IT vs. NOW: Gartner vs. ServiceNow Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Gartner (IT) 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

Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW) both fall under the Software & Services industry group, but IT is classified in IT Services while NOW is classified in Software.

Company profile comparison for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Profile Item	IT	NOW
Name	Gartner Inc.	ServiceNow Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	IT Services	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	IT Consulting & Other Services	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	11.99 billion USD	105.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	October 5, 1993	June 29, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOW

GSPC

Gartner (IT) 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 Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Total Return (1Y)	-17.60%	-39.72%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-22.07%	-5.71%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-10.95%	-5.55%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOW

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	58.29%	64.49%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-77.21%	-64.54%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.14M	15.74M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IT 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 Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.38	-0.68
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.54	-0.89

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 365.76% 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.

IT

Software & Services industry group

365.76%

IT: 365.76%
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%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Gartner (IT) at 14.81% 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.

IT

Software & Services industry group

14.81%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
IT: 14.81%
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%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 18.58% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

IT

Software & Services industry group

18.58%

Max: 46.89%
IT: 18.58%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
ROE (TTM)	365.76%	11.85%
ROA (TTM)	11.33%	4.59%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.81%	9.36%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.58%	17.39%
Gross Margin (TTM)	70.18%	73.08%

Growth

Revenue Growth

ServiceNow (NOW) at 20.88% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Gartner (IT) at 3.67% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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

EPS Growth

ServiceNow (NOW) at 22.08% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Gartner (IT) at -39.69% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.67%	20.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.87%	22.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-39.69%	22.08%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.05%	73.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Gartner (IT) at 0.91 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.

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.91

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
IT: 0.91
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: ServiceNow (NOW) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64 against its industry range, while Gartner (IT) reports no figure this period.

IT

Software & Services industry group

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00
IT: --

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

Gartner (IT) vs. ServiceNow (NOW): IT does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; NOW is benchmarked against the Software & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.91	0.72
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.18	1.18

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

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

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

IT: 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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

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

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

IT: 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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 13.62 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.

IT

Software & Services industry group

13.62

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
IT: 13.62
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

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 1.86 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 prices around its industry’s middle — IT costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

IT

Software & Services industry group

1.86

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
IT: 1.86
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Gartner (IT) reports a negative P/B ratio of -348.81, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile ServiceNow (NOW) reports 8.08, ranking against industry peers normally.

IT

Software & Services industry group

-348.81

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90
IT: -348.81

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Gartner (IT) and ServiceNow (NOW)
Metric	IT	NOW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	13.62	73.36
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.86	6.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-348.81	8.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.90%	5.44%