Adobe, Salesforce, and Trade Desk Are Down. Their Free Cash Flow Is Not.

Three of the most established software businesses in tech hit 52-week lows this week. The tape says something has broken. The cash-flow evidence says the market has just run out of patience before the numbers followed.

Adobe fell to around 52-week low of $220.17 on June 11. The Trade Desk sat at its 52-week low of $18.37 on the same day. Salesforce is trading near $167, well below where it was six months ago. The headlines grouping them together are looking for a common villain - AI disruption, growth deceleration, valuation re-rating. But these are three different stories. The one thing they share is that investors have abandoned the stock before the operating evidence justified the verdict.