Salesforce, Inc. vs ServiceNow, Inc., two Software stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Salesforce's price is currently betting on the cash it already throws off, a 10.14% free-cash yield priced at just 22 times earnings, the market treating it as a mature, self-funding franchise. ServiceNow's price bets the opposite way, 60 times earnings and a 4.36% free-cash yield, paying up front for growth still to be banked. Both run near 76% gross margins, so the divergence is in what each keeps and what investors will fund: Salesforce nets 16 cents on the dollar, ServiceNow 13. Salesforce carries a 1.15 debt-to-equity against ServiceNow's none, so the cheaper multiple comes with the heavier balance sheet. One bet is that today's cash is the story; the other is that today's cash is only the down payment.
Comparison updated 2026-06-15.
| Metric | CRM | NOW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $163.36 | $107.68 |
| Market cap | $142.3B | $112.0B |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +6.3% | — |
| P/E | 18.9 | 64.1 |
| P/B | 4.16 | 9.55 |
| P/S | 3.32 | 8.02 |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.8 | 40.8 |
| Revenue growth | +10.9% | +21.7% |
| Gross margin | 76.9% | 75.1% |
| Operating margin | 21.1% | 13.3% |
| Net margin | 15.6% | 12.6% |
| Return on equity | 19.5% | 15.0% |
| Return on assets | 6.2% | 7.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.2% | 9.9% |
| FCF yield | 10.3% | 4.1% |
| Debt / equity | 1.15 | 0.13 |
| Current ratio | 0.79 | 0.84 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.90 | 6.20 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.