ServiceNow Beats Earnings Expectations, Yet Stock Still Falls 19% After Hours
In the September quarter, ServiceNow's revenue grew 20.5% year over year to $4.106 billion, exceeding its own quarterly target, but the stock still fell 19% after hours as the market worried that AI agents are eroding its per-seat SaaS business. Signed revenue for the next 12 months grew 20.5% year over year to $13.65 billion, and the company expects that growth rate to slow to 18.5% this quarter, while total revenue guidance is about $4.25 billion, up about 23%. AI transaction volume grew 80% year over year, and the 2026 AI annual contract value target was raised from $1 billion in January to $1.7 billion, but it remains small compared with the expected subscription revenue of about $15.77 billion in 2026.
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ServiceNow beat earnings expectations but its stock plunged after hours on concerns that AI agents are eroding its per-seat pricing model; readers can see concrete data on the pressure facing the SaaS business model.
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SaaSpocalypse fears sent ServiceNow shares down 19% after hours, even though it beat its own quarterly targets.
Revenue rose 20.5% to $4.106B in the September quarter, down from 24% growth the quarter before.
The sharper worry is current remaining performance obligations, revenue already contracted for the next 12 months, which grew 20.5% to $13.65B.
ServiceNow expects that growth to slow to 18.5% this quarter, even while guiding total revenue to about $4.25B, roughly 23% higher.
AI looks healthier on paper: AI deal volume rose 80% year over year, and the 2026 AI annual contract value target climbed to $1.7B from $1B in January.
Even so, $1.7B is small beside roughly $15.77B of expected 2026 subscription revenue, the seat-based business investors fear AI agents could erode.
ServiceNow now has to show AI revenue growing faster than its contracted revenue slows, and next quarter’s current remaining performance obligations will test exactly that.