ServiceNow Earnings Buzz

ServiceNow beat Wall Street’s first-quarter estimates on April 22, then warned that delayed Middle East deals were still clouding the outlook and sent the stock sharply lower after hours. (investor.servicenow.com) (cnbc.com) The company reported $3.77 billion in revenue, up 22% from a year earlier, and adjusted earnings of 97 cents a share, ahead of LSEG’s 96-cent estimate. Subscription revenue came in at $3.671 billion, while net income was $469 million, or 45 cents a share. (investor.servicenow.com) (cnbc.com) ServiceNow said first-quarter subscription growth took an approximately 75-basis-point hit from delayed closings of several large on-premises deals in the Middle East. Reuters reported the company’s shares fell about 12% in extended trading after that disclosure, while CNBC reported a roughly 14% drop. (cnbc.com) (reuters.com) The guidance fight started there: ServiceNow raised its full-year 2026 subscription-revenue outlook to $15.74 billion to $15.78 billion from $15.53 billion to $15.57 billion, but Chief Financial Officer Gina Mastantuono said that forecast still includes added caution about geopolitics. (investor.servicenow.com) (cnbc.com) That left investors weighing two facts at once: the company raised the year outlook by $205 million at the midpoint, and management still described the forecast as “prudent” because deal timing in the region remains uncertain. (fool.com) (cnbc.com) The underlying business metrics were stronger than the stock reaction suggested. Current remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted revenue expected within 12 months, reached $12.64 billion, up 22.5% year over year, and total remaining performance obligations rose to $27.7 billion. (investor.servicenow.com) (fool.com) ServiceNow also pointed to large-deal momentum and artificial-intelligence adoption. The company closed 16 transactions worth more than $5 million in net new annual contract value, and customers spending more than $1 million on Now Assist grew more than 130% from a year earlier. (investor.servicenow.com) (fool.com) Management tied part of the new outlook to acquisitions as well. On the earnings call, ServiceNow said the raised 2026 subscription-revenue guide includes a roughly 125-basis-point contribution from Armis, the security company whose acquisition closed earlier than expected. (fool.com) (investor.servicenow.com) The quarter landed after a rough start to the year for the stock. CNBC reported ServiceNow shares were already down about 30% in 2026 before the earnings release, which helps explain why even a beat-and-raise quarter still turned into a debate over durability and not just headline growth. (cnbc.com) The next test is whether those delayed deals close in later quarters and whether AI demand keeps offsetting the caution embedded in guidance. For now, ServiceNow delivered better numbers, raised the full-year view, and still gave investors a reason to argue about what comes next. (investor.servicenow.com) (cnbc.com)