APPN vs MCO vs NOW Stock Comparison

Appian, Moodys and ServiceNow Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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APPN Appian Corp
$49.94 +38.7% 1M +60.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.59B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$795.31M
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$473.76 +1.0% 1M -4.3% 1Y
Market cap
$81.68B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.85%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
7 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$154.83 +14.2% 1M -18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$160.09B
P/E
95.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Moodys leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Moodys 7, ServiceNow 3, Appian 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPPNMCONOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.59B $81.68B $160.09B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -342.8x 28.4x 95.6x MCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 44.6x 26.4x 40.2x MCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.9% +9.0% +22.2% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.3% 35.3% 11.3% MCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 27.9% — MCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 1.3x 0.8x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.85% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +60.7% -4.3% -18.2% APPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.5%/yr +3.1%/yr +2.4%/yr MCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 68.3% 28.4% 58.7% MCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 60/100 52/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

APPNMCONOW

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

AxisAPPNMCONOW
Valuation 38 #63 of 101 19 #758 of 940 27 #74 of 101
Growth 91 #10 of 97 73 #179 of 655 58 #41 of 97
Profitability 56 #42 of 94 96 #25 of 633 82 #18 of 94
Financial Health 32 #74 of 108 53 #338 of 714 50 #55 of 108
Shareholder Returns 43 #37 of 64 61 #279 of 709 41 #38 of 64
Overall 52 60 52
  • APPN ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • MCO ranked among 1,003 companies in Financial Services
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPPNMCONOWSPY
1 month +38.7%+1.0%+14.2% -0.2%
3 months +82.6%-2.2%+40.0% +3.9%
6 months +129.2%+3.4%+71.1% +8.2%
Year to date +41.0%-7.3%+1.1% +12.9%
1 year +60.7%-4.3%-18.2% +12.3%
3 years +24.9%+56.9%+39.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.7%+16.2%+11.8% +23.3%
5 years -48.7%+16.5%+12.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -12.5%+3.1%+2.4% +10.9%
10 years —+363.7%+811.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+16.6%+24.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAPPNMCONOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 68.3%28.4%58.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 59.7%30.3%61.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.500.480.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89-0.15-0.31 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -81.9%-42.2%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.6%-12.2%-18.2% -1.2%
52-week high $52.35$539.61$189.26 $779.14
52-week low $18.72$412.23$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.

MultipleAPPNMCONOW
P/E now vs peer median -342.8xmedian 28.3x 28.4xmedian 13.0x 95.6xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.5xmedian 2.8x 10.0xmedian 3.2x 10.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 180.4xmedian 17.3x 21.0xmedian 7.4x 47.7xmedian 17.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.7xmedian 15.8x 27.4xmedian 10.8x 35.0xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median -34.1xmedian 3.2x 23.9xmedian 1.2x 12.8xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -5.78median 0.85 1.07median 0.87 18.40median 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 monthsAPPNMCONOW
Revenue $795.31M $8.18B $14.73B
Gross profit $565.62M $6.10B $11.02B
Operating income $10.14M $3.64B $1.68B
Net income -$10.62M $2.89B $1.67B
Free cash flow $76.75M $2.98B $4.58B
R&D $185.95M – $3.26B
EPS (diluted) $-0.15 $16.64 $1.61
Cash & equivalents $121.11M $1.51B $2.50B
Total debt $236.03M $6.91B $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 72.90M 173.30M 1.03B
Enterprise value $2.83B $74.75B $138.55B

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
MetricAPPNMCONOW
P/E -342.8x 28.4x 95.6x
P/FCF 46.7x 27.4x 35.0x
P/Operating cash flow 44.4x 24.5x 30.2x
P/S 4.5x 10.0x 10.9x
P/B -34.1x 23.9x 12.8x
P/Tangible book -33.9x 47.5x 18.3x
EV/EBITDA 180.4x 21.0x 47.7x
EV/EBIT 360.2x 23.9x 97.0x
EV/Revenue 4.6x 10.6x 11.1x
EV/FCF 47.6x 29.2x 35.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.2x 26.1x 30.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.78 1.07 18.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPPNMCONOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.9% 9.0% 22.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 12.6% 22.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.3% 10.3% 16.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 14.6% 20.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 172.8% 16.0% 4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.4% 23.3% 49.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 38.4% 28.5% 0.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 59.3% 24.0% 5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 37.3% 33.1% 1.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 59.3% 26.5% 5.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 66.0% 22.5% 13.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 42.0% 17.5% 22.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 66.9% 24.1% 19.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 39.7% 18.8% 25.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPPNMCONOW
Gross margin 71.1% 74.6% 74.8%
EBITDA margin 2.5% 50.6% 23.2%
Operating margin 1.3% 44.6% 11.4%
Pretax margin -0.7% 45.2% 15.9%
Net margin -1.3% 35.3% 11.3%
FCF margin 9.6% 36.4% 31.1%
Operating cash flow margin 10.2% 40.7% 36.0%
Return on equity – 87.8% 13.8%
Return on assets -1.8% 19.6% 6.0%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 27.9% –
Return on capital employed 5.3% 31.8% 10.6%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -7.6x 1.2x 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 5.4% 2.8% 12.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPPNMCONOW
Debt / assets 40.3% 46.6% 23.7%
Debt / equity -2.2x 2.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 1.3x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 3.1x 2.3x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 118.0% 77.0% 60.5%
Equity / assets -18.0% 23.0% 39.5%
Interest coverage 0.6x – –
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.3x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.03 7.58 5.78

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPPNMCONOW
Dividend yield – 0.9% –
Net buyback yield 2.1% 3.6% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 4.5% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 24.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 23.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.8% –

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.

ConsensusAPPNMCONOW
Forward P/E 44.6xFY2026 26.4xFY2026 40.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.12FY2026 $17.93FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +83.6%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.5% -1.5% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $897.68MFY2026 $8.69BFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.5%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.0% -2.0% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPPNMCONOW
Held by institutions 52.8% 90.8% 81.6%
Institutions holding 212 1,404 2,224
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.3% -1.6% -2.1%
Institutions buying 120 644 1,285
Institutions selling 52 522 779
Buyers to sellers 2.31 1.23 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.

APPNMCONOW
APPN 1.00 0.33 0.59
MCO 0.33 1.00 0.44
NOW 0.59 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APPN, MCO and NOW?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Appian (APPN) $3.59B, Moodys (MCO) $81.68B, ServiceNow (NOW) $160.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, APPN, MCO and NOW?

Moodys (MCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Appian (APPN) -342.8x, Moodys (MCO) 28.4x, ServiceNow (NOW) 95.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Moodys (MCO) is cheapest (Appian (APPN) 44.6x, Moodys (MCO) 26.4x, ServiceNow (NOW) 40.2x). 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: Appian (APPN) +20.9%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Moodys (MCO) has the highest net margin (Appian (APPN) -1.3%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, Moodys (MCO) leads (Appian (APPN) 6.5%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Appian (APPN) returned the most: Appian (APPN) +60.7%, Moodys (MCO) -4.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) -18.2%. Over five years, Moodys (MCO) compounded fastest (Appian (APPN) -12.5%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +3.1%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +2.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Moodys (MCO) 0.85%. Appian (APPN) and ServiceNow (NOW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Moodys (MCO) has been the steadiest (Appian (APPN) 68.3%, Moodys (MCO) 28.4%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, APPN, MCO 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, Moodys (MCO) leads on 7. 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.