# How ServiceNow (NOW) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/now
> Data as of October 22, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on NOW alone. It places NOW (ServiceNow, Inc.) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where NOW stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: NOW's full trading record, from June 2012 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, NOW rose 64.5% against 2.5% for the S&P 500. On the flip side, NOW is 32.9% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.9% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** NOW's 64.5% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the enterprise software ETF IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF) rose 22.1%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. NOW rose 14.6% last month as the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 5.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** NOW has gone against the market, falling 16.1% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.6%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (45.0% against 88.4%). A ahead of 94% of stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years, but behind 55% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 3 years.
- **Long term:** NOW turned $10,000 into $96,900 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. That said, over 5 years NOW trailed the index: 14.3% against 80.3%.
- **In a crash:** NOW fell harder than the S&P 500 in three of four sell-offs. The Covid crash was the exception: NOW fell 28.8%, less than the S&P 500's 33.7%.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years, NOW's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.97: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.1 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 79% as much. Against the S&P 500, NOW has a correlation of 0.38 over 5 years, less closely than 53% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** MSFT (Microsoft), IBM (International Business Machines) and BOX earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 11.9% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** BUG (Global X - Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) and CDNS (Cadence Design Systems, software) earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. BUG returned 8.0% a year at 30.5% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%.
  - **Whole market:** 1,681 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Alphabet) and MSFT (Microsoft).

## How much would $10,000 in NOW have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in NOW over the past 14 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of NOW over the same span and NOW's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in NOW at the end of September 2012 would have grown to $173,131 by September 2026, more than the $67,346 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of NOW, and PANW finished highest, at $387,235.

## NOW at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- NOW is still 32.9% below its all-time high.
- NOW's deepest decline since it began trading in 2012 was 64.5%, from January 2025 to April 2026. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.
- Over 13 full calendar years, NOW's best was 2020, when it returned 95.0%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 40.2%. It lost money in three of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Application)
- Trading since: June 29, 2012
- Market value: $162B
- Volatility (5 years): 45.6%; Sharpe ratio: 0.29
- Worst decline ever: −64.5%, from January 28, 2025 to April 10, 2026; not yet back at its high

| Period | NOW total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +14.6% |
| 3 months | +64.5% |
| 6 months | +52.3% |
| year to date | +6.5% |
| 1 year | −16.1% |
| 3 years | +45.0% |
| 5 years | +14.3% |
| 10 years | +869% |

## NOW against the whole market

Where NOW ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does NOW rank among all stocks?

This section ranks NOW on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- NOW's 10-year return ranks in the top 6% of the 2,201 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.
- NOW's 1-year return ranks in the bottom 22% of the 3,282 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | NOW | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −16.1% | 2,572 of 3,282 (top 79%) |
| 3-year return | +45.0% | 1,655 of 3,016 (top 55%) |
| 5-year return | +14.3% | 1,545 of 2,897 (top 54%) |
| 10-year return | +869% | 132 of 2,201 (top 6%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 45.6% | 1,730 of 2,897 (top 60%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.29 | 1,614 of 2,897 (top 56%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −64.5% | 1,069 of 2,184 (top 49%) |

### What has beaten NOW on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 947 stocks and 734 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than NOW over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 46% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half NOW's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 46% less than NOW's 45.6%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.29 for NOW. ATI earned the most, 58.9% a year, while still swinging less than NOW (43.2% against 45.6%).
- Among NOW's popular alternatives, IBM, SAP and MSFT are in the region. IBM earned 20.1% a year against 2.7% a year for NOW, at 30.2% volatility, 34% less than NOW's 45.6%.

### Is there a better investment than NOW?

The table below lists investments that beat NOW over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among NOW's popular alternatives, MSFT, IBM and BOX earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 11.9% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BUG (cybersecurity) and CDNS (software) earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. BUG returned 8.0% a year at 30.5% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%.
- Across the whole market, 1,681 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, GOOG and MSFT.

