NOW vs. WDAY: ServiceNow vs. Workday Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY) 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

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

Company profile comparison for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Profile Item	NOW	WDAY
Name	ServiceNow Inc.	Workday Inc Class A Common Stock
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	Application Software
Market Capitalization	105.84 billion USD	46.49 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	June 29, 2012	October 12, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

NOW

WDAY

GSPC

ServiceNow (NOW) vs. Workday (WDAY), 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 ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Total Return (1Y)	-39.72%	-14.74%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-5.71%	-5.22%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.55%	-8.14%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

NOW

WDAY

GSPC

ServiceNow (NOW) vs. Workday (WDAY), 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 ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	64.49%	54.35%
Beta (5Y)	0.98	1.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-64.54%	-63.38%
Avg. Volume (3M)	15.74M	3.14M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

NOW and WDAY 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 ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.68	-0.35
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.89	-0.54

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 11.85% and Workday (WDAY) at 16.01% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

16.01%

Max: 53.85%
Q3: 17.90%
WDAY: 16.01%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 9.36% and Workday (WDAY) at 12.32% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

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%

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

12.32%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
WDAY: 12.32%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 17.39% and Workday (WDAY) at 11.82% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

11.82%

Max: 46.89%
Q3: 17.64%
WDAY: 11.82%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
ROE (TTM)	11.85%	16.01%
ROA (TTM)	4.59%	4.51%
Net Margin (TTM)	9.36%	12.32%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.39%	11.82%
Gross Margin (TTM)	73.08%	75.80%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 20.88% and Workday (WDAY) at 13.10% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

EPS Growth

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 22.08% and Workday (WDAY) at 32.82% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Revenue Growth (YoY)	20.88%	13.10%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	22.38%	15.40%
EPS Growth (YoY)	22.08%	32.82%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	73.46%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.72 and Workday (WDAY) at 0.91 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

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

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

0.91

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
WDAY: 0.91
Min: 0.03

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both ServiceNow (NOW) at 0.64 and Workday (WDAY) at 0.58 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

0.58

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
WDAY: 0.58
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

ServiceNow (NOW) vs. Workday (WDAY): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.72	0.91
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.64	0.58
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.18	0.23

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

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

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%

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

WDAY: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

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

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%

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

WDAY: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Workday (WDAY) at 39.29 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.

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

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

39.29

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
WDAY: 39.29
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both ServiceNow (NOW) at 6.86 and Workday (WDAY) at 4.58 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

4.58

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
WDAY: 4.58
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both ServiceNow (NOW) at 8.08 and Workday (WDAY) at 7.20 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

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

WDAY

Software & Services industry group

7.20

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
WDAY: 7.20
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for ServiceNow (NOW) and Workday (WDAY)
Metric	NOW	WDAY
P/E Ratio (TTM)	73.36	39.29
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.86	4.58
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	8.08	7.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	5.44%	6.55%