SSNC vs APPN vs NOW Stock Comparison

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Appian and ServiceNow Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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APPN Appian Corp
$48.64 +32.6% 1M +60.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$795.31M
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$109.13 -18.8% 1M -40.3% 1Y
Market cap
$114.05B
P/E
78.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.43B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

SS&C Technologies Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (SS&C Technologies Holdings 7, ServiceNow 3, Appian 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSSNCAPPNNOWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.96B $3.70B $114.05B NOW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.9x -348.1x 78.9x SSNC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.7x 43.4x 28.3x SSNC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.6% +20.9% +21.8% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.2% -1.3% 9.4% SSNC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.6% 6.5% 5.2% SSNC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 3.4x 0.8x NOW
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.6% +60.5% -40.3% APPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.8%/yr -14.0%/yr -4.9%/yr SSNC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.3% 68.4% 66.7% SSNC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 51/100 51/100 SSNC

Percentile Scorecard

SSNCAPPNNOW

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

AxisSSNCAPPNNOW
Valuation 75 #26 of 100 40 #60 of 100 37 #63 of 100
Growth 33 #67 of 99 91 #10 of 99 49 #51 of 99
Profitability 72 #28 of 96 55 #44 of 96 76 #24 of 96
Financial Health 35 #73 of 112 31 #78 of 112 52 #54 of 112
Shareholder Returns 50 #34 of 67 36 #43 of 67 39 #41 of 67
Overall 53 51 51
  • SSNC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • APPN ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • NOW ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSSNCAPPNNOWSPY
1 month +3.0%+32.6%-18.8% -2.0%
3 months -0.2%+71.0%-7.6% -2.2%
6 months +16.7%+114.1%+18.6% +4.2%
Year to date -7.5%+37.3%-28.8% +10.6%
1 year -4.6%+60.5%-40.3% +10.4%
3 years +54.2%+21.9%-10.1% +73.6%
3 years, per year +15.5%+6.8%-3.5% +20.2%
5 years +3.9%-53.0%-22.2% +61.6%
5 years, per year +0.8%-14.0%-4.9% +10.1%
10 years +154.7%—+550.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year +9.8%—+20.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSSNCAPPNNOWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.3%68.4%66.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.7%59.6%76.4% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.540.75 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.160.88-0.60 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.8%-81.9%-64.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-7.1%-40.3% -3.2%
52-week high $89.62$52.35$182.77 $779.14
52-week low $62.05$18.72$83.00 $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.

MultipleSSNCAPPNNOW
P/E now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 27.1x -333.9xmedian 27.1x 78.2xmedian 27.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.8x 4.4xmedian 2.8x 7.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.5xmedian 16.6x 175.7xmedian 16.6x 33.7xmedian 16.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 15.7x 45.5xmedian 15.7x 23.8xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.8x -33.2xmedian 2.8x 8.6xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 1.66median 0.87 -5.63median 0.87 -22.87median 0.87

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 monthsSSNCAPPNNOW
Revenue $6.56B $795.31M $15.43B
Gross profit $3.16B $565.62M $11.28B
Operating income $1.55B $10.14M $1.49B
Net income $866.00M -$10.62M $1.45B
Free cash flow $1.75B $76.75M $4.75B
R&D $517.20M $185.95M $3.47B
EPS (diluted) $3.57 $-0.15 $1.39
Cash & equivalents $434.80M $121.11M $2.39B
Total debt $7.58B $236.03M $7.52B
Shares (diluted) 242.00M 72.90M 1.04B
Enterprise value $17.25B $2.94B $93.31B

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
MetricSSNCAPPNNOW
P/E 22.3x -333.9x 78.2x
P/FCF 10.8x 45.5x 23.8x
P/Operating cash flow 10.4x 43.2x 21.2x
P/S 2.9x 4.4x 7.3x
P/B 2.8x -33.2x 8.6x
P/Tangible book 6.7x -33.0x 11.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.5x 175.7x 33.7x
EV/EBIT 16.9x 351.0x 77.8x
EV/Revenue 4.0x 4.5x 7.5x
EV/FCF 14.9x 46.4x 24.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.4x 44.1x 21.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.66 -5.63 -22.87

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSSNCAPPNNOW
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.6% 20.9% 21.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 16.2% 22.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.3% 19.3% 14.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 15.8% 19.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.9% 172.8% -14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 9.7% 27.4% 32.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.3% 38.4% -16.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.5% 59.3% -3.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.7% 37.3% -16.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 59.3% -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 23.7% 66.0% 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 42.0% 21.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.3% 66.9% 20.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 39.7% 25.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSSNCAPPNNOW
Gross margin 48.1% 71.1% 73.1%
EBITDA margin 34.7% 2.5% 22.3%
Operating margin 23.6% 1.3% 9.7%
Pretax margin 16.6% -0.7% 13.1%
Net margin 13.2% -1.3% 9.4%
FCF margin 26.7% 9.6% 30.8%
Operating cash flow margin 27.7% 10.2% 34.6%
Return on equity 12.7% – 11.3%
Return on assets 4.2% -1.8% 4.6%
Return on invested capital 8.6% 6.5% 5.2%
Return on capital employed 10.3% 5.3% 7.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x -7.6x 3.7x
Stock comp / revenue 4.1% 5.4% 10.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSSNCAPPNNOW
Debt / assets 36.8% 40.3% 23.6%
Debt / equity 1.1x -2.2x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 3.4x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 4.3x 3.1x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 67.4% 118.0% 58.9%
Equity / assets 32.6% -18.0% 41.1%
Interest coverage 3.6x 0.6x 14.6x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.0x 0.7x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.8x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.71 2.95 4.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSSNCAPPNNOW
Dividend yield 1.4% – –
Net buyback yield 5.0% 2.1% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 6.4% 2.1% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusSSNCAPPNNOW
Forward P/E 11.7xFY2026 43.4xFY2026 28.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.91FY2026 $1.12FY2026 $3.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.5%FY2026 +83.6%FY2026 +9.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.5% +20.5% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.18BFY2026 $897.68MFY2026 $15.25BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +23.5%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.0% +12.0% +17.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSSNCAPPNNOW
Held by institutions 84.8% 94.9% 81.6%
Institutions holding 726 212 2,228
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% -1.3% -2.1%
Institutions buying 385 120 1,287
Institutions selling 261 52 781
Buyers to sellers 1.48 2.31 1.65

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.

SSNCAPPNNOW
SSNC 1.00 0.41 0.40
APPN 0.41 1.00 0.54
NOW 0.40 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SSNC, APPN and NOW?

ServiceNow (NOW) is the largest by market capitalisation: SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) $18.96B, Appian (APPN) $3.70B, ServiceNow (NOW) $114.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, SSNC, APPN and NOW?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 21.9x, Appian (APPN) -348.1x, ServiceNow (NOW) 78.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) is cheapest (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 11.7x, Appian (APPN) 43.4x, ServiceNow (NOW) 28.3x). 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: SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +8.6%, Appian (APPN) +20.9%, ServiceNow (NOW) +21.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has the highest net margin (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 13.2%, Appian (APPN) -1.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) 9.4%). On return on invested capital, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) leads (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 8.6%, Appian (APPN) 6.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) 5.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Appian (APPN) returned the most: SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) -4.6%, Appian (APPN) +60.5%, ServiceNow (NOW) -40.3%. Over five years, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) compounded fastest (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) +0.8%/yr, Appian (APPN) -14.0%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) -4.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) has been the steadiest (SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 29.3%, Appian (APPN) 68.4%, ServiceNow (NOW) 66.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC) 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.