NOW vs CIEN vs SSNC Stock Comparison

ServiceNow, Ciena and SS&C Technologies Holdings 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
CIEN Ciena Corp
$320.30 -10.0% 1M +85.6% 1Y
Market cap
$47.78B
P/E
73.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ciena leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Ciena 6, SS&C Technologies Holdings 4, ServiceNow 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOWCIENSSNCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $162.99B $47.78B $19.54B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 97.6x 73.0x 22.6x SSNC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.3x 42.1x 12.1x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.2% +32.6% +8.6% CIEN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.3% 10.9% 13.2% SSNC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 12.4% 8.6% CIEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.7x 3.1x CIEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.4% +85.6% +2.6% CIEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.0%/yr +43.5%/yr +2.2%/yr CIEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.7% 77.7% 29.7% SSNC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 55/100 55/100 CIEN

Percentile Scorecard

NOWCIENSSNC

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

AxisNOWCIENSSNC
Valuation 27 #74 of 101 22 #88 of 112 78 #23 of 101
Growth 58 #41 of 97 95 #6 of 109 32 #66 of 97
Profitability 81 #19 of 94 83 #19 of 105 76 #23 of 94
Financial Health 51 #54 of 109 44 #66 of 117 36 #70 of 109
Shareholder Returns 35 #42 of 64 32 #56 of 82 51 #32 of 64
Overall 50 55 55
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • CIEN ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • SSNC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNOWCIENSSNCSPY
1 month +12.9%-10.0%+4.1% -1.0%
3 months +61.0%-18.0%+12.3% +2.9%
6 months +76.3%-38.5%+23.3% +6.4%
Year to date +3.8%+37.0%-5.1% +11.4%
1 year -15.4%+85.6%+2.6% +13.1%
3 years +43.4%+670.7%+66.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.8%+97.6%+18.5% +21.5%
5 years +15.8%+508.1%+11.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.0%+43.5%+2.2% +10.9%
10 years +893.1%+1,507.1%+157.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +25.8%+32.0%+9.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNOWCIENSSNCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.7%77.7%29.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.5%82.8%30.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.622.760.50 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.261.100.09 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-49.7%-44.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.0%-48.9%-7.4% -2.5%
52-week high $189.26$627.00$89.62 $779.14
52-week low $83.00$172.58$62.05 $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.

MultipleNOWCIENSSNC
P/E now vs peer median 98.2xmedian 29.9x 69.5xmedian 31.3x 22.9xmedian 29.9x
P/S now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 2.8x 7.5xmedian 2.6x 3.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.9xmedian 17.4x 51.3xmedian 19.6x 11.7xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.9xmedian 16.9x 55.8xmedian 28.3x 11.1xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 3.1x 14.9xmedian 2.9x 2.9xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 18.89median 0.86 1.55median 1.15 1.71median 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 monthsNOWCIENSSNC
Revenue $14.73B $6.02B $6.56B
Gross profit $11.02B $2.65B $3.16B
Operating income $1.68B $738.95M $1.55B
Net income $1.67B $654.41M $866.00M
Free cash flow $4.58B $814.36M $1.75B
R&D $3.26B $924.94M $517.20M
EPS (diluted) $1.61 $4.48 $3.57
Cash & equivalents $2.50B $2.45B $434.80M
Total debt $7.52B $3.23B $29.03B
Shares (diluted) 1.03B 145.97M 242.00M
Enterprise value $141.45B $41.34B $17.83B

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
MetricNOWCIENSSNC
P/E 98.2x 69.5x 22.9x
P/FCF 35.9x 55.8x 11.1x
P/Operating cash flow 31.0x 43.1x 10.7x
P/S 11.2x 7.5x 3.0x
P/B 13.1x 14.9x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 18.8x 15.8x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 48.9x 51.3x 11.7x
EV/EBIT 99.6x 62.3x 17.2x
EV/Revenue 11.4x 7.6x 4.1x
EV/FCF 36.5x 56.5x 15.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.5x 43.7x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 18.89 1.55 1.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOWCIENSSNC
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.2% 32.6% 8.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 12.5% 6.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.4% 40.6% 7.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 20.5% 13.3% 7.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4.9% 200.1% 11.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 49.1% 29.1% 9.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.5% 364.5% 7.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 43.5% 11.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.7% 359.9% 11.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 44.8% 13.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.0% 34.5% 23.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.2% 201.2% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.0% 34.5% 26.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.7% 95.4% 13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOWCIENSSNC
Gross margin 74.8% 44.1% 48.1%
EBITDA margin 23.2% 14.9% 34.7%
Operating margin 11.4% 12.3% 23.6%
Pretax margin 15.9% 12.1% 16.6%
Net margin 11.3% 10.9% 13.2%
FCF margin 31.1% 13.5% 26.7%
Operating cash flow margin 36.0% 17.5% 27.7%
Return on equity 13.8% 22.0% 12.7%
Return on assets 6.0% 9.3% 4.2%
Return on invested capital – 12.4% 8.6%
Return on capital employed 10.6% 13.1% 10.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.9x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.2x 1.6x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 12.3% 3.5% 4.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOWCIENSSNC
Debt / assets 23.7% 40.4% 36.8%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.1x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.7x 3.1x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 4.0x 4.3x
Liabilities / assets 60.5% 61.8% 67.4%
Equity / assets 39.5% 38.2% 32.6%
Interest coverage – 10.6x 3.6x
Current ratio 0.7x 3.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 2.8x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.9x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 5.92 6.72 1.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOWCIENSSNC
Dividend yield – – 1.3%
Net buyback yield 1.9% -1.1% 4.9%
Shareholder yield 1.9% -1.1% 6.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 14.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 5.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.9%

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.

ConsensusNOWCIENSSNC
Forward P/E 41.3xFY2026 42.1xFY2026 12.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.85FY2026 $7.60FY2026 $6.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.7%FY2026 +187.9%FY2026 +12.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.3% +64.7% +8.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.24BFY2026 $6.86BFY2026 $7.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +43.8%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.7% +18.0% -7.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOWCIENSSNC
Held by institutions 81.6% 92.9% 84.8%
Institutions holding 2,224 1,220 724
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% -1.7% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,285 729 385
Institutions selling 779 379 259
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.92 1.49

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.

NOWCIENSSNC
NOW 1.00 -0.21 0.45
CIEN -0.21 1.00 -0.24
SSNC 0.45 -0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOW, CIEN and SSNC?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: ServiceNow (NOW) $162.99B, Ciena (CIEN) $47.78B, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $19.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOW, CIEN and SSNC?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ServiceNow (NOW) 97.6x, Ciena (CIEN) 73.0x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (ServiceNow (NOW) 41.3x, Ciena (CIEN) 42.1x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 12.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ciena (CIEN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%, Ciena (CIEN) +32.6%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has the highest net margin (ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%, Ciena (CIEN) 10.9%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 13.2%). On return on invested capital, Ciena (CIEN) leads (Ciena (CIEN) 12.4%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 8.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ciena (CIEN) returned the most: ServiceNow (NOW) -15.4%, Ciena (CIEN) +85.6%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +2.6%. Over five years, Ciena (CIEN) compounded fastest (ServiceNow (NOW) +3.0%/yr, Ciena (CIEN) +43.5%/yr, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +2.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: ServiceNow (NOW) 0.00%, Ciena (CIEN) 0.00%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 0.01%. ServiceNow (NOW) and Ciena (CIEN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has been the steadiest (ServiceNow (NOW) 58.7%, Ciena (CIEN) 77.7%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOW, CIEN and SSNC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ciena (CIEN) 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.