ServiceNow reports Q2 earnings today with NOW stock down about 40% in 2026 on AI-disruption fears

ServiceNow — the enterprise software company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NOW — reports its second-quarter 2026 results after the market closes today, July 22. But the reason "NOW stock" is one of the day's most-searched tickers has less to do with the numbers due this afternoon than with a paradox that has hung over the stock all year: the business keeps growing about 22% a year, and the shares are still down roughly 40% in 2026.

A note on timing: because results land after the close, this is a preview. It explains why the stock has fallen, what the company has already told investors to expect, and how its finances actually look. It does not contain this afternoon's Q2 figures, which were not public when this was published.

Why is NOW stock down when the company is growing?

ServiceNow sells "workflow" software — the digital plumbing large organizations use to route IT tickets, HR requests, customer-service cases and other repetitive work. It has been one of the steadiest growth stories in software.

So the sell-off is not about the results. It is about a question the market has been asking all year: if AI agents can handle those workflows automatically, do companies still need a platform like ServiceNow to manage them? As The Motley Fool put it, "Wall Street bets AI will gut its business." That worry has pushed the shares to around a 52-week low, down about 40% in 2026 depending on the day (one tracker pegged the year-to-date drop near 38%), and well off the split-adjusted high of $211.48 reached in 2025. Those price levels move every session and are not shown here in real time.

The irony: ServiceNow is one of the biggest sellers of enterprise AI

Here is the tension in the story. The same AI wave the market fears is the one ServiceNow is trying to sell. Its Now Assist AI features are the centerpiece of its recent pitch, and in May it introduced an enterprise AI assistant called Otto at its Knowledge 2026 conference. The company says customer deals worth more than $1 million a year for Now Assist are up over 130% year over year, and it has set a goal of $1 billion in annual contract value from AI. It has also folded in the security firm Armis, which it says is adding to growth.

In other words, ServiceNow is arguing that AI is a reason to spend more on its platform, not less. The market has not yet been convinced — which is what makes today's guidance the thing to watch.

What the last report already showed

The setup is familiar. In Q1 2026, ServiceNow beat expectations across the board — revenue of about $3.8 billion, up 22%, subscription revenue of $3.67 billion, and current remaining performance obligations (a measure of contracted future revenue) of $12.64 billion, up 22.5%. It even raised its full-year subscription outlook to $15.7-$15.8 billion.

The stock fell about 17% anyway. That "beat and drop" reaction has repeated through 2026, and it is why analysts say the reaction today will hinge less on whether ServiceNow beats — it has topped estimates in each of the last four quarters — and more on whether management again raises guidance and shows AI demand is real and accelerating.

ServiceNow's Financials, Year by Year

ServiceNow's revenue and profit: a five-year financial snapshot

How ServiceNow's revenue, subscription revenue and GAAP net income have grown across fiscal years 2021-2025 — the reported context behind its Q2 2026 earnings and the stock's 2026 slide. Reported annual figures only; no live prices.

This table shows ServiceNow's historical reported financial figures for information only. It is not investment advice and does not show live stock prices, which change constantly. Verify any figure against ServiceNow's official SEC filings before acting on it.

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Fiscal year	Total revenue	Subscription revenue	Revenue YoY	GAAP net income	Note
FY2021	$5.90B	$5.57B	—	$230M	First full year above $5B in total revenue.
FY2022	$7.24B	$6.89B	+23%	$325M	Subscription revenue climbed past $6.8B.
FY2023	$8.97B	$8.68B	+24%	$1,731M	Net income was lifted by a large one-time tax benefit, not a jump in operating profit.
FY2024	$10.98B	$10.65B	+22%	$1,425M	Crossed $10B in annual revenue; net income dipped as the 2023 tax benefit did not repeat.
FY2025	$13.28B	$12.88B	+21%	$1,748M	5-for-1 stock split effective Dec 18, 2025; board added $5B to the buyback.

