investment or strategic decisions, Contact us!