NOW vs MCO vs APPN Stock Comparison

ServiceNow, Moodys and Appian Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
3 wins
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$483.45 +2.0% 1M +0.9% 1Y
Market cap
$83.73B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
7 wins
APPN Appian Corp
$52.35 +37.9% 1M +68.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.76B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$795.31M
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win

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.

QuestionNOWMCOAPPNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $162.99B $83.73B $3.76B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 97.6x 29.0x -353.8x MCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.3x 26.8x 46.7x MCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.2% +9.0% +20.9% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.3% 35.3% -1.3% MCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 27.9% 6.5% MCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.3x 3.4x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.4% +0.9% +68.6% APPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.0%/yr +4.8%/yr -11.2%/yr MCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.7% 28.5% 68.2% MCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 60/100 51/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

NOWMCOAPPN

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

AxisNOWMCOAPPN
Valuation 27 #74 of 101 18 #771 of 945 41 #60 of 101
Growth 58 #41 of 97 73 #219 of 822 91 #10 of 97
Profitability 81 #19 of 94 97 #26 of 835 55 #43 of 94
Financial Health 51 #54 of 109 53 #424 of 905 32 #75 of 109
Shareholder Returns 35 #42 of 64 58 #304 of 726 38 #40 of 64
Overall 50 60 51
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • MCO ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services
  • APPN ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNOWMCOAPPNSPY
1 month +12.9%+2.0%+37.9% -1.0%
3 months +61.0%+2.5%+120.4% +2.9%
6 months +76.3%+6.0%+136.3% +6.4%
Year to date +3.8%-5.4%+47.8% +11.4%
1 year -15.4%+0.9%+68.6% +13.1%
3 years +43.4%+58.2%+25.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.8%+16.5%+8.0% +21.5%
5 years +15.8%+26.7%-44.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +3.0%+4.8%-11.2% +10.9%
10 years +893.1%+372.9%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +25.8%+16.8%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNOWMCOAPPNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.7%28.5%68.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.5%30.2%59.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.510.51 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.260.031.01 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-42.2%-81.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.0%-10.4%0.0% -2.5%
52-week high $189.26$539.61$52.35 $779.14
52-week low $83.00$412.23$18.72 $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.

MultipleNOWMCOAPPN
P/E now vs peer median 98.2xmedian 29.9x 29.0xmedian 13.4x -359.3xmedian 29.9x
P/S now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 2.8x 10.2xmedian 3.2x 4.7xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.9xmedian 17.4x 21.4xmedian 5.9x 188.9xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.9xmedian 16.9x 28.0xmedian 11.1x 49.0xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 3.1x 24.4xmedian 1.2x -35.7xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 18.89median 0.86 1.09median 0.89 -6.06median 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 monthsNOWMCOAPPN
Revenue $14.73B $8.18B $795.31M
Gross profit $11.02B $6.10B $565.62M
Operating income $1.68B $3.64B $10.14M
Net income $1.67B $2.89B -$10.62M
Free cash flow $4.58B $2.98B $76.75M
R&D $3.26B – $185.95M
EPS (diluted) $1.61 $16.64 $-0.15
Cash & equivalents $2.50B $1.51B $121.11M
Total debt $7.52B $6.91B $236.03M
Shares (diluted) 1.03B 173.30M 72.90M
Enterprise value $141.45B $76.65B $3.01B

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
MetricNOWMCOAPPN
P/E 98.2x 29.0x -359.3x
P/FCF 35.9x 28.0x 49.0x
P/Operating cash flow 31.0x 25.0x 46.5x
P/S 11.2x 10.2x 4.7x
P/B 13.1x 24.4x -35.7x
P/Tangible book 18.8x 48.5x -35.5x
EV/EBITDA 48.9x 21.4x 188.9x
EV/EBIT 99.6x 24.3x 377.3x
EV/Revenue 11.4x 10.8x 4.8x
EV/FCF 36.5x 29.8x 49.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.5x 26.6x 47.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 18.89 1.09 -6.06

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOWMCOAPPN
Debt / assets 23.7% 46.6% 40.3%
Debt / equity 0.6x 2.0x -2.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.3x 3.4x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 2.3x 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 60.5% 77.0% 118.0%
Equity / assets 39.5% 23.0% -18.0%
Interest coverage – – 0.6x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.3x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.92 7.67 3.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOWMCOAPPN
Dividend yield – 0.8% –
Net buyback yield 1.9% 3.5% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 4.4% 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.

ConsensusNOWMCOAPPN
Forward P/E 41.3xFY2026 26.8xFY2026 46.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.85FY2026 $18.07FY2026 $1.12FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.7%FY2026 +21.0%FY2026 +83.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.3% -1.2% +20.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.24BFY2026 $8.74BFY2026 $897.68MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +13.2%FY2026 +23.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.7% -1.8% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOWMCOAPPN
Held by institutions 81.6% 90.8% 94.9%
Institutions holding 2,224 1,404 212
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% -1.6% -1.3%
Institutions buying 1,285 644 120
Institutions selling 779 522 52
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.23 2.31

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.

NOWMCOAPPN
NOW 1.00 0.44 0.59
MCO 0.44 1.00 0.33
APPN 0.59 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOW, MCO and APPN?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: ServiceNow (NOW) $162.99B, Moodys (MCO) $83.73B, Appian (APPN) $3.76B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOW, MCO and APPN?

Moodys (MCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ServiceNow (NOW) 97.6x, Moodys (MCO) 29.0x, Appian (APPN) -353.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Moodys (MCO) is cheapest (ServiceNow (NOW) 41.3x, Moodys (MCO) 26.8x, Appian (APPN) 46.7x). 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) +22.2%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%, Appian (APPN) +20.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Appian (APPN) returned the most: ServiceNow (NOW) -15.4%, Moodys (MCO) +0.9%, Appian (APPN) +68.6%. Over five years, Moodys (MCO) compounded fastest (ServiceNow (NOW) +3.0%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +4.8%/yr, Appian (APPN) -11.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: ServiceNow (NOW) 0.00%, Moodys (MCO) 0.01%, Appian (APPN) 0.00%. ServiceNow (NOW) and Appian (APPN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Moodys (MCO) has been the steadiest (ServiceNow (NOW) 58.7%, Moodys (MCO) 28.5%, Appian (APPN) 68.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOW, MCO and APPN?

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.