NOW
ServiceNow, Inc.
NOW has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PLTR
Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR has the edge over NOW overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
NOW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
NOW's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
PLTR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLTR's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
NOW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 22x | $101 | — |
| Current | 72x | $101 | — |
| Cheap | 83x | $115 | +14% |
| Fair | 141x | $196 | +95% |
| Expensive | 518x | $720 | +616% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NOW's PE is in its cheap range at 72x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x next year's earnings.
PLTR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 75x | $172 | — |
| Current | 120x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 165x | $236 | +37% |
| Fair | 251x | $359 | +109% |
| Expensive | 452x | $646 | +277% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLTR has the edge over NOW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NOW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for NOW, with profitability holding steady.
PLTR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
NOW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.55 | +227% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.39 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.60 | +0.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.68 | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.67 | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.66 | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.59 | +43% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.47 | -21% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.37 | -18% |
NOW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.39 over the past year, against $1.87 in early 2024.
PLTR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.30 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.43 | +240% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.17 | +290% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.89 | +287% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | +232% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.42 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.30 | +76% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.23 | +92% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.19 | +111% |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NOW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.1B | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $4B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8B | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.6B | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.4B | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.2B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.1B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $3B | +21% |
NOW's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $4.1B last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.4% | -7.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.1% | -7.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | -1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -0.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 17% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | +2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | +1.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +1.6 points |
NOW's operating margin was 9.4% last quarter, down 7.4 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLTR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +93% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +85% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +63% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +48% |
| Q1 2025 | $883.9M | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $827.5M | +36% |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 47% | +14 points |
| Q2 2026 | 47% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +26 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | +40 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +18 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3% | -9.5 points |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NOW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $748M | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $473M | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +3.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $2B | +45% |
| Q3 2025 | $578M | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $526M | +47% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +22% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +2.8% |
NOW's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $4.8B over the past year, up 20% from the year before.
PLTR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +139% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +126% |
| Q1 2026 | $891.8M | +193% |
| Q4 2025 | $764M | +67% |
| Q3 2025 | $500.9M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $531.6M | +276% |
| Q1 2025 | $304.1M | +140% |
| Q4 2024 | $457.2M | +54% |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NOW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.8% | +8.7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -4.5M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +11.6M shares |
| 5 years | +2.7% | +27.4M shares |
| Available history | +5.8% | +56.9M shares |
NOW has the edge over PLTR on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $2.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $597M |
| Q3 2025 | $584M |
| Q2 2025 | $361M |
| Q1 2025 | $298M |
| Q4 2024 | $296M |
NOW spent $2.8B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 83% from the year before.
PLTR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +5.2M shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +2.9M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +248M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +610M shares |
| Available history | +184% | +1.7B shares |
PLTR has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q4 2024 | $18.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $18.9M |
| Q2 2024 | $17.7M |
| Q1 2024 | $9M |
NOW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
NOW's net debt is about 2.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
PLTR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NOW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 5.4 | Oversold |
NOW's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 5 (oversold).
PLTR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
PLTR's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (neutral).
NOW PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NOW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 72x | 28x | 160% above |
| PE % | 7 | 35 | 28 pts below |
NOW has the edge over PLTR on valuation relative to its sector.
PLTR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLTR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 120x | 28x | 331% above |
| PE % | 1 | 38 | 37 pts below |
PLTR is trading at 120x earnings, a 331% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
NOW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $127.4 | 21% below |
| 20 week MA | $123.9 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $119.0 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $153.4 | 34% below |
| 200 week MA | $145.0 | 31% below |
NOW is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 31% below its 200-week average.
PLTR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $185.8 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $167.6 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $157.1 | 9.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $143.8 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $83.3 | 106% above |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NOW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $57.4 | $110.8 | +93% |
| 2021 | $110.8 | $129.7 | +17% |
| 2022 | $129.7 | $76.4 | -41% |
| 2023 | $76.4 | $141.3 | +85% |
| 2024 | $141.3 | $216.3 | +53% |
| 2025 | $216.3 | $153.9 | -29% |
| 2026 YTD | $153.9 | $100.7 | -35% |
NOW is down 35% so far in 2026, after finishing higher in four of the previous six years.
PLTR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.20 | $27.8 | +202% |
| 2021 | $27.8 | $18.9 | -32% |
| 2022 | $18.9 | $6.29 | -67% |
| 2023 | $6.29 | $17.2 | +173% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $79.1 | +361% |
| 2025 | $79.1 | $188.7 | +139% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.7 | $171.6 | -9.1% |
PLTR has the edge over NOW on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.