CRM vs NIQ vs NOW Stock Comparison

Salesforce, NIQ Global Intelligence and ServiceNow Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CRM Salesforce, Inc.
$230.92 +2.4% 1M -8.2% 1Y
Market cap
$187.50B
P/E
19.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$43.94B
Div. yield
–
CRM and Sales Software Technology
7 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$109.65 -15.6% 1M -39.9% 1Y
Market cap
$108.68B
P/E
75.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCRMNIQNOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $187.50B $5.88B $108.68B CRM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.4x -22.3x 75.2x CRM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.1x 18.4x 28.5x CRM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.2% +7.5% +21.8% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.0% -6.1% 9.4% CRM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.0% 2.8% 5.2% CRM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 4.0x 0.8x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.2% +59.5% -39.9% NIQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.1%/yr — -4.7%/yr NOW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 67.0% 66.6% CRM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 53/100 52/100 CRM

Percentile Scorecard

CRMNIQNOW

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

AxisCRMNIQNOW
Valuation 77 #24 of 101 72 #29 of 101 36 #65 of 101
Growth 74 #26 of 97 72 #28 of 97 49 #50 of 97
Profitability 87 #13 of 93 44 #53 of 93 79 #20 of 93
Financial Health 41 #64 of 108 25 #81 of 108 53 #51 of 108
Shareholder Returns 71 #19 of 63 – 42 #37 of 63
Overall 70 53 52
  • CRM ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • NIQ ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • 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

PeriodCRMNIQNOWSPY
1 month +2.4%+17.2%-15.6% +0.7%
3 months +27.8%+79.1%-0.4% +3.7%
6 months +30.8%+86.6%+24.2% +7.1%
Year to date -12.8%+23.7%-28.4% +12.8%
1 year -8.2%+59.5%-39.9% +11.9%
3 years +15.9%—-3.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +5.0%—-1.2% +22.8%
5 years -22.9%—-21.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year -5.1%—-4.7% +10.9%
10 years +207.4%—+536.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +11.9%—+20.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCRMNIQNOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%67.0%66.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.2%62.8%75.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.410.450.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.170.89-0.60 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.2%-59.6%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.3%0.0%-41.3% -1.2%
52-week high $266.23$20.40$186.94 $779.14
52-week low $150.12$7.97$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.

MultipleCRMNIQNOW
P/E now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 28.0x -22.8xmedian 28.0x 78.5xmedian 28.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.8x 1.4xmedian 2.8x 7.4xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 16.9x 11.5xmedian 16.9x 33.9xmedian 16.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 15.9x —median 15.9x 24.0xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 3.2x 5.2xmedian 3.2x 8.7xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.21median 0.89 —median 0.89 -22.98median 0.89

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 monthsCRMNIQNOW
Revenue $43.94B $4.36B $15.43B
Gross profit $33.96B $2.43B $11.28B
Operating income $8.74B $135.00M $1.49B
Net income $9.66B -$264.00M $1.45B
Free cash flow $15.15B – $4.75B
R&D $6.37B – $3.47B
EPS (diluted) $11.77 $-0.89 $1.39
Cash & equivalents $8.31B $416.60M $2.39B
Total debt $39.29B $3.55B $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 821.00M 295.06M 1.04B
Enterprise value $143.37B $4.24B $87.94B

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
MetricCRMNIQNOW
P/E 19.6x -22.8x 78.5x
P/FCF 12.5x – 24.0x
P/Operating cash flow 12.1x – 21.3x
P/S 4.3x 1.4x 7.4x
P/B 5.0x 5.2x 8.7x
P/Tangible book 5.9x -7.0x 12.0x
EV/EBITDA 14.6x 11.5x 33.9x
EV/EBIT 24.9x 67.8x 78.2x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 2.1x 7.6x
EV/FCF 14.4x – 24.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.8x – 21.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.21 – -22.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRMNIQNOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.2% 7.5% 21.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.9% – 22.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.7% 6.6% 14.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.3% – 19.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.4% 577.0% -14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 47.8% – 32.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 45.0% 55.3% -16.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 82.9% – -3.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 69.9% 62.2% -16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 94.5% – -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.6% – 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.3% – 21.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 21.3% – 20.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.1% – 25.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRMNIQNOW
Gross margin 77.3% 55.7% 73.1%
EBITDA margin 34.0% 18.2% 22.3%
Operating margin 19.9% 3.1% 9.7%
Pretax margin 28.2% -2.4% 13.1%
Net margin 22.0% -6.1% 9.4%
FCF margin 34.5% – 30.8%
Operating cash flow margin 35.8% – 34.6%
Return on equity 26.7% -21.5% 11.3%
Return on assets 8.9% -3.8% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 9.0% 2.8% 5.2%
Return on capital employed 10.7% 2.6% 7.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x – 3.7x
Stock comp / revenue 8.3% – 10.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRMNIQNOW
Debt / assets 35.8% 52.5% 23.6%
Debt / equity 1.0x 3.1x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 4.0x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 2.6x – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 65.0% 83.0% 58.9%
Equity / assets 35.0% 17.0% 41.1%
Interest coverage 9.4x – 14.6x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.1x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.56 0.90 4.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRMNIQNOW
Dividend yield 0.8% – –
Net buyback yield 18.0% – 2.3%
Shareholder yield 18.8% 0.0% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusCRMNIQNOW
Forward P/E 13.1xFY2026 18.4xFY2026 28.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $17.65FY2026 $1.11FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.0%FY2026 +382.6%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -5.3% +19.8% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $43.89BFY2026 $4.21BFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.7%FY2026 +0.2%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.7% +18.6% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRMNIQNOW
Held by institutions 80.7% 84.4% 81.6%
Institutions holding 2,472 162 2,225
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.8% +4.0% -2.1%
Institutions buying 1,004 101 1,286
Institutions selling 1,270 51 779
Buyers to sellers 0.79 1.98 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.

CRMNIQNOW
CRM 1.00 0.33 0.74
NIQ 0.33 1.00 0.28
NOW 0.74 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRM, NIQ and NOW?

Salesforce (CRM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Salesforce (CRM) $187.50B, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) $5.88B, ServiceNow (NOW) $108.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRM, NIQ and NOW?

Salesforce (CRM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Salesforce (CRM) 19.4x, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) -22.3x, ServiceNow (NOW) 75.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Salesforce (CRM) is cheapest (Salesforce (CRM) 13.1x, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 18.4x, ServiceNow (NOW) 28.5x). 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: Salesforce (CRM) +11.2%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +7.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) +21.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Salesforce (CRM) has the highest net margin (Salesforce (CRM) 22.0%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) -6.1%, ServiceNow (NOW) 9.4%). On return on invested capital, Salesforce (CRM) leads (Salesforce (CRM) 9.0%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 2.8%, ServiceNow (NOW) 5.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) returned the most: Salesforce (CRM) -8.2%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +59.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) -39.9%. Over five years, ServiceNow (NOW) compounded fastest (Salesforce (CRM) -5.1%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) -4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Salesforce (CRM) has been the steadiest (Salesforce (CRM) 47.0%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 67.0%, ServiceNow (NOW) 66.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRM, NIQ 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, Salesforce (CRM) 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.