BSY vs. NOW: Bentley Systems vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW) both belong to the Software industry, though BSY is classified under Application Software while NOW falls under Systems Software.

Company profile comparison for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	BSY	NOW
Name	Bentley Systems, Incorporated Class B Common Stock	ServiceNow Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	Software	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	Application Software	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	13.50 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	September 23, 2020	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BSY

NOW

GSPC

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	-2.57%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-3.01%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.13%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BSY

NOW

GSPC

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	41.49%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	0.92	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-53.94%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.67M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BSY and NOW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.17	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.25	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Bentley Systems (BSY) at 26.03% sits in the top ROE quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for BSY.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

26.03%

Max: 53.85%
BSY: 26.03%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

NOW

Software & Services industry group

11.85%

Max: 53.85%
Q3: 17.90%
NOW: 11.85%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their ROE against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Bentley Systems (BSY) at 19.57% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

19.57%

Max: 41.17%
BSY: 19.57%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

NOW

Software & Services industry group

9.36%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
NOW: 9.36%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their net margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Bentley Systems (BSY) at 29.81% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

29.81%

Max: 46.89%
BSY: 29.81%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

NOW

Software & Services industry group

17.39%

Max: 46.89%
Q3: 17.64%
NOW: 17.39%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
ROE (TTM)	26.03%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	7.73%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	19.57%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	29.81%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	82.37%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Bentley Systems (BSY) at 10.99% and ServiceNow (NOW) at 20.88% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Bentley Systems (BSY) at 18.06% and ServiceNow (NOW) at 22.08% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	10.99%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.97%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	18.06%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	15.62%	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Bentley Systems (BSY) at 0.65 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.72 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

0.65

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
BSY: 0.65
Min: 0.03

NOW

Software & Services industry group

0.72

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
NOW: 0.72
Min: 0.03

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Bentley Systems (BSY) at 0.94 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

0.94

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
BSY: 0.94
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

NOW

Software & Services industry group

0.64

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
NOW: 0.64
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.65	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.94	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.12	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

ServiceNow (NOW) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Bentley Systems (BSY) reports a yield of 0.62%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

0.62%

BSY: 0.62%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOW

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

NOW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

ServiceNow (NOW) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Bentley Systems (BSY) reports a payout of 27.72%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

27.72%

BSY: 27.72%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NOW

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

NOW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.62%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	27.72%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Bentley Systems (BSY) at 44.21 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 73.36 sits in the richer quartile — NOW needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

44.21

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
BSY: 44.21
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

NOW

Software & Services industry group

73.36

Max: 112.94
NOW: 73.36
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Bentley Systems (BSY) at 8.19 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

8.19

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
BSY: 8.19
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

NOW

Software & Services industry group

6.86

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
NOW: 6.86
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

ServiceNow (NOW) at 8.08 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Bentley Systems (BSY) at 10.79 carries an above-peer premium to book — BSY is pricier on assets.

BSY

Software & Services industry group

10.79

Max: 16.63
BSY: 10.79
Q3: 8.50
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

NOW

Software & Services industry group

8.08

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
NOW: 8.08
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

Bentley Systems (BSY) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Bentley Systems (BSY) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	BSY	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	44.21	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	8.19	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	10.79	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.74%	5.44%