NOW vs PAYC vs SSNC Stock Comparison

ServiceNow, Paycom Software and SS&C Technologies Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$149.85 +14.0% 1M -20.1% 1Y
Market cap
$117.55B
P/E
81.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins
PAYC Paycom Software, Inc.
$262.56 +19.0% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$11.86B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.14B
Div. yield
–
HR Software Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Paycom Software leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Paycom Software 5, ServiceNow 3, SS&C Technologies Holdings 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOWPAYCSSNCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $117.55B $11.86B $19.23B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 81.3x 24.3x 22.6x SSNC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.9x 22.4x 11.6x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.8% +9.2% +8.7% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.4% 22.8% — PAYC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.2% 31.3% — PAYC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.8x — PAYC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.1% +32.3% -5.7% PAYC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.4%/yr -13.7%/yr +0.3%/yr NOW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.8% 47.3% 29.4% SSNC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 63/100 52/100 PAYC

Percentile Scorecard

NOWPAYCSSNC

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

AxisNOWPAYCSSNC
Valuation 33 #68 of 101 54 #47 of 101 82 #19 of 101
Growth 50 #49 of 97 58 #41 of 97 31 #67 of 97
Profitability 80 #20 of 94 98 #3 of 94 62 #36 of 94
Financial Health 53 #51 of 108 39 #66 of 108 –
Shareholder Returns 38 #40 of 64 65 #23 of 64 32 #44 of 64
Overall 51 63 52
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • PAYC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • 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

PeriodNOWPAYCSSNCSPY
1 month +14.0%+19.0%+3.2% +0.9%
3 months +29.4%+55.3%+2.8% +5.9%
6 months +68.6%+105.2%+15.8% +8.5%
Year to date -2.2%+64.8%-7.9% +13.3%
1 year -20.1%+32.3%-5.7% +12.4%
3 years +35.2%+9.2%+65.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +10.6%+3.0%+18.2% +23.5%
5 years +7.4%-52.1%+1.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +1.4%-13.7%+0.3% +11.0%
10 years +770.2%+408.4%+155.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +24.2%+17.7%+9.8% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNOWPAYCSSNCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.8%47.3%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.5%43.1%30.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.600.070.46 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.340.68-0.19 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-79.5%-44.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.1%-4.4%-10.2% -0.9%
52-week high $187.58$274.60$89.62 $779.14
52-week low $83.00$113.59$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.

MultipleNOWPAYCSSNC
P/E now vs peer median 107.3xmedian 27.6x 24.7xmedian 27.6x 22.5xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 2.7x 5.4xmedian 2.7x 2.8xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 46.0xmedian 17.4x 14.6xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.7xmedian 15.8x 20.2xmedian 15.8x 10.4xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 3.2x 20.4xmedian 3.2x —median 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -31.41median 0.84 0.99median 0.84 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 monthsNOWPAYCSSNC
Revenue $15.43B $2.14B $6.69B
Gross profit $11.28B $1.79B $3.22B
Operating income $1.49B $648.40M $1.59B
Net income $1.45B $487.60M $853.70M
Free cash flow $4.75B $575.10M –
R&D $3.47B $258.90M $530.10M
EPS (diluted) $1.39 $10.62 $3.52
Cash & equivalents $2.39B $198.00M $525.40M
Total debt $7.52B $900.00M –
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 45.91M 242.00M
Enterprise value $96.81B $10.76B $19.23B

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
MetricNOWPAYCSSNC
P/E 107.3x 24.7x 22.5x
P/FCF 32.7x 20.2x 10.4x
P/Operating cash flow 29.2x 14.5x 10.2x
P/S 10.1x 5.4x 2.8x
P/B 11.9x 20.4x –
P/Tangible book 16.4x 21.5x –
EV/EBITDA 46.0x 14.6x –
EV/EBIT 106.1x 19.0x –
EV/Revenue 10.3x 5.8x 2.8x
EV/FCF 33.4x 21.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow 29.7x 15.4x 10.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -31.41 0.99 1.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOWPAYCSSNC
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.8% 9.2% 8.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 11.2% 7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.1% 10.9% 8.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 11.0% 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -14.9% 17.7% 11.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 32.1% 14.9% 10.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -16.5% 17.3% 0.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% 15.6% 11.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -16.2% 44.3% 4.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 25.0% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.2% 43.6% 17.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.8% 21.4% 15.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.0% 60.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.9% 24.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOWPAYCSSNC
Gross margin 73.1% 83.7% –
EBITDA margin 22.3% 39.5% –
Operating margin 9.7% 30.3% –
Pretax margin 13.1% 32.0% –
Net margin 9.4% 22.8% –
FCF margin 30.8% 26.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 34.6% 37.4% 27.8%
Return on equity 11.3% 70.5% –
Return on assets 4.6% 9.7% 4.2%
Return on invested capital 5.2% 31.3% –
Return on capital employed 7.5% 36.7% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.7x 1.6x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 10.4% 4.2% 4.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOWPAYCSSNC
Debt / assets 23.6% 17.3% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 1.6x 1.6x –
Liabilities / assets 58.9% 89.0% 66.8%
Equity / assets 41.1% 11.0% –
Interest coverage 14.6x 39.8x –
Current ratio 0.7x 1.1x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.1x –
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 5.77 3.05 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOWPAYCSSNC
Dividend yield – 0.6% 1.4%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 12.8% –
Shareholder yield 1.7% 13.4% 1.4%
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.

ConsensusNOWPAYCSSNC
Forward P/E 38.9xFY2026 22.4xFY2026 11.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.85FY2026 $11.74FY2026 $6.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.7%FY2026 +27.1%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.0% +14.6% +7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.25BFY2026 $2.08BFY2026 $7.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +1.5%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.7% +11.2% -7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOWPAYCSSNC
Held by institutions 81.6% 90.3% 84.8%
Institutions holding 2,224 594 724
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% -8.5% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,285 294 385
Institutions selling 779 222 259
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.

NOWPAYCSSNC
NOW 1.00 0.56 0.45
PAYC 0.56 1.00 0.52
SSNC 0.45 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOW, PAYC and SSNC?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: ServiceNow (NOW) $117.55B, Paycom Software (PAYC) $11.86B, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $19.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOW, PAYC and SSNC?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ServiceNow (NOW) 81.3x, Paycom Software (PAYC) 24.3x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (ServiceNow (NOW) 38.9x, Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.4x, 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%, Paycom Software (PAYC) +9.2%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Paycom Software (PAYC) has the highest net margin (ServiceNow (NOW) 9.4%, Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.8%). On return on invested capital, Paycom Software (PAYC) leads (ServiceNow (NOW) 5.2%, Paycom Software (PAYC) 31.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Paycom Software (PAYC) returned the most: ServiceNow (NOW) -20.1%, Paycom Software (PAYC) +32.3%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) -5.7%. Over five years, ServiceNow (NOW) compounded fastest (ServiceNow (NOW) +1.4%/yr, Paycom Software (PAYC) -13.7%/yr, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +0.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has been the steadiest (ServiceNow (NOW) 58.8%, Paycom Software (PAYC) 47.3%, 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, PAYC 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, Paycom Software (PAYC) leads on 5. 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.