Analyzing ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) and Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV)

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) and Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.2% of ServiceNow shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of ServiceNow shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Serve Robotics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ServiceNow and Serve Robotics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ServiceNow	13.66%	18.74%	9.23%
Serve Robotics	-4,121.58%	-38.52%	-36.89%

Volatility and Risk

ServiceNow has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Serve Robotics has a beta of -0.14, indicating that its share price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ServiceNow and Serve Robotics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ServiceNow	$10.98 billion	15.87	$1.43 billion	$8.27	101.37
Serve Robotics	$1.81 million	534.94	-$39.19 million	($1.49)	-8.72

ServiceNow has higher revenue and earnings than Serve Robotics. Serve Robotics 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 summary of current ratings and price targets for ServiceNow and Serve Robotics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ServiceNow	1	5	31	1	2.84
Serve Robotics	1	1	4	0	2.50

ServiceNow currently has a consensus target price of $229.93, indicating a potential downside of 72.57%. Serve Robotics has a consensus target price of $19.33, indicating a potential upside of 48.72%. Given Serve Robotics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Serve Robotics is more favorable than ServiceNow.

Summary

ServiceNow beats Serve Robotics on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Serve Robotics

Serve Robotics Inc. designs, develops, and operates low-emission robots that serve people in public spaces with food delivery in the United States. It builds self-driving delivery robots. The company was formerly known as Patricia Acquisition Corp. and changed its name to Serve Robotics Inc. in July 2023. Serve Robotics Inc. was founded in 2017 and is based in Redwood City, California.