Market Recovers but Growth Stocks Struggle
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 04 2026
0mins
Source: Fool
- ServiceNow Performance Review: Despite achieving a 20% revenue growth in 2022 and a 19% growth in Q1 2023, ServiceNow's stock has plummeted over 50% from its July peak, reflecting an overreaction from the market towards AI stocks, resulting in a three-year low market cap.
- Roblox Growth Slowdown: The recently implemented age verification measures have led Roblox to revise its 2023 revenue growth forecast down from 23%-29% to 20%-25%, even though last quarter's revenue reached $1.4 billion, a 39% increase, indicating short-term market pressures.
- Boston Scientific Outlook Adjustment: Boston Scientific's Watchman implant showed promising results in trials, but the unclear long-term benefits have caused a reduction in its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 10%-11% to 6.5%-8%, although analysts remain optimistic, viewing the current stock price as a buying opportunity.
- Market Sentiment Analysis: Following a strong rebound in April, the overall market has seen certain growth stocks suffer due to fluctuating market sentiment, prompting investors to carefully assess the long-term value versus short-term volatility of these stocks.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy NOW?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on NOW
Wall Street analysts forecast NOW stock price to rise
32 Analyst Rating
30 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 108.730
Low
172.00
Averages
222.81
High
263.00
Current: 108.730
Low
172.00
Averages
222.81
High
263.00
About NOW
ServiceNow, Inc. provides an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for business transformation. The Company’s AI platform connects people, processes, data, and devices to increase productivity and maximize business outcomes. Its intelligent platform, the Now Platform, is a cloud-based solution that helps enterprises and organizations across public and private sectors digitize workflows. The workflow applications built on the Now Platform are organized into four primary areas: Technology, CRM and Industry, Core Business and Creator. Its products include IT Service Management, IT Operations Management, HR Service Delivery, ServiceNow AI Agents, AI Experience, Build Agent, ServiceNow AI Control Tower, AI Agent Fabric, RaptorDB, Workflow Data Fabric, Workplace Service Delivery, ServiceNow Platform Encryption, Telecommunications Service Operations Management, and others. The Company also offers identity security, helping organizations secure access across the enterprise.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Impact Analysis of AI on SaaS Companies
- Stock Price Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven world, which may weaken investor confidence and future funding capabilities.
- Threat of AI Technology: The rise of agentic AI poses a risk of obsolescence for traditional SaaS companies, particularly those reliant on outdated technologies, as increased efficiency could lead to reduced customer demand, impacting revenue stability.
- Platform Advantages: ServiceNow's Control Tower and Palantir's AI platform provide clients with unified AI management solutions, enhancing customer dependency on their platforms; despite a challenging market environment, both companies demonstrate strong growth potential.
- Valuation Pressure: Although ServiceNow and Palantir are high-growth and profitable companies, their price-to-earnings ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, limit investor buying interest, indicating that investment risks remain under current market conditions.
See More
The Reality of AI Threatening SaaS Companies
- SaaS Stock Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir Technologies have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven landscape, leading to diminished investor confidence and impacting company valuations.
- Rise of Agentic AI: Agentic AI renders many functions of SaaS software redundant, allowing clients to automate data analysis and marketing campaigns, thereby reducing demand for traditional SaaS subscriptions and affecting long-term revenue models.
- Transformation Challenges: Although ServiceNow and Palantir have made strides in AI, their legacy business models face challenges, particularly as older technology SaaS companies may lose market share during the transition, impacting their competitive edge.
- Valuation Risks: Despite demonstrating strong growth potential, ServiceNow and Palantir trade at trailing P/E ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, indicating that even at lower price points, investors should carefully assess their future investment return potential.
See More
US Stock Indices Reach All-Time Highs Amid Positive Economic Signals
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose by 0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.72%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.36%, with all three indices reaching new all-time highs, reflecting market confidence in economic recovery.
- Tech Stocks Lead Gains: Dell Technologies surged 32% after reporting Q1 total revenue of $43.84 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $35.52 billion, and raised its 2027 revenue forecast to between $165 billion and $169 billion, indicating strong market demand and growth potential.
