Financial Contrast: Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) are both large-cap technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.2% of Autodesk shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of ServiceNow shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Autodesk shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of ServiceNow shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Autodesk and ServiceNow”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autodesk	$7.79 billion	5.69	$1.12 billion	$7.73	27.45
ServiceNow	$14.73 billion	9.56	$1.75 billion	$1.60	85.13

ServiceNow has higher revenue and earnings than Autodesk. Autodesk is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ServiceNow, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Autodesk and ServiceNow, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autodesk	0	6	25	1	2.84
ServiceNow	2	3	36	1	2.86

Autodesk currently has a consensus price target of $318.03, indicating a potential upside of 49.87%. ServiceNow has a consensus price target of $147.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.93%. Given Autodesk’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Autodesk is more favorable than ServiceNow.

Risk and Volatility

Autodesk has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServiceNow has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Autodesk and ServiceNow’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autodesk	21.08%	58.63%	15.10%
ServiceNow	11.34%	16.45%	7.68%

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries. It also provides Inventor tools for 3D mechanical design, simulation, analysis, tooling, visualization, and documentation; Vault, a data management software to manage data in one central location, accelerate design processes, and streamline internal/external collaboration; Maya and 3ds Max software products that offer 3D modeling, animation, effects, rendering, and compositing solutions; and ShotGrid, a cloud-based software for review and production tracking in the media and entertainment industry. It sells its products and services to customers directly, as well as through a network of resellers and distributors. Autodesk, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Inc. provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses in the North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Now platform for end-to-end digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, process mining, performance analytics, and collaboration and development tools. It also provides asset management, cloud observability, integrated risk management; information technology (IT) service management applications; IT service management product suite for enterprise's employees, customers, and partners; strategic portfolio management product suite; IT operations management product that connects a customer's physical and cloud-based IT infrastructure; IT asset management; and security operations that connects with internal and third party. In addition, the company offers integrated risk management product to manage risk and resilience; environmental, social and governance management product; human resources, legal, and workplace service delivery products; customer service management product; and field service management applications. Further, the company provides app engine product; automation engine; platform privacy and security product; and source-to-pay operations. It serves to government, financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, manufacturing, IT services, technology, oil and gas, education, and consumer products through service providers and resale partners. 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.