Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) vs Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
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Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | SNOW | 29.2% revenue growth vs NOW's 20.9% |
| Value | NOW | Lower P/E (25.8x vs 95.0x) |
| Quality / Margins | NOW | 13.2% net margin vs SNOW's -28.4% |
| Stability / Safety | SNOW | Beta 1.49 vs NOW's 1.52 |
| Dividends | Tie | Neither pays a meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | SNOW | -4.9% vs NOW's -88.4% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | NOW | 6.7% ROA vs SNOW's -14.6%, ROIC 12.4% vs -43.1% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
ServiceNow is a leading enterprise cloud platform that automates digital workflows across IT, customer service, HR, and security operations. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its Now platform — with IT service management being its largest segment — and professional services. The company's competitive moat lies in its unified workflow automation platform that creates strong network effects and high switching costs as customers expand across departments.
Snowflake provides a cloud-native data platform that enables organizations to store, process, and analyze data across multiple cloud providers. It generates revenue primarily through consumption-based pricing for compute, storage, and data transfer services — with compute typically representing the largest portion. Its key advantage is a unique architecture that separates storage and compute, allowing customers to scale each independently while avoiding vendor lock-in through multi-cloud compatibility.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
NOW leads in 3 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Valuation Metrics). SNOW leads in 2 (Total Returns, Risk & Volatility).
Financial Metrics (TTM)
NOW is the larger business by revenue, generating $13.3B annually — 2.8x SNOW's $4.7B. NOW is the more profitable business, keeping 13.2% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to SNOW's -28.4%. On growth, SNOW holds the edge at +30.1% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $13.3B | $4.7B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | $2.6B | -$1.3B |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | $1.7B | -$1.3B |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $4.6B | $1.1B |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +77.5% | +67.2% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | +13.7% | -30.6% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | +13.2% | -28.4% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +34.5% | +23.9% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +20.7% | +30.1% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +2.7% | +9.1% |
Valuation Metrics
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $113.1B | $57.7B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $112.6B | $57.6B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | 64.68x | -42.64x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 25.81x | 95.01x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | 0.93x | — |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 43.94x | — |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 8.52x | 12.31x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 8.72x | 28.15x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | 24.71x | 51.48x |
Profitability & Efficiency
NOW delivers a 13.5% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $13 in annual profit, vs $-66 for SNOW. NOW carries lower financial leverage with a 0.25x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to SNOW's 1.36x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), SNOW scores 5/9 vs NOW's 3/9, reflecting solid financial health.
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | +13.5% | -65.9% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | +6.7% | -14.6% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | +12.4% | -43.1% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | +13.2% | -27.5% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 3 | 5 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 0.25x | 1.36x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | -$523M | -$87M |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $3.7B | $2.8B |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $3.2B | $2.7B |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | 126.61x | -115.44x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in SNOW five years ago would be worth $6,188 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $1,941 for NOW. Over the past 12 months, SNOW leads with a -4.9% total return vs NOW's -88.4%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors SNOW at 2.9% vs NOW's -37.0% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -26.7% | -22.3% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | -88.4% | -4.9% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -75.0% | +9.1% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -80.6% | -38.1% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +96.4% | -33.7% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | -37.0% | +2.9% |
Risk & Volatility
SNOW is the less volatile stock with a 1.49 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than NOW's 1.52 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. SNOW currently trades 60.0% from its 52-week high vs NOW's 10.2% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 1.52x | 1.49x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $1057.39 | $280.67 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $98.00 | $120.10 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +10.2% | +60.0% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 30.9 | 43.8 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 15.0M | 4.4M |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates NOW as "Buy" and SNOW as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 81.7% upside for NOW (target: $196) vs 49.4% for SNOW (target: $252).
| Metric | NOWServiceNow, Inc. | SNOWSnowflake Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Buy | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $196.29 | $251.60 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 67 | 49 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | — | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | — | — |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | — | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | +1.6% | +0.2% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Oct 20 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | 100 | 23.96 | -76.0% |
| Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) | 95.88 | 75.09 | -21.7% |
ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) returned -81% over 5 years vs Snowflake Inc. (SNOW)'s -81%.
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | $1.9B | $13.3B | +586.9% |
| Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) | $97M | $4.7B | +4745.5% |
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | -7.7% | 13.2% | +270.6% |
| Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) | -184.2% | -28.4% | +84.6% |
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 3 Years
| Stock | 2019 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | 443.9 | 91.7 | -79.3% |
ServiceNow, Inc. has traded in a 92x–444x P/E range over 3 years; current trailing P/E is ~65x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) | -0.17 | 1.67 | +1059.8% |
| Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) | -0.75 | -3.95 | -426.7% |
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
ServiceNow, Inc. generated $5B FCF in 2025 (+155% vs 2021). Snowflake Inc. generated $1B FCF in 2026 (+1407% vs 2021).
NOW vs SNOW: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is NOW or SNOW a better buy right now?
ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) offers the better valuation at 64.7x trailing P/E (25.8x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) a "Buy" — based on 67 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — NOW or SNOW?
On forward P/E, ServiceNow, Inc. is actually cheaper at 25.8x.
03Which is the better long-term investment — NOW or SNOW?
Over the past 5 years, Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) delivered a total return of -38.1%, compared to -80.6% for ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW). A $10,000 investment in SNOW five years ago would be worth approximately $6K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: NOW returned +96.4% versus SNOW's -33.7%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — NOW or SNOW?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) is the lower-risk stock at 1.49β versus ServiceNow, Inc.'s 1.52β — meaning NOW is approximately 3% more volatile than SNOW relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 25% versus 136% for Snowflake Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
05Which has better profit margins — NOW or SNOW?
ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) is the more profitable company, earning 13.2% net margin versus -28.4% for Snowflake Inc. — meaning it keeps 13.2% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: NOW leads at 13.7% versus -30.6% for SNOW. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — NOW leads at 77.5%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is NOW or SNOW more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) trades at 25.8x forward P/E versus 95.0x for Snowflake Inc. — 69.2x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for NOW: 81.7% to $196.29.
07Which pays a better dividend — NOW or SNOW?
None of the stocks in this comparison currently pay a material dividend. All are effectively zero-yield and should be held for capital appreciation rather than income.
08Is NOW or SNOW better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding. Both have compounded well over 10 years (NOW: +96.4%, SNOW: -33.7%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between NOW and SNOW?
Both stocks operate in the Technology sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
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