Meta Platforms, Inc. vs ServiceNow, Inc., two Software stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Meta is an advertising machine that sells attention back to itself at scale, which is why it keeps 41 cents of operating margin and 37 net on the sales dollar; ServiceNow is a subscription workflow platform still paying to grow, keeping 13 cents operating and 13 net. That is the mix, not the sector label, and it shows up in price: Meta trades at just 19 times trailing earnings, the cheapest in this whole batch, while ServiceNow commands 62. The market is paying about three times the multiple for the smaller, slower-margin compounder on faith in its runway. Meta earns 33 percent on equity against ServiceNow's 15 percent, though on cash conversion the order flips, ServiceNow turning 4.25 percent of its price into free cash to Meta's 3.2 percent. Meta even pays a small 0.36 percent dividend; ServiceNow keeps every dollar in the build.
Comparison updated 2026-06-15.
| Metric | META | NOW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $669.25 | $107.68 |
| Market cap | $1.72T | $112.0B |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 24.3 | 64.1 |
| P/B | 7.04 | 9.55 |
| P/S | 7.98 | 8.02 |
| EV/EBITDA | 16.0 | 40.8 |
| Revenue growth | +26.2% | +21.7% |
| Gross margin | — | 75.1% |
| Operating margin | 40.6% | 13.3% |
| Net margin | 36.9% | 12.6% |
| Return on equity | 32.6% | 15.0% |
| Return on assets | 20.1% | 7.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 23.1% | 9.9% |
| FCF yield | 2.8% | 4.1% |
| Dividend yield | 0.3% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.24 | 0.13 |
| Current ratio | 2.35 | 0.84 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.44 | 6.20 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.