- Positive Economic Data: The May Chicago PMI rose by 13.5 to 62.7, far surpassing expectations of 50.3, marking the fastest expansion pace in 4.25 years, which further bolstered market confidence in stocks.
- Oil Price Decline Benefits Stocks: Crude oil prices fell over 1% to a five-week low due to a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran, easing inflation concerns and supporting the upward trend in the stock market.
See More
S&P 500 Rallies on AI Strength; Dell Soars 33%
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose 0.22% to 7,580.06, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.20% to 26,972.62, reflecting strong market confidence in AI and a positive response to cooler oil prices.
- Dell's Earnings Surprise: Dell Technologies soared nearly 33% after exceeding analyst expectations and raising its full-year guidance, driven by robust demand for AI servers, which further solidifies its market position.
- Software Stocks Rebound: ServiceNow jumped about 14% and Datadog surged 10%, indicating a renewed enthusiasm for software as AI demand broadens beyond a few mega-caps, potentially opening new growth avenues for the entire ecosystem.
- Investor Focus on Future: Despite the S&P 500's ninth consecutive week of gains, investors remain cautious, closely monitoring inflation, job data, and consumer sentiment to assess the sustainability of the rally amid elevated oil prices and revised GDP estimates.
See More
Dell Technologies Soars on Record Earnings, Boosting Market Confidence
- Dell's Earnings Surge: Dell Technologies' stock soared nearly 33% today after reporting blowout earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, raising its full-year guidance due to massive demand for AI servers, highlighting the company's strong position in AI infrastructure.
- Market Rally Continues: The S&P 500 posted its ninth consecutive week of gains, increasing over 6% in May despite rising energy and shipping costs, as hopes for a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and Dell's strong performance bolstered investor confidence.
- Software Stocks Rebound: ServiceNow jumped about 14% and Datadog surged 10%, reflecting a resurgence in software stocks driven by renewed AI demand, indicating that the AI ecosystem is gaining traction beyond just a few mega-cap companies.
- Consumer Confidence Watch: Despite Costco's solid Q3 earnings, consumer defensive stocks declined, prompting investors to closely monitor inflation, job data, and consumer sentiment as they assess the potential for further market rallies heading into June.
See More
Software Stocks Rally as Snowflake and Okta Report Strong Results
- Snowflake's Strong Performance: Snowflake saw a nearly 50% increase over four trading days following the holiday, announcing a $6 billion cloud and chip deal with Amazon, which reflects a surge in customer demand for AI tools and boosts the company's earnings guidance.
- Investor Confidence in Okta: Okta achieved a record 30% gain on Friday, with better-than-expected results indicating that businesses are ramping up investments in identity security tools to combat the rising threat of bot attacks as they transition to agentic AI.
- ETF Performance Surge: The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF rose 8% this week and is up 21% for May, marking its best monthly performance since October 2001, signaling a gradual recovery of market confidence in the software sector.
- Overall Industry Recovery: Companies like Atlassian and ServiceNow saw increases of 26% and over 20%, respectively, indicating a clear recovery trend in the software industry driven by partnerships with AI, despite Microsoft still being down nearly 7% year-to-date.
See More
Impact Analysis of AI on SaaS Companies
- Stock Price Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven world, which may weaken investor confidence and future funding capabilities.
- Threat of AI Technology: The rise of agentic AI poses a risk of obsolescence for traditional SaaS companies, particularly those reliant on outdated technologies, as increased efficiency could lead to reduced customer demand, impacting revenue stability.
- Platform Advantages: ServiceNow's Control Tower and Palantir's AI platform provide clients with unified AI management solutions, enhancing customer dependency on their platforms; despite a challenging market environment, both companies demonstrate strong growth potential.
- Valuation Pressure: Although ServiceNow and Palantir are high-growth and profitable companies, their price-to-earnings ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, limit investor buying interest, indicating that investment risks remain under current market conditions.
See More
The Reality of AI Threatening SaaS Companies
- SaaS Stock Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir Technologies have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven landscape, leading to diminished investor confidence and impacting company valuations.
