NOW vs SSNC vs APPN Stock Comparison

ServiceNow, SS&C Technologies Holdings and Appian Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$158.19 +16.6% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$159.67B
P/E
95.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
5 wins
APPN Appian Corp
$51.57 +43.2% 1M +63.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.64B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$795.31M
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

ServiceNow leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (ServiceNow 5, SS&C Technologies Holdings 3, Appian 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNOWSSNCAPPNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $159.67B $19.10B $3.64B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 95.6x 22.4x -342.8x SSNC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.1x 11.9x 46.0x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +22.2% +8.7% +20.9% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.3% — -1.3% NOW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 6.5% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — 3.4x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.0% -3.1% +63.1% APPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr +1.9%/yr -11.3%/yr NOW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.8% 29.4% 68.3% SSNC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 52/100 52/100 APPN

Percentile Scorecard

NOWSSNCAPPN

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

AxisNOWSSNCAPPN
Valuation 28 #74 of 102 82 #19 of 102 39 #63 of 102
Growth 58 #42 of 98 31 #68 of 98 91 #10 of 98
Profitability 82 #18 of 95 63 #36 of 95 56 #42 of 95
Financial Health 50 #55 of 109 – 32 #74 of 109
Shareholder Returns 41 #38 of 64 32 #44 of 64 43 #37 of 64
Overall 52 52 52
  • NOW ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • SSNC ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • APPN ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNOWSSNCAPPNSPY
1 month +16.6%+4.3%+43.2% -0.8%
3 months +49.9%+9.3%+101.8% +3.5%
6 months +74.9%+19.5%+134.8% +7.0%
Year to date +3.3%-6.2%+45.6% +12.2%
1 year -15.0%-3.1%+63.1% +13.0%
3 years +42.8%+68.4%+29.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +12.6%+19.0%+8.9% +23.1%
5 years +19.0%+9.9%-45.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.5%+1.9%-11.3% +11.0%
10 years +902.5%+149.3%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +25.9%+9.6%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNOWSSNCAPPNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.8%29.4%68.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.5%30.7%59.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.470.51 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.25-0.110.92 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.5%-44.8%-81.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.4%-8.5%-1.5% -1.8%
52-week high $189.26$89.62$52.35 $779.14
52-week low $83.00$62.05$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.

MultipleNOWSSNCAPPN
P/E now vs peer median 97.7xmedian 28.8x 22.9xmedian 28.8x -354.0xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 2.8x 2.9xmedian 2.8x 4.7xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.7xmedian 17.7x —median 17.7x 186.1xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.7xmedian 15.8x 10.4xmedian 15.8x 48.2xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 3.2x —median 3.2x -35.2xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 18.80median 0.85 1.77median 0.85 -5.97median 0.85

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 monthsNOWSSNCAPPN
Revenue $14.73B $6.69B $795.31M
Gross profit $11.02B $3.22B $565.62M
Operating income $1.68B $1.59B $10.14M
Net income $1.67B $853.70M -$10.62M
Free cash flow $4.58B – $76.75M
R&D $3.26B $530.10M $185.95M
EPS (diluted) $1.61 $3.52 $-0.15
Cash & equivalents $2.50B $525.40M $121.11M
Total debt $7.52B – $236.03M
Shares (diluted) 1.03B 242.00M 72.90M
Enterprise value $138.13B $19.10B $2.89B

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
MetricNOWSSNCAPPN
P/E 97.7x 22.9x -354.0x
P/FCF 35.7x 10.4x 48.2x
P/Operating cash flow 30.8x 10.3x 45.9x
P/S 11.1x 2.9x 4.7x
P/B 13.1x – -35.2x
P/Tangible book 18.7x – -35.0x
EV/EBITDA 48.7x – 186.1x
EV/EBIT 99.1x – 371.8x
EV/Revenue 11.3x 2.9x 4.7x
EV/FCF 36.3x – 49.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.4x 10.3x 46.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 18.80 1.77 -5.97

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNOWSSNCAPPN
Revenue growth (1Y) 22.2% 8.7% 20.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 7.2% 16.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.4% 8.0% 19.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 20.5% 7.7% 15.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 4.9% 11.7% 172.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 49.1% 10.7% 27.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 0.5% 0.1% 38.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 11.2% 59.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.7% 4.4% 37.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 13.0% 59.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.0% 17.1% 66.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.2% 15.8% 42.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.0% – 66.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.7% – 39.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNOWSSNCAPPN
Gross margin 74.8% – 71.1%
EBITDA margin 23.2% – 2.5%
Operating margin 11.4% – 1.3%
Pretax margin 15.9% – -0.7%
Net margin 11.3% – -1.3%
FCF margin 31.1% – 9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 36.0% 27.8% 10.2%
Return on equity 13.8% – –
Return on assets 6.0% 4.2% -1.8%
Return on invested capital – – 6.5%
Return on capital employed 10.6% – 5.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.2x 2.2x -7.6x
Stock comp / revenue 12.3% 4.0% 5.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNOWSSNCAPPN
Debt / assets 23.7% – 40.3%
Debt / equity 0.6x – -2.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x – 3.4x
Debt / FCF 1.6x – 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 60.5% 66.8% 118.0%
Equity / assets 39.5% – -18.0%
Interest coverage – – 0.6x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x – 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.4x
Altman Z-score 5.89 – 3.13

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNOWSSNCAPPN
Dividend yield – 1.4% –
Net buyback yield 1.9% – 2.0%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 1.4% 2.0%
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.

ConsensusNOWSSNCAPPN
Forward P/E 41.1xFY2026 11.9xFY2026 46.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.85FY2026 $6.91FY2026 $1.12FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.7%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +83.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.0% +7.5% +20.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $15.25BFY2026 $7.18BFY2026 $897.68MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.8%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +23.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.7% -7.0% +12.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNOWSSNCAPPN
Held by institutions 81.6% 84.8% 94.9%
Institutions holding 2,224 724 212
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.1% +1.7% -1.3%
Institutions buying 1,285 385 120
Institutions selling 779 259 52
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.49 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.

NOWSSNCAPPN
NOW 1.00 0.45 0.59
SSNC 0.45 1.00 0.41
APPN 0.59 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NOW, SSNC and APPN?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: ServiceNow (NOW) $159.67B, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $19.10B, Appian (APPN) $3.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, NOW, SSNC and APPN?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (ServiceNow (NOW) 95.6x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 22.4x, Appian (APPN) -342.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (ServiceNow (NOW) 41.1x, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 11.9x, Appian (APPN) 46.0x). 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%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.7%, Appian (APPN) +20.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

ServiceNow (NOW) has the highest net margin (ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%, Appian (APPN) -1.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Appian (APPN) returned the most: ServiceNow (NOW) -15.0%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) -3.1%, Appian (APPN) +63.1%. Over five years, ServiceNow (NOW) compounded fastest (ServiceNow (NOW) +3.5%/yr, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +1.9%/yr, Appian (APPN) -11.3%/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%, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 29.4%, Appian (APPN) 68.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NOW, SSNC 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, ServiceNow (NOW) 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.