ADP vs WDAY vs NOW Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing, Workday and ServiceNow Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WDAY Workday, Inc.
$208.50 +10.1% 1M -14.1% 1Y
Market cap
$50.91B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.96B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
4 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$158.19 +16.6% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$159.98B
P/E
95.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 5, Workday 4, ServiceNow 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADPWDAYNOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $117.99B $50.91B $159.98B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.7x 40.5x 95.8x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.4x 18.2x 41.1x WDAY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +11.2% +22.2% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.1% 12.6% 11.3% ADP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -46.5% 9.8% — WDAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x -0.3x 0.8x WDAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.2% -14.1% -15.0% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr -5.9%/yr +3.5%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 53.6% 58.8% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 71/100 52/100 WDAY

Percentile Scorecard

ADPWDAYNOW

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

AxisADPWDAYNOW
Valuation 36 #66 of 102 53 #49 of 102 28 #74 of 102
Growth 27 #72 of 98 94 #7 of 98 58 #42 of 98
Profitability 54 #44 of 95 83 #17 of 95 82 #18 of 95
Financial Health 36 #70 of 109 56 #49 of 109 50 #55 of 109
Shareholder Returns 48 #34 of 64 – 41 #38 of 64
Overall 40 71 52
  • ADP ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • WDAY ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • NOW ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADPWDAYNOWSPY
1 month +14.2%+10.1%+16.6% -0.8%
3 months +18.1%+41.3%+49.9% +3.5%
6 months +52.7%+76.9%+74.9% +7.0%
Year to date +17.1%-2.9%+3.3% +12.2%
1 year +7.2%-14.1%-15.0% +13.0%
3 years +40.2%+1.2%+42.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.9%+0.4%+12.6% +23.1%
5 years +35.7%-26.4%+19.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +6.3%-5.9%+3.5% +11.0%
10 years +245.4%+140.5%+902.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.2%+9.2%+25.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureADPWDAYNOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%53.6%58.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.0%50.4%61.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.080.240.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.25-0.26-0.25 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-63.4%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.2%-13.1%-16.4% -1.8%
52-week high $307.94$239.92$189.26 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$112.50$83.00 $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.

MultipleADPWDAYNOW
P/E now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 28.8x 40.7xmedian 28.8x 97.7xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 2.8x 5.0xmedian 2.8x 11.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -25.9xmedian 17.7x 30.8xmedian 17.7x 48.7xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.8xmedian 15.8x 14.8xmedian 15.8x 35.7xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 3.2x 7.8xmedian 3.2x 13.1xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.73median 0.85 0.30median 0.85 18.80median 0.85

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 monthsADPWDAYNOW
Revenue $21.95B $9.96B $14.73B
Gross profit $10.19B $7.53B $11.02B
Operating income -$6.44B $994.00M $1.68B
Net income $4.41B $1.26B $1.67B
Free cash flow $5.24B – $4.58B
R&D $1.03B $2.76B $3.26B
EPS (diluted) $10.94 $5.10 $1.61
Cash & equivalents $4.23B $661.00M $2.50B
Total debt $4.96B $2.99B $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 246.31M 1.03B
Enterprise value $100.11B $27.03B $138.44B

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
MetricADPWDAYNOW
P/E 27.4x 40.7x 97.7x
P/FCF 22.8x 14.8x 35.7x
P/Operating cash flow 22.0x – 30.8x
P/S 5.5x 5.0x 11.1x
P/B 19.9x 7.8x 13.1x
P/Tangible book 27.4x 8.6x 18.7x
EV/EBITDA -25.9x 30.8x 48.7x
EV/EBIT -18.7x 50.2x 99.1x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 5.0x 11.3x
EV/FCF 23.0x – 36.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.1x – 31.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.73 0.30 18.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPWDAYNOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 11.2% 22.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 14.0% 22.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 11.1% 16.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 14.8% 20.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% 88.6% 4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 129.1% 49.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.2% 115.6% 0.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 131.0% 5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.6% 136.5% 1.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 135.7% 5.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.2% – 13.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.9% – 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.9% – 19.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% – 25.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPWDAYNOW
Gross margin 46.4% 75.5% 74.8%
EBITDA margin -21.2% 16.3% 23.2%
Operating margin -29.3% 10.0% 11.4%
Pretax margin 26.1% 12.4% 15.9%
Net margin 20.1% 12.6% 11.3%
FCF margin 23.9% – 31.1%
Operating cash flow margin 24.8% – 36.0%
Return on equity 71.3% 17.6% 13.8%
Return on assets 6.9% 7.4% 6.0%
Return on invested capital -46.5% 9.8% –
Return on capital employed -46.6% 9.6% 10.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x – 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 12.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPWDAYNOW
Debt / assets 7.9% 18.8% 23.7%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.5x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x -0.3x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 0.9x – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 90.5% 59.3% 60.5%
Equity / assets 9.5% 40.7% 39.5%
Interest coverage -14.0x – –
Current ratio 1.1x 0.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.91 4.03 5.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPWDAYNOW
Dividend yield 2.3% – –
Net buyback yield 1.7% – 1.9%
Shareholder yield 4.0% – 1.9%
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.

ConsensusADPWDAYNOW
Forward P/E 23.4xFY2027 18.2xFY2026 41.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $11.45FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +24.1%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +22.8% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $11.18BFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +17.1%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +8.4% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPWDAYNOW
Held by institutions 88.1% 98.1% 81.6%
Institutions holding 2,290 910 2,224
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% +5.3% -2.1%
Institutions buying 1,084 487 1,285
Institutions selling 874 323 779
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.51 1.65

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.

ADPWDAYNOW
ADP 1.00 0.63 0.56
WDAY 0.63 1.00 0.75
NOW 0.56 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP, WDAY and NOW?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $117.99B, Workday (WDAY) $50.91B, ServiceNow (NOW) $159.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP, WDAY and NOW?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 26.7x, Workday (WDAY) 40.5x, ServiceNow (NOW) 95.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Workday (WDAY) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.4x, Workday (WDAY) 18.2x, ServiceNow (NOW) 41.1x). 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%, Workday (WDAY) +11.2%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has the highest net margin (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.1%, Workday (WDAY) 12.6%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, Workday (WDAY) leads (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -46.5%, Workday (WDAY) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +7.2%, Workday (WDAY) -14.1%, ServiceNow (NOW) -15.0%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.3%/yr, Workday (WDAY) -5.9%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +3.5%/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) 28.4%, Workday (WDAY) 53.6%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) leads on 5. 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.