TLDR
- ServiceNow stock has fallen 34% year-to-date and is on pace for its seventh straight monthly decline.
- Q1 2026 earnings drop after market close today; analysts expect $0.97 EPS and $3.75B in revenue.
- Now Assist annual contract value more than doubled year-over-year in Q4, with 35 deals over $1M.
- TD Cowen expects a “solid beat and raise” but cut its price target 24% to $140.
- 30 of 35 analysts rate NOW a Buy, with a consensus price target of $165.69 — implying 65%+ upside.
ServiceNow heads into its Q1 2026 earnings report carrying a heavy load. The stock is down 34% this year, battered by the broader sell-off in software as Wall Street wrestles with what AI means for the sector long-term.
The company reports after the closing bell today. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of $0.97 per share — up 20% year-over-year following December’s 5-for-1 stock split — on revenue of $3.75 billion, roughly 21% growth from a year ago.
If those numbers hold, it would mark another quarter of solid execution. The question is whether that’s enough anymore.
The broader software sector has been hammered in 2026. The so-called “death of SaaS” narrative — the idea that AI-native tools will eat into traditional software revenue — has wiped nearly $2 trillion from the sector since early February.
ServiceNow sits right in the crosshairs of that debate. As a workflow automation and enterprise AI platform, it’s both threatened by the trend and positioned to benefit from it.
Now Assist: The Number That Matters Most
Beyond the headline revenue and earnings figures, Wall Street’s real focus is Now Assist, ServiceNow’s generative AI suite built on its AI Platform.
In Q4, the company reported that Now Assist’s annual contract value more than doubled year-over-year. CEO Bill McDermott pointed to 35 deals exceeding $1 million in Q4 alone during the last earnings call.
Any slowdown in that growth trajectory tonight would likely send the stock lower. Any acceleration could be the catalyst it needs.
The stock is also on pace for its seventh consecutive monthly decline — which would be its longest losing streak on record, per Dow Jones Market Data. That’s a tough streak to end.
Analysts Stay Bullish, But Cut Targets
Despite the selloff, analyst conviction hasn’t cracked. TD Cowen’s Derrick Wood reaffirmed his Buy rating last week after checking in with industry contacts, calling for “a solid beat and raise.” He did cut his price target by 24%, from $185 to $140, but still sees roughly 40% upside from current levels.
Truist’s Miller Jump also kept his Buy rating while trimming his target from $175 to $125 — a 29% cut — citing around 25% upside. Jump noted that many enterprise clients still view ServiceNow as a core partner in their AI integration work, not a casualty of it.
He also flagged vendor consolidation as a potential tailwind. As companies cut down on the number of software vendors they work with, larger, deeply embedded platforms like ServiceNow tend to benefit.
Across the Street, 30 of 35 analysts rate NOW a Buy, with just four Holds and one Sell. The average price target sits at $165.69 — implying more than 65% upside from where the stock currently trades.
The company reports earnings after the market close today.
🚨 Our April Stock Picks Are Live!
A new month means new opportunities. Our analysts have just released their top stock picks for April, highlighting companies with strong momentum that rank highly on our KO Score algorithm. We’re also now sharing trade ideas for both long-term and short-term investors, giving you more ways to spot potential opportunities in the market.
Sign up to Knockout Stocks today and get 50% off to unlock the full list and see which stocks made the cut.
Use coupon code Special50 for your exclusive discount!
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