The 15 strongest of 1,681 investments that beat NOW over the past 5 years, out of 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with NOW | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NOW: ServiceNow, Inc. (this page) |  | +2.7% | 45.6% | 0.29 | −64.5% | +869% |  |  |
| INSW: International Seaways, Inc. | Oil & Gas | +58.7% | 40.6% | 1.35 | −57.4% | — | -0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.2% | 32.8% | 1.22 | −34.5% | +1,870% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [HPE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Computer Hardware | +32.8% | 42.3% | 0.89 | −56.9% | +481% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [NTAP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntap): NetApp, Inc. | Computer Hardware | +20.6% | 35.3% | 0.71 | −58.1% | +696% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| HALO: Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | +26.2% | 40.4% | 0.78 | −49.1% | +1,255% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil Refining | +50.0% | 33.4% | 1.39 | −79.7% | +1,314% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [SGOV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sgov): iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | Treasury Bills | +3.8% | 0.3% | 13.25 | −0.3% | — | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| HURN: Huron Consulting Group Inc. | Consulting Services | +31.3% | 40.8% | 0.87 | −51.4% | +238% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| JAAA: Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | AAA CLO Debt | +5.1% | 1.7% | 2.98 | −2.6% | — | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +19.1% | 28.0% | 0.77 | −38.5% | +1,194% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GOOG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | Internet Services | +18.5% | 32.0% | 0.69 | −44.6% | +696% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| BUG: Global X - Cybersecurity ETF | Cybersecurity | +8.0% | 30.5% | 0.41 | −41.7% | — | 0.71 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TSM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | Semiconductors | +31.0% | 38.6% | 0.90 | −56.6% | +1,440% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## NOW against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against NOW, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do NOW's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Five of the 25 popular alternatives, led by IBM, SAP and MSFT, were both more rewarding and calmer than NOW over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, NOW returned 2.7% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (45.6% against 17.2%).

### Has NOW consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares NOW with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Two of the 25 popular alternatives, BOX and DDOG, outperformed NOW in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- IBM, SAP and MSFT earned more for the risk they took than NOW (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of NOW | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NOW: ServiceNow, Inc. (this page) | −16.1% | +45.0% | +14.3% | +869% |  |  | 0.29 |
| BOX: Box, Inc. | +27.7% | +78.3% | +63.5% | +181% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.46 |
| [DDOG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ddog): Datadog, Inc. | +67.1% | +201% | +58.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.45 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +0.9% | +61.9% | +75.6% | +862% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [SAP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sap): SAP SE | −11.8% | +88.3% | +83.7% | +217% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| [IBM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | −10.0% | +103% | +150% | +163% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| DOCU: DocuSign, Inc. | +19.6% | +111% | −69.3% | — | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.09 |
| [SNOW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/snow): Snowflake Inc. | +29.9% | +111% | −7.6% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [ORCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −53.4% | +25.4% | +36.7% | +281% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | −43.8% | +90.5% | −42.2% | +142% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.05 |
| [TEAM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | +32.9% | +20.0% | −47.3% | +663% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| APPN: Appian Corporation | +67.4% | +25.8% | −46.2% | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| GTLB: GitLab Inc. | +13.4% | +22.8% | −54.6% | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| [ACN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/acn): Accenture plc | +7.5% | −5.8% | −19.2% | +167% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | +53.3% | −40.2% | −78.3% | +137% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.24 |
| CTSH: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation | +10.3% | +19.7% | +1.7% | +67.8% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| ASAN: Asana, Inc. | −19.7% | −37.7% | −91.4% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.23 |
| DT: Dynatrace, Inc. | +27.9% | +36.6% | −19.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| [WDAY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | −13.5% | +0.2% | −25.2% | +137% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | −43.1% | −38.0% | −67.2% | +400% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.10 |
| [INTU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | −46.3% | −27.7% | −37.5% | +251% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| [CRM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −1.6% | +26.3% | −12.8% | +240% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.13 |
| [INFY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/infy): Infosys Limited | −21.5% | −13.4% | −34.0% | +116% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.13 |
| MNDY: monday.com Ltd. | −44.0% | −22.4% | −71.8% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| PATH: UiPath Inc. | −7.3% | −10.4% | −72.6% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |
| [ADBE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −23.6% | −49.9% | −58.0% | +144% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.26 |

### How did NOW do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2013, along with where NOW ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, NOW finished in the top quarter in eight of 13 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 20 of 26.
- NOW finished ahead of the S&P 500 in nine of its 13 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, HUBS came out ahead of NOW most often, in six of the 11 years both traded.

