ADP vs NOW vs SAP Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing, ServiceNow and Sap Se Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$158.99 +12.9% 1M -15.4% 1Y
Market cap
$162.99B
P/E
97.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win
SAP Sap Se
$238.21 +13.1% 1M -14.5% 1Y
Market cap
$278.03B
P/E
29.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$44.55B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sap Se leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Sap Se 6, Automatic Data Processing 4, ServiceNow 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADPNOWSAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $121.17B $162.99B $278.03B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.5x 97.6x 29.9x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.6x 41.3x 28.0x ADP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +22.2% +14.2% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.1% 11.3% 20.8% SAP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -46.5% — 35.9% SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 0.8x -0.5x SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.0% -15.4% -14.5% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +3.0%/yr +10.9%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.3% 58.7% 39.5% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 50/100 63/100 SAP

Percentile Scorecard

ADPNOWSAP

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisADPNOWSAP
Valuation 36 #65 of 101 27 #74 of 101 51 #50 of 101
Growth 26 #72 of 97 58 #41 of 97 71 #29 of 97
Profitability 53 #45 of 94 81 #19 of 94 91 #9 of 94
Financial Health 35 #71 of 109 51 #54 of 109 77 #26 of 109
Shareholder Returns 41 #38 of 64 35 #42 of 64 27 #47 of 64
Overall 38 50 63
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • SAP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodADPNOWSAPSPY
1 month +15.4%+12.9%+13.1% -1.0%
3 months +21.6%+61.0%+48.8% +2.9%
6 months +54.8%+76.3%+35.9% +6.4%
Year to date +18.2%+3.8%-1.9% +11.4%
1 year +8.0%-15.4%-14.5% +13.1%
3 years +26.5%+43.4%+78.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +8.2%+12.8%+21.3% +21.5%
5 years +39.7%+15.8%+68.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.9%+3.0%+10.9% +10.9%
10 years +250.7%+893.1%+168.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.4%+25.8%+10.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureADPNOWSAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.3%58.7%39.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.9%61.5%40.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.080.620.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.28-0.26-0.37 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-64.5%-53.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.2%-16.0%-14.5% -2.5%
52-week high $307.94$189.26$278.53 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$83.00$146.09 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleADPNOWSAP
P/E now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 29.9x 98.2xmedian 29.9x 29.9xmedian 29.9x
P/S now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 2.8x 11.2xmedian 2.8x 6.6xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -26.2xmedian 17.4x 48.9xmedian 17.4x 12.2xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.1xmedian 16.9x 35.9xmedian 16.9x 28.7xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 3.1x 13.1xmedian 3.1x 5.7xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.76median 0.86 18.89median 0.86 1.63median 0.86

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsADPNOWSAP
Revenue $21.95B $14.73B $44.55B
Gross profit $10.19B $11.02B $32.56B
Operating income -$6.44B $1.68B $21.60B
Net income $4.41B $1.67B $9.26B
Free cash flow $5.24B $4.58B $10.18B
R&D $1.03B $3.26B $8.03B
EPS (diluted) $10.94 $1.61 $7.90
Cash & equivalents $4.23B $2.50B $12.01B
Total debt $22.10B $7.52B $18.08B
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 1.03B 1.18B
Enterprise value $103.29B $141.45B $205.81B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricADPNOWSAP
P/E 27.7x 98.2x 29.9x
P/FCF 23.1x 35.9x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 22.2x 31.0x 26.5x
P/S 5.5x 11.2x 6.6x
P/B 20.1x 13.1x 5.7x
P/Tangible book 27.6x 18.8x 6.0x
EV/EBITDA -26.2x 48.9x 12.2x
EV/EBIT -18.9x 99.6x 13.0x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 11.4x 6.3x
EV/FCF 23.2x 36.5x 27.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.4x 31.5x 25.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.76 18.89 1.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPNOWSAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 22.2% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 22.5% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 16.4% 13.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 20.5% 12.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% 4.9% 31.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 49.1% 53.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.2% 0.5% 29.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 5.5% 17.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.6% 1.7% 31.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 5.2% 18.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.2% 13.0% 41.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 22.2% 19.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.9% 19.0% 46.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 25.7% 22.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPNOWSAP
Gross margin 46.4% 74.8% 73.1%
EBITDA margin -21.2% 23.2% 51.8%
Operating margin -29.3% 11.4% 48.5%
Pretax margin 26.1% 15.9% 29.5%
Net margin 20.1% 11.3% 20.8%
FCF margin 23.9% 31.1% 22.9%
Operating cash flow margin 24.8% 36.0% 24.8%
Return on equity 71.3% 13.8% 18.2%
Return on assets 6.9% 6.0% 11.1%
Return on invested capital -46.5% – 35.9%
Return on capital employed -46.6% 10.6% 34.4%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 3.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 12.3% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPNOWSAP
Debt / assets 7.9% 23.7% 11.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.6x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 0.8x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 1.6x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 90.5% 60.5% 40.2%
Equity / assets 9.5% 39.5% 59.8%
Interest coverage -14.0x – 8.0x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.7x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 1.93 5.92 7.35

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPNOWSAP
Dividend yield 2.2% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 1.9% 0.4%
Shareholder yield 4.0% 1.9% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusADPNOWSAP
Forward P/E 23.6xFY2027 41.3xFY2026 28.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $3.85FY2026 $8.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +9.7%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +27.3% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $15.24BFY2026 $42.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +14.8%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +17.7% +14.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPNOWSAP
Held by institutions 88.1% 81.6% 7.2%
Institutions holding 2,290 2,224 814
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -2.1% -3.0%
Institutions buying 1,084 1,285 456
Institutions selling 874 779 243
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.65 1.88

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ADPNOWSAP
ADP 1.00 0.56 0.55
NOW 0.56 1.00 0.72
SAP 0.55 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP, NOW and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $121.17B, ServiceNow (NOW) $162.99B, Sap Se (SAP) $278.03B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP, NOW and SAP?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.5x, ServiceNow (NOW) 97.6x, Sap Se (SAP) 29.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.6x, ServiceNow (NOW) 41.3x, Sap Se (SAP) 28.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ServiceNow (NOW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.7%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%, Sap Se (SAP) +14.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sap Se (SAP) has the highest net margin (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.1%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -46.5%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +8.0%, ServiceNow (NOW) -15.4%, Sap Se (SAP) -14.5%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.9%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +3.0%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +10.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 28.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.7%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ADP, NOW and SAP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sap Se (SAP) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.