diff --git a/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/codeInsight/highlighting/HyperlinkAnnotator.java b/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/codeInsight/highlighting/HyperlinkAnnotator.java
index 3cc637b32202..a8964034677d 100644
--- a/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/codeInsight/highlighting/HyperlinkAnnotator.java
+++ b/platform/lang-impl/src/com/intellij/codeInsight/highlighting/HyperlinkAnnotator.java
@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@ import com.intellij.psi.PsiElement;
 import com.intellij.psi.PsiReference;
 import com.intellij.psi.PsiReferenceService;
 import com.intellij.psi.PsiReferenceService.Hints;
-import com.intellij.psi.util.CachedValueProvider.Result;
-import com.intellij.psi.util.CachedValuesManager;
-import com.intellij.psi.util.PsiModificationTracker;
 import com.intellij.util.containers.ContainerUtil;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.ApiStatus;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nls;
@@ -29,7 +26,6 @@ import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
 
 import java.util.List;
 
-import static com.intellij.util.containers.ContainerUtil.unmodifiableOrEmptyList;
 import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNull;
 
 @ApiStatus.NonExtendable
@@ -41,15 +37,17 @@ public class HyperlinkAnnotator implements Annotator {
   public void annotate(@NotNull PsiElement element, @NotNull AnnotationHolder holder) {
     if (holder.isBatchMode()) return;
 
-    for (PsiHighlightedReference reference : PsiSymbolReferenceService.getService().getReferences(element, PsiHighlightedReference.class)) {
-      TextRange range = reference.getAbsoluteRange();
-      String message = reference.highlightMessage();
-      AnnotationBuilder annotationBuilder = message == null ? holder.newSilentAnnotation(reference.highlightSeverity())
-                                                            : holder.newAnnotation(reference.highlightSeverity(), message);
-      reference.highlightReference(annotationBuilder.range(range)).create();
-    }
-
     if (WebReference.isWebReferenceWorthy(element)) {
+      // asking for references on every element is too expensive, only ask for it on potential external reference hosts
+      // not only slow, but also creates a lot of cached values and SoftReference instances in all elements
+      for (PsiHighlightedReference reference : PsiSymbolReferenceService.getService().getReferences(element, PsiHighlightedReference.class)) {
+        TextRange range = reference.getAbsoluteRange();
+        String message = reference.highlightMessage();
+        AnnotationBuilder annotationBuilder = message == null ? holder.newSilentAnnotation(reference.highlightSeverity())
+                                                              : holder.newAnnotation(reference.highlightSeverity(), message);
+        reference.highlightReference(annotationBuilder.range(range)).create();
+      }
+
       annotateContributedReferences(element, holder);
     }
   }
@@ -69,12 +67,9 @@ public class HyperlinkAnnotator implements Annotator {
     }
   }
 
-  @NotNull
-  private static List<PsiReference> getReferences(@NotNull PsiElement element) {
-    return CachedValuesManager.getCachedValue(element, () -> {
-      List<PsiReference> references = PsiReferenceService.getService().getReferences(element, Hints.HIGHLIGHTED_REFERENCES);
-      return Result.create(unmodifiableOrEmptyList(references), PsiModificationTracker.MODIFICATION_COUNT);
-    });
+  private static @NotNull List<PsiReference> getReferences(@NotNull PsiElement element) {
+    // there is very little sense in caching them here
+    return PsiReferenceService.getService().getReferences(element, Hints.HIGHLIGHTED_REFERENCES);
   }
 
   private static boolean annotateHyperlinks(@NotNull PsiElement element,