| Year | NOW | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −27.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +50.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +82.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −40.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +17.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +95.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +58.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +36.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +75.4% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −14.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How NOW has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were NOW's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of NOW's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: NOW fell 64.5% from January 2025 to April 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 14.0%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 14 months, after NOW fell 51.3% from November 2021 to October 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −64.5% | January 28, 2025 | April 10, 2026 | not yet | +14.0% |  |
| −51.3% | November 4, 2021 | October 14, 2022 | December 11, 2023 | −22.3% | 2022 bear market |
| −47.6% | December 4, 2015 | February 8, 2016 | January 27, 2017 | −11.0% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −35.4% | September 24, 2012 | January 14, 2013 | April 25, 2013 | +1.6% |  |
| −34.5% | March 4, 2014 | April 28, 2014 | January 29, 2015 | +0.1% |  |

### How did NOW do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far NOW, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- NOW fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the six crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when NOW fell 47.6% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, MSFT held up best, falling less than NOW in all six crashes they both traded through.
- NOW began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but 11 of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was PEGA's 32.6%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | NOW fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −47.6% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −8.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −28.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −39.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −7.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does NOW move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- None of the 16 popular alternatives with the same record had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than NOW's 1.45.
- Over the past 10 years, NOW captured 114% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 79% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.97. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NOW: ServiceNow, Inc. (this page) | 114% | 79.0% | 0.97 |
| BOX: Box, Inc. | 98.0% | 141% | 1.01 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [SAP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sap): SAP SE | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| [IBM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | 89.0% | 121% | 0.95 |
| [ORCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | 87.0% | 113% | 1.05 |
| [TEAM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | 130% | 132% | 1.03 |
| [ACN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/acn): Accenture plc | 117% | 186% | 1.12 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | 85.0% | 114% | 1.05 |
| CTSH: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation | 89.0% | 152% | 0.99 |
| [WDAY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | 96.0% | 139% | 1.19 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | 121% | 149% | 1.46 |
| [INTU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | 99.0% | 126% | 1.03 |
| [CRM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [INFY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/infy): Infosys Limited | 85.0% | 126% | 0.90 |
| [ADBE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |

### What diversifies NOW?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in NOW into XLE would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+1.5% for NOW alone, +7.4% for the mix).
- XLE made money in three of the three calendar years in which NOW lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of NOW over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.15 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with NOW | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in NOW's 3 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | -0.02 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 3 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.15 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 3 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | -0.01 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 3 of 3 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.03 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 3 of 3 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.17 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 2 of 3 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.20 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 2 of 3 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | -0.08 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 3 of 3 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.11 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 2 of 3 |

## Common questions

### What was NOW's worst drawdown?

NOW's deepest decline since it began trading in 2012 was 64.5%, from January 2025 to April 2026. It has not yet climbed back to that peak. Because NOW launched in June 2012, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or two other sell-offs.

### What were NOW's best and worst years?

Over 13 full calendar years, NOW's best year was 2020, when it returned 95.0%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -40.2%.

### Is there a better investment than NOW?

Among NOW's popular alternatives, MSFT, IBM and BOX earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 11.9% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BUG (cybersecurity) and CDNS (software) earned more than NOW with less volatility over the past 5 years. BUG returned 8.0% a year at 30.5% volatility, against 2.7% a year at 45.6%.

### Is NOW more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. NOW's volatility over the past 5 years was 45.6%, 2.7 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, NOW's return lands within 45.6% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is NOW's Sharpe ratio?

NOW's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.29, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so NOW earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is NOW with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, NOW's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.38 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are only loosely linked, which makes it a real diversifier next to an index fund. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against NOW instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a NOW holding.

### What are the best alternatives to NOW?

Of the 25 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed NOW in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: BOX and DDOG.

### Did NOW outperform the S&P 500?

NOW finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of 13 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -27.7%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did NOW do in stock market crashes?

NOW fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the six major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when NOW fell 47.6% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies NOW?

These had a low correlation with NOW over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation -0.02), DXJ (correlation 0.15) and EMLP (correlation -0.01); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.05), CLS (correlation 0.11) and MCK (correlation 0.08). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Datadog (DDOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ddog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft)
- [SAP Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sap)
- [International Business Machines (IBM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ibm)
- [Snowflake (SNOW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/snow)
- [Oracle (ORCL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/orcl)
- [Atlassian (TEAM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/team)
- [Accenture (ACN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/acn)
- [Workday (WDAY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wday)
- [Intuit (INTU) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/intu)
- [Salesforce (CRM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/crm)
- [Infosys (INFY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/infy)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://betterthanspy.com/research/now
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against NOW live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=NOW