NOW vs CTSH vs SSNC Stock Comparison

ServiceNow, Cognizant Technology Solutions and SS&C Technologies Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (EGAN) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$149.85 +14.0% 1M -20.1% 1Y
Market cap
$155.54B
P/E
107.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Cognizant Technology Solutions leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cognizant Technology Solutions 7, ServiceNow 3, SS&C Technologies Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOWCTSHSSNCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $155.54B $29.99B $18.88B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 107.3x 13.9x 22.5x CTSH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.9x 11.8x 11.6x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.8% +5.6% +8.7% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.4% 10.3% — CTSH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% 13.7% — CTSH
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.1x — CTSH
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.96% 1.38% CTSH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.1% -2.2% -5.7% CTSH
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.4%/yr -3.2%/yr +0.3%/yr NOW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.8% 43.2% 29.4% SSNC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 70/100 52/100 CTSH

Percentile Scorecard

NOWCTSHSSNC

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

AxisNOWCTSHSSNC
Valuation 33 #68 of 101 58 #21 of 49 82 #19 of 101
Growth 50 #49 of 97 46 #25 of 45 31 #67 of 97
Profitability 80 #20 of 94 90 #5 of 39 62 #36 of 94
Financial Health 53 #51 of 108 76 #15 of 60 –
Shareholder Returns 38 #40 of 64 82 #6 of 29 32 #44 of 64
Overall 51 70 52
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • CTSH ranked among 65 companies in Technology Services
  • 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

PeriodNOWCTSHSSNCSPY
1 month +14.0%+16.9%+3.2% +0.9%
3 months +29.4%+18.6%+2.8% +5.9%
6 months +68.6%+21.3%+15.8% +8.5%
Year to date -2.2%-20.0%-7.9% +13.3%
1 year -20.1%-2.2%-5.7% +12.4%
3 years +35.2%+4.8%+65.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +10.6%+1.6%+18.2% +23.5%
5 years +7.4%-15.0%+1.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.4%-3.2%+0.3% +11.0%
10 years +770.2%+28.7%+155.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +24.2%+2.6%+9.8% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNOWCTSHSSNCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.8%43.2%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.5%43.9%30.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.600.080.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.34-0.05-0.19 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-58.4%-44.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.1%-23.5%-10.2% -0.9%
52-week high $187.58$86.70$89.62 $779.14
52-week low $83.00$38.73$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.

MultipleNOWCTSHSSNC
P/E now vs peer median 107.3xmedian 27.6x 13.9xmedian 17.7x 22.5xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 2.7x 1.4xmedian 0.7x 2.8xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 46.0xmedian 17.4x 7.6xmedian 10.7x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.7xmedian 15.8x 11.5xmedian 11.0x 10.4xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 3.2x 2.1xmedian 1.5x —median 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -31.41median 0.84 4.26median 1.35 1.74median 0.84

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 monthsNOWCTSHSSNC
Revenue $15.43B $21.64B $6.69B
Gross profit $11.28B $7.24B $3.22B
Operating income $1.49B $3.44B $1.59B
Net income $1.45B $2.22B $853.70M
Free cash flow $4.75B $2.60B –
R&D $3.47B – $530.10M
EPS (diluted) $1.39 $4.76 $3.52
Cash & equivalents $2.39B $1.04B $525.40M
Total debt $7.52B $1.56B –
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 466.00M 242.00M
Enterprise value $134.81B $23.16B $18.95B

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
MetricNOWCTSHSSNC
P/E 107.3x 13.9x 22.5x
P/FCF 32.7x 11.5x 10.4x
P/Operating cash flow 29.2x 10.3x 10.2x
P/S 10.1x 1.4x 2.8x
P/B 11.9x 2.1x –
P/Tangible book 16.4x 2.3x –
EV/EBITDA 46.0x 7.6x –
EV/EBIT 106.1x 8.9x –
EV/Revenue 10.3x 1.4x 2.8x
EV/FCF 33.4x 11.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 29.7x 10.5x 10.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -31.41 4.26 1.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOWCTSHSSNC
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.8% 5.6% 8.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 3.7% 7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.1% 3.4% 8.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 2.2% 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -14.9% 8.8% 11.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 32.1% 7.5% 10.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -16.5% -8.9% 0.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 0.4% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -16.2% -3.8% 4.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 3.3% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.2% 13.7% 17.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.8% 5.3% 15.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% 13.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 6.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOWCTSHSSNC
Gross margin 73.1% 33.4% –
EBITDA margin 22.3% 18.5% –
Operating margin 9.7% 15.9% –
Pretax margin 13.1% 16.2% –
Net margin 9.4% 10.3% –
FCF margin 30.8% 12.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 34.6% 13.5% 27.8%
Return on equity 11.3% 15.0% –
Return on assets 4.6% 10.7% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 5.2% 13.7% –
Return on capital employed 7.5% 20.0% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.7x 1.3x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 10.4% 0.9% 4.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOWCTSHSSNC
Debt / assets 23.6% 7.5% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.1x –
Debt / FCF 1.6x 0.6x –
Liabilities / assets 58.9% 30.6% 66.8%
Equity / assets 41.1% 69.4% –
Interest coverage 14.6x 95.4x –
Current ratio 0.7x 2.2x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.7x –
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 5.77 5.63 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOWCTSHSSNC
Dividend yield – 2.0% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 7.8% –
Shareholder yield 1.7% 9.8% 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 27.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 23.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 2.3% –

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.

ConsensusNOWCTSHSSNC
Forward P/E 38.9xFY2026 11.8xFY2026 11.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.85FY2026 $5.61FY2026 $6.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.7%FY2026 +6.3%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.0% +10.0% +7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.25BFY2026 $20.77BFY2026 $7.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 -1.6%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.7% +7.8% -7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOWCTSHSSNC
Held by institutions 81.6% 100.0% 84.8%
Institutions holding 2,224 915 724
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% +6.6% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,285 464 385
Institutions selling 779 352 259
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.32 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.

NOWCTSHSSNC
NOW 1.00 0.56 0.45
CTSH 0.56 1.00 0.69
SSNC 0.45 0.69 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOW, CTSH and SSNC?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: ServiceNow (NOW) $155.54B, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) $29.99B, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $18.88B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOW, CTSH and SSNC?

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ServiceNow (NOW) 107.3x, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 13.9x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 22.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (ServiceNow (NOW) 38.9x, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 11.8x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 11.6x). 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: ServiceNow (NOW) +21.8%, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) +5.6%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) has the highest net margin (ServiceNow (NOW) 9.4%, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 10.3%). On return on invested capital, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) leads (ServiceNow (NOW) 5.2%, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 13.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) returned the most: ServiceNow (NOW) -20.1%, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) -2.2%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) -5.7%. Over five years, ServiceNow (NOW) compounded fastest (ServiceNow (NOW) +1.4%/yr, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) -3.2%/yr, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) has the highest dividend yield: Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 1.96%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 1.38%. ServiceNow (NOW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has been the steadiest (ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 43.2%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOW, CTSH 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, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) 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.