FTNT vs. NOW: Fortinet vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fortinet (FTNT) 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

Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW) are both classified in the Systems Software sub-industry within the broader Software industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	FTNT	NOW
Name	Fortinet, 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	Systems Software	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	87.31 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	November 18, 2009	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FTNT

NOW

GSPC

Fortinet (FTNT) 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	49.91%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	35.15%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.92%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FTNT

NOW

GSPC

Fortinet (FTNT) 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	49.03%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	1.07	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-38.98%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.68M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FTNT 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 Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.93	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.37	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Fortinet (FTNT) at 153.08% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

153.08%

FTNT: 153.08%
Max: 53.85%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Fortinet (FTNT) at 28.96% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

28.96%

Max: 41.17%
FTNT: 28.96%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Fortinet (FTNT) at 33.82% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

33.82%

Max: 46.89%
FTNT: 33.82%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
ROE (TTM)	153.08%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	15.22%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	28.96%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	33.82%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	79.75%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Fortinet (FTNT) at 14.17% 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.

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

EPS Growth

Both Fortinet (FTNT) at 7.08% 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.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.17%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	15.46%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	7.08%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	31.68%	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Fortinet (FTNT) at 1.40 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.72 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NOW.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

1.40

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
FTNT: 1.40
Q1: 1.01
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Fortinet (FTNT) at 0.25 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

0.25

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
FTNT: 0.25
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

Fortinet (FTNT) 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 Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.40	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.25	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.54	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Fortinet (FTNT) nor ServiceNow (NOW) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

FTNT: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Fortinet (FTNT) nor ServiceNow (NOW) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

FTNT: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Fortinet (FTNT) at 38.84 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.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

38.84

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
FTNT: 38.84
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Fortinet (FTNT) at 11.08 sits in the pricier quartile — FTNT costs more per dollar of sales.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

11.08

Max: 17.91
FTNT: 11.08
Q3: 8.78
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

Fortinet (FTNT) 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 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Fortinet (FTNT) at 38.85 prices above its benchmark range — FTNT looks rich relative to book.

FTNT

Software & Services industry group

38.85

FTNT: 38.85
Max: 16.63
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fortinet (FTNT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	FTNT	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	38.84	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	11.08	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	38.85	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.85%	5.44%