How this is calculated

Figures are ServiceNow's reported GAAP annual results, taken from its SEC filings (Form 10-K) and quarterly/annual earnings releases (Form 8-K). Total revenue and subscription revenue are as reported. Revenue year-over-year growth is calculated from the reported total-revenue figures and rounded to the nearest percent. GAAP net income is net income attributable to ServiceNow. Amounts are rounded — revenue and subscription revenue to two decimals in billions, net income to the nearest million.

Data as of July 21, 2026 · verified July 21, 2026 · v1

Assumptions, limitations & sources

Assumptions

• · ServiceNow's fiscal year ends December 31, so fiscal years match calendar years.
• · Year-over-year growth is computed from reported total revenue and rounded to the nearest percent.

Limitations

• · Shows full fiscal years only. The article covers the Q2 2026 quarter separately; Q2 2026 results are released after the market close on July 22, 2026 — after this table was published — and are not included here.
• · GAAP net income swings with one-time items (notably a large 2023 tax benefit) and is not the same as the non-GAAP profit ServiceNow emphasizes in its releases.
• · Stock price, market value and forward guidance change constantly and are deliberately not part of this table.

Sources

• ServiceNow, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (revenue, subscription revenue, net income for 2025, 2024, 2023) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, checked July 21, 2026
• ServiceNow Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results; Board Authorizes Additional $5B for Buyback — ServiceNow Newsroom, checked July 21, 2026
• ServiceNow Shareholders Approve 5-for-1 Stock Split (effective December 18, 2025) — ServiceNow Newsroom, checked July 21, 2026
• ServiceNow Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results (Q1 2026 revenue, cRPO, raised FY2026 guidance) — ServiceNow Investor Relations, checked July 21, 2026
• ServiceNow, Inc. Form 8-K — First Quarter 2026 earnings release exhibit — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, checked July 21, 2026

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Five years of ServiceNow's financials, in plain language

Strip away the stock chart and the underlying business has grown steadily. Revenue has more than doubled in four years, from $5.9 billion in 2021 to $13.3 billion in 2025. Subscriptions — recurring software fees — make up roughly 97% of that, which is the kind of predictable revenue investors usually prize.

Profit needs one caveat. ServiceNow's GAAP net income jumped to $1.73 billion in 2023, then fell to $1.43 billion in 2024. That was not the business going backward; 2023 was inflated by a large one-time tax benefit. Net income was $1.75 billion in 2025. The company also completed a 5-for-1 stock split in December 2025 (its first ever) and added $5 billion to its share-buyback program. The tool above lets you sort through all of it.

The questions readers are asking

Is ServiceNow actually profitable? Yes. It has been GAAP-profitable every year shown, with net income of $1.75 billion in 2025.

Did NOW stock split? Yes — a 5-for-1 split took effect December 18, 2025. Every pre-split share became five shares, and the price adjusted to about one-fifth of its prior level. A split does not change the company's total value; it just lowers the per-share price.

What is the stock price now? As of mid-July 2026 the shares were trading near a 52-week low, in the low-$80s on a split-adjusted basis, off a $211.48 split-adjusted high. That number changes constantly and is not quoted here in real time.

What are analysts expecting for Q2? Consensus points to revenue near $3.92 billion, up about 22%. ServiceNow's own guidance called for subscription revenue of about $3.82 billion, up roughly 21%.

What should I watch this afternoon? Three things: whether ServiceNow raises full-year guidance again, the growth in contracted future revenue (cRPO), and any hard numbers on Now Assist AI adoption.

Why it matters and what happens next

ServiceNow has become a bellwether for the whole "will AI help or hurt established software companies?" debate. If a company growing 20%-plus with $13 billion in revenue can be cut nearly in half on the fear of AI, the read across to the rest of enterprise software is significant — and a strong report with a guidance raise could just as easily reset that narrative.

Results are due after the close, around 2 p.m. Pacific, with a conference call to follow. This story will not be updated with the reported figures; check ServiceNow's investor-relations page for the official release.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Stock prices and market values change constantly; verify any figure against ServiceNow's official filings before acting on it.