Sifting through countless of stocks in the Professional Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.
Read on to learn how Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.
About Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc.
Paycom Software, Inc. provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solution delivered as software-as-a-service for small to mid-sized companies in the United States. The company offers functionality and data analytics that businesses need to manage the employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement. The company’s HCM solution offers payroll applications comprising better employee transaction interface, payroll and payroll tax management, payroll card, Everyday, Paycom pay, Client Action Center, expense management, garnishment administration, and GL concierge applications; talent acquisition, including applicant tracking, background checks, on-boarding, e-verify, and tax credit services; and talent management applications that include employee self-service, compensation budgeting, performance management, position management, Paycom learning, certification management. The company also offers time and labor management, such as time and attendance, scheduling, time-off requests, and labor allocation solutions. Its HCM solution provides manager on-the-go that gives supervisors and managers the ability to perform a variety of tasks, such as approving time-off requests and expense reimbursements; direct data exchange; ask here, a tool for direct line of communication to ask work-related questions; document and checklist; government and compliance; benefits administration; COBRA administration; personnel action and performance discussion forms; Paycom surveys; retirement reporting; report center; and affordable care act applications, as well as Clue, which securely collects, tracks, and manages the vaccination and testing data of the workforce; and MyCom is a communications tool that provides organizations with a central place to share information with employees. Paycom Software, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
ServiceNow, Inc. provides cloud-based solution for digital workflows in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides asset management, integrated risk management, IT service management, Operational Technology management, Security Operations, strategic portfolio management, IT operations management products; customer service management product; field service management applications; and sales and order management services. It also offers human resources delivery; legal and contract operations; workplace service delivery products; app engine product; automation engine; platform privacy and security product; and source-to-pay operations. In addition, the company provides RaptorDB, a database built to manage workloads at scale; ServiceNow Impact that provides customers with software tools, guided plans, and AI-driven recommendations; customer support; and workflow data fabric. It serves government, financial services, healthcare and life science, manufacturing, Public Sector, retail, technology, and Telecom sectors through service providers and resale partners. The company has a strategic collaboration with Cohesity, Inc. to develop, operate, and safeguard autonomous AI agents and data with enterprise-grade reliability. The company was formerly known as Service-now.com and changed its name to ServiceNow, Inc. in May 2012. ServiceNow, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Latest Professional Services and Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow, Inc. Stock News
As of June 1, 2026, Paycom Software, Inc. had a $6.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Professional Services median of $1.1 million. Paycom Software, Inc.’s stock is down 6.8% in 2026, up 7.8% in the previous five trading days and down 41.89% in the past year.
Currently, Paycom Software, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 17.4. Paycom Software, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.1 billion with a 22.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.920 per share for the current fiscal year. Paycom Software, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.
As of June 1, 2026, ServiceNow, Inc. had a $140.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 98th percentile of all stocks. ServiceNow, Inc.’s stock is down 11.3% in 2026, up 33% in the previous five trading days and down 33.09% in the past year.
Currently, ServiceNow, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 80.9. ServiceNow, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.0 billion with a 12.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 22.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.123 per share for the current fiscal year. ServiceNow, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.
How We Compare Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. Stock Grades
Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.
AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.
Learn more about A+ Investor here!
Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions
Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. Growth Grades
| Company | Ticker | Growth |
| Paycom Software, Inc. | PAYC | B |
| ServiceNow, Inc. | NOW | B |
The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.
In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.
The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.
Paycom Software, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.
ServiceNow, Inc. has a Growth Score of 69, which is Strong.
The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!
Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.
Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc.’s Quality Grades
| Company | Ticker | Quality |
| Paycom Software, Inc. | PAYC | A |
| ServiceNow, Inc. | NOW | A |
Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.
The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.
The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.
Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.
Paycom Software, Inc. has a Quality Score of 91, which is Very Strong.
ServiceNow, Inc. has a Quality Score of 87, which is Very Strong.
The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!
Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.
Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades
| Company | Ticker | Earnings Estimate |
| Paycom Software, Inc. | PAYC | C |
| ServiceNow, Inc. | NOW | C |
Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).
Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.
Paycom Software, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 56, which is Neutral.
ServiceNow, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 43, which is Neutral.
The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.
Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions
Other Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. Grades
In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.
Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.
Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.
These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.
So, Which Is the Better Investment, Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow or Inc. Stock?
Overall, Paycom Software, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Estimate Revisions Score of 56 and Quality Score of 91.
ServiceNow, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 69, Estimate Revisions Score of 43 and Quality Score of 87.
Comparing Paycom Software, Inc., ServiceNow and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.
Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.
A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.
AAII Disclaimer
We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.
Included With AAII Platinum
at only 6.9%
Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)
SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.
FREE REPORT
BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2
Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.