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ServiceNow (NOW) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

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ServiceNow (NOW - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $921.75, moving +0.5% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.4%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.63%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of software that automates companies' technology operations had lost 0.23% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.88% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.76% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of ServiceNow in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on October 23, 2024. In that report, analysts expect ServiceNow to post earnings of $3.46 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 18.49%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.74 billion, up 19.78% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $13.75 per share and a revenue of $10.9 billion, indicating changes of +27.55% and +21.51%, respectively, from the former year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for ServiceNow. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. ServiceNow is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note ServiceNow's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 66.7. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 29.65 of its industry.

Meanwhile, NOW's PEG ratio is currently 2.71. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Computers - IT Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.88 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, positioning it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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