GWRE vs. NOW: Guidewire Software vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Guidewire Software (GWRE) 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

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

Company profile comparison for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	GWRE	NOW
Name	Guidewire Software 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	13.34 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 25, 2012	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GWRE

NOW

GSPC

Guidewire Software (GWRE) 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 Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	-25.97%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	21.68%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	4.78%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GWRE

NOW

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	62.03%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	0.99	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-60.79%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.29M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GWRE 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 Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.49	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.68	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 10.51% and ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

10.51%

Max: 53.85%
Q3: 17.90%
GWRE: 10.51%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 9.44% and ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

9.44%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
GWRE: 9.44%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 15.16% and ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

15.16%

Max: 46.89%
Q3: 17.64%
GWRE: 15.16%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
ROE (TTM)	10.51%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	3.54%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.44%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.16%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	64.21%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 22.70% 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.

Guidewire Software (GWRE) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 101.23% 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 GWRE.

Guidewire Software (GWRE) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	22.70%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	17.68%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	101.23%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 1.79 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.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

1.79

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
GWRE: 1.79
Median: 1.67
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 0.60 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

0.60

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
GWRE: 0.60
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

Guidewire Software (GWRE) 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 Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.79	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.60	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.38	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

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

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

GWRE: 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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

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

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

GWRE: 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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 99.02 and ServiceNow (NOW) at 73.36 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

99.02

Max: 112.94
GWRE: 99.02
Q3: 60.32
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

Guidewire Software (GWRE) 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 Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 9.04 sits in the pricier quartile — GWRE costs more per dollar of sales.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

9.04

Max: 17.91
GWRE: 9.04
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

Guidewire Software (GWRE) 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 Guidewire Software (GWRE) at 11.09 carries an above-peer premium to book — GWRE is pricier on assets.

GWRE

Software & Services industry group

11.09

Max: 16.63
GWRE: 11.09
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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Guidewire Software (GWRE) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	GWRE	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	99.02	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	9.04	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.09	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.57%	5.44%