The stock market ended modestly higher on Thursday, supported by improving investor sentiment after hopes of a potential U.S.–Iran diplomatic agreement led to a decline in oil prices.
Overall, S&P 500 was up 0.2% to 7,456, while NASDAQ rose 0.1% to 26,293.
Chart of the Day
Here is the one-year chart ServiceNow (NOW) as of April 25, 2026, when the stock was at $90.
ServiceNow is starting to show signs of pressure despite strong headline numbers. During the past four quarters, profit growth has slowed from 31% to 30%, 25% and now 20%. Profit estimates for next quarter just got cut from 16% to just 8%.
In last quarter’s earnings call, management stated that some large deals were delayed, including on-premise deals in the Middle East. In addition, revenue growth has partly relied on acquisitions like Armis and MoveWorks rather than purely organic demand. This did not sit well with analysts, who are expecting accelerating revenue growth.
NOW management is investing in AI agents, but that is still not pleasing investors, as the stock fell from $103 to $90 after earnings. This is a bad environment for software stocks, which continue to get their valuations crushed.
During the past five quarters, NOW’s P/E has fallen from 62 to 53, 40, 26, and now 22.
NOW is a core holding in the Growth Portfolio. ServiceNow is utilizing AI to capture business.
