GEN vs. NOW: Gen Digital vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Gen Digital (GEN) 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

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	GEN	NOW
Name	Gen Digital 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	17.67 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	June 23, 1989	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GEN

NOW

GSPC

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	18.20%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	18.57%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	5.70%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GEN

NOW

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	43.30%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	1.23	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-48.41%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	8.39M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GEN 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 Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.32	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.50	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 46.40% sits in the top ROE quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for GEN.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

46.40%

Max: 53.85%
GEN: 46.40%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 23.07% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

23.07%

Max: 41.17%
GEN: 23.07%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 37.40% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

37.40%

Max: 46.89%
GEN: 37.40%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
ROE (TTM)	46.40%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	8.94%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	23.07%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	37.40%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	77.41%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 27.06% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 20.88% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GEN.

Gen Digital (GEN) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 52.43% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 22.08% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for GEN.

Gen Digital (GEN) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	27.06%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	14.66%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	52.43%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-10.09%	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Gen Digital (GEN) at 0.37 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.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

0.37

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
GEN: 0.37
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Gen Digital (GEN) at 2.96 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

2.96

GEN: 2.96
Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
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

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.37	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.96	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.02	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 Gen Digital (GEN) reports a yield of 1.63%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

1.63%

GEN: 1.63%
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%

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) reports a payout of 25.38%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

25.38%

GEN: 25.38%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.63%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	25.38%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 15.12 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while ServiceNow (NOW) at 73.36 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

15.12

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
GEN: 15.12
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

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) at 3.38 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

3.38

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
GEN: 3.38
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

Gen Digital (GEN) 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 Gen Digital (GEN) at 6.45 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 8.08 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

GEN

Software & Services industry group

6.45

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
GEN: 6.45
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Gen Digital (GEN) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GEN	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	15.12	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.38	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.45	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	10.25%	5.44%