CRM vs. NOW: Salesforce vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Salesforce (CRM) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	CRM	NOW
Name	Salesforce, Inc.	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	175.83 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	June 23, 2004	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CRM

NOW

GSPC

Salesforce (CRM) 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 Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	-9.04%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	1.64%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-6.57%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CRM

NOW

GSPC

Salesforce (CRM) 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 Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	47.53%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	1.24	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-58.67%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	11.36M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CRM 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 Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.28	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.45	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Salesforce (CRM) at 19.38% sits in the top ROE quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for CRM.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

19.38%

Max: 53.85%
CRM: 19.38%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Salesforce (CRM) at 21.99% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

21.99%

Max: 41.17%
CRM: 21.99%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Salesforce (CRM) at 21.38% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

21.38%

Max: 46.89%
CRM: 21.38%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
ROE (TTM)	19.38%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	5.70%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	21.99%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.38%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	77.28%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 9.58% 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.

Salesforce (CRM) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 22.64% 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.

Salesforce (CRM) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.58%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.82%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	22.64%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	233.65%	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 0.84 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.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

0.84

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
CRM: 0.84
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Salesforce (CRM) at 1.10 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

1.10

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
CRM: 1.10
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

Salesforce (CRM) 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 Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.84	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.10	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.40	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 Salesforce (CRM) reports a yield of 0.77%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

0.77%

CRM: 0.77%
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%

Salesforce (CRM) 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 Salesforce (CRM) reports a payout of 15.66%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

15.66%

CRM: 15.66%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.77%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	15.66%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Salesforce (CRM) at 19.55 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.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

19.55

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
CRM: 19.55
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

Salesforce (CRM) 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 Salesforce (CRM) at 4.00 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

4.00

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
CRM: 4.00
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Salesforce (CRM) at 4.58 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 8.08 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

CRM

Software & Services industry group

4.58

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
CRM: 4.58
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	CRM	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.55	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.00	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.58	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	10.08%	5.44%