Salesforce vs ServiceNow: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Salesforce reported $41.5B of revenue in FY2026 and $7.5B of net income. ServiceNow reported $13.3B of revenue in FY2026 and $1.7B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Salesforce
- Latest revenue
- $41.5B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $7.5B
- Net margin
- 18.0%
- Revenue growth
- +19.4% a year, FY2017–FY2026
ServiceNow
- Latest revenue
- $13.3B (FY2026)
- Net income
- $1.7B
- Net margin
- 13.2%
- Revenue growth
- +25.3% a year, FY2016–FY2026
Financial summary
Salesforce
Salesforce grew revenue from $8.4 billion in fiscal 2017 to $41.5 billion in fiscal 2026, helped by acquisitions such as MuleSoft, Tableau and Slack. After activist investors including Elliott and Starboard took stakes in early 2023, the company cut about 10% of staff, disbanded its board M&A committee and shifted to margins and capital returns. Fiscal 2026 brought $7.46 billion of GAAP net income, $14.4 billion of free cash flow and $14.3 billion returned to shareholders. In Q2 fiscal 2027 (ended July 31, 2026) revenue rose 11% to $11.345 billion, and full-year guidance was raised to $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion.
ServiceNow
ServiceNow grows by landing in IT and expanding into more departments. Revenue rose from $1.39 billion in 2016 to $13.278 billion in 2025, and the company has been GAAP profitable since 2019 apart from a small 2018 loss. 2025 brought $1.824 billion in GAAP operating income, $1.748 billion in net income and $4.636 billion in free cash flow. Growth sped up in 2026: Q2 2026 subscription revenue rose 24.5% to $3.877 billion, helped by the Armis deal, and management raised its full-year subscription outlook. In January 2026 the board added $5 billion to the share buyback program.
Revenue and profit by year
Salesforce
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $41.5B | $7.5B | 18.0% | +9.6% | Source |
| FY2025 | $37.9B | $6.2B | 16.4% | +8.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $34.9B | $4.1B | 11.9% | +11.2% | Source |
| FY2023 | $31.4B | $208M | 0.7% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2022 | $26.5B | $1.4B | 5.5% | +24.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $21.3B | $4.1B | 19.2% | +24.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $17.1B | $126M | 0.7% | +28.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $13.3B | $1.1B | 8.4% | +26.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $10.5B | $360M | 3.4% | +25.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $8.4B | $323M | 3.8% | — | Source |
ServiceNow
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $13.3B | $1.7B | 13.2% | +0.0% | |
| FY2025 | $13.3B | $1.7B | 13.2% | +20.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $11B | $1.4B | 13.0% | +22.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $9B | $1.7B | 19.3% | +23.8% | Source |
| FY2022 | $7.2B | $325M | 4.5% | +22.9% | Source |
| FY2021 | $5.9B | $230M | 3.9% | +30.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $4.5B | $119M | 2.6% | +30.6% | Source |
| FY2019 | $3.5B | $626.7M | 18.1% | +32.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $2.6B | -$26.7M | -1.0% | +35.0% | Source |
| FY2017 | $1.9B | -$116.8M | -6.0% | +39.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $1.4B | -$414.2M | -29.8% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Salesforce
- Sales cloud subscriptions
- Service cloud subscriptions
- Platform and data subscriptions
- Marketing and commerce subscriptions
- Analytics and integration products
- Professional services
ServiceNow
- Subscription revenue from the Now Platform (about 97% of 2025 revenue)
- Technology workflows: ITSM, ITOM, IT asset management
- Security and risk, including Armis and Veza
- Customer, CRM and industry workflows
- Employee workflows and Moveworks
- Creator workflows and App Engine
- Professional services and training
Business model and strategy
Salesforce
How it makes money
Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce. In fiscal 2026 (ended January 31, 2026), subscription and support revenue was $39.39 billion, about 95% of the $41.53 billion total; professional services added $2.14 billion.
Growth strategy
Salesforce is pushing three levers: Agentforce AI agents priced on consumption or flex credits, Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) to unify customer data, and the Informatica acquisition, closed in November 2025, to add data management and governance. It also cross-sells Slack as the interface for agents and keeps buying back stock under a $50 billion authorization announced in February 2026.
Competitive advantage
Salesforce's advantage is switching cost. Large customers build years of custom objects, workflows, integrations and AppExchange apps on the platform and train administrators on it, so replacing it means re-implementing core sales and service processes. Owning Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau and Informatica also lets Salesforce sell data, integration and collaboration around the CRM record.
ServiceNow
How it makes money
ServiceNow makes money by selling multi-year subscriptions to the Now Platform, its single cloud platform with a shared data model and CMDB. Subscription revenue was $12.883 billion of $13.278 billion in 2025 revenue, about 97%; the remainder is professional services and training.
Growth strategy
ServiceNow is growing on three fronts: selling more AI (Now Assist, AI agents, the Otto assistant and AI Control Tower), getting bigger in security and risk through Armis and Veza, and pushing CRM, customer service and industry workflows into accounts where it already runs IT.
Competitive advantage
ServiceNow's advantage comes from one codebase and one data model that spans IT, HR, customer service and security workflows. Once the CMDB and custom App Engine apps are in place, replacing the platform means rebuilding years of configuration, which supports high renewal rates. Scale also matters: 658 customers paid more than $5 million in annual contract value as of June 30, 2026.
Questions about Salesforce vs ServiceNow
Which company has higher revenue — Salesforce, Inc. or ServiceNow, Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. reported $41.5B (FY2026), while ServiceNow, Inc. reported $13.3B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Salesforce, Inc. is the larger business, with ServiceNow, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Salesforce, Inc. vs ServiceNow, Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $185.4B, while ServiceNow, Inc.'s is $134.3B. Salesforce, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to ServiceNow, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Salesforce, Inc. or ServiceNow, Inc.?
Salesforce, Inc. generates $498k / employee in revenue per employee, while ServiceNow, Inc. generates $455k / employee. Salesforce, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Salesforce, Inc. and ServiceNow, Inc. make money?
Salesforce, Inc. and ServiceNow, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Salesforce, Inc.: Salesforce sells multi-year software subscriptions, mostly priced per user per month, plus consumption pricing for Data 360 and Agentforce. ServiceNow, Inc.: ServiceNow makes money by selling multi-year subscriptions to the Now Platform, its single cloud platform with a shared data model and CMDB.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Salesforce, Inc. or ServiceNow, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Salesforce, Inc. trades at 4.5x P/S and ServiceNow, Inc. at 10.1x P/S. ServiceNow, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Salesforce, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Salesforce, Inc. bigger than ServiceNow, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Salesforce, Inc. ($41.5B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to ServiceNow, Inc. ($13.3B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Salesforce vs ServiceNow overview