- Rise of Agentic AI: Agentic AI renders many functions of SaaS software redundant, allowing clients to automate data analysis and marketing campaigns, thereby reducing demand for traditional SaaS subscriptions and affecting long-term revenue models.
- Transformation Challenges: Although ServiceNow and Palantir have made strides in AI, their legacy business models face challenges, particularly as older technology SaaS companies may lose market share during the transition, impacting their competitive edge.
- Valuation Risks: Despite demonstrating strong growth potential, ServiceNow and Palantir trade at trailing P/E ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, indicating that even at lower price points, investors should carefully assess their future investment return potential.
See More
US Stock Indices Reach All-Time Highs Amid Positive Economic Signals
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose by 0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.72%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.36%, with all three indices reaching new all-time highs, reflecting market confidence in economic recovery.
- Tech Stocks Lead Gains: Dell Technologies surged 32% after reporting Q1 total revenue of $43.84 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $35.52 billion, and raised its 2027 revenue forecast to between $165 billion and $169 billion, indicating strong market demand and growth potential.
- Positive Economic Data: The May Chicago PMI rose by 13.5 to 62.7, far surpassing expectations of 50.3, marking the fastest expansion pace in 4.25 years, which further bolstered market confidence in stocks.
- Oil Price Decline Benefits Stocks: Crude oil prices fell over 1% to a five-week low due to a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran, easing inflation concerns and supporting the upward trend in the stock market.
See More
S&P 500 Rallies on AI Strength; Dell Soars 33%
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose 0.22% to 7,580.06, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.20% to 26,972.62, reflecting strong market confidence in AI and a positive response to cooler oil prices.
- Dell's Earnings Surprise: Dell Technologies soared nearly 33% after exceeding analyst expectations and raising its full-year guidance, driven by robust demand for AI servers, which further solidifies its market position.
- Software Stocks Rebound: ServiceNow jumped about 14% and Datadog surged 10%, indicating a renewed enthusiasm for software as AI demand broadens beyond a few mega-caps, potentially opening new growth avenues for the entire ecosystem.
- Investor Focus on Future: Despite the S&P 500's ninth consecutive week of gains, investors remain cautious, closely monitoring inflation, job data, and consumer sentiment to assess the sustainability of the rally amid elevated oil prices and revised GDP estimates.
See More
Dell Technologies Soars on Record Earnings, Boosting Market Confidence
- Dell's Earnings Surge: Dell Technologies' stock soared nearly 33% today after reporting blowout earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, raising its full-year guidance due to massive demand for AI servers, highlighting the company's strong position in AI infrastructure.
- Market Rally Continues: The S&P 500 posted its ninth consecutive week of gains, increasing over 6% in May despite rising energy and shipping costs, as hopes for a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and Dell's strong performance bolstered investor confidence.
- Software Stocks Rebound: ServiceNow jumped about 14% and Datadog surged 10%, reflecting a resurgence in software stocks driven by renewed AI demand, indicating that the AI ecosystem is gaining traction beyond just a few mega-cap companies.
- Consumer Confidence Watch: Despite Costco's solid Q3 earnings, consumer defensive stocks declined, prompting investors to closely monitor inflation, job data, and consumer sentiment as they assess the potential for further market rallies heading into June.
See More
Software Stocks Rally as Snowflake and Okta Report Strong Results
- Snowflake's Strong Performance: Snowflake saw a nearly 50% increase over four trading days following the holiday, announcing a $6 billion cloud and chip deal with Amazon, which reflects a surge in customer demand for AI tools and boosts the company's earnings guidance.
- Investor Confidence in Okta: Okta achieved a record 30% gain on Friday, with better-than-expected results indicating that businesses are ramping up investments in identity security tools to combat the rising threat of bot attacks as they transition to agentic AI.
- ETF Performance Surge: The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF rose 8% this week and is up 21% for May, marking its best monthly performance since October 2001, signaling a gradual recovery of market confidence in the software sector.
- Overall Industry Recovery: Companies like Atlassian and ServiceNow saw increases of 26% and over 20%, respectively, indicating a clear recovery trend in the software industry driven by partnerships with AI, despite Microsoft still being down nearly 7% year-to-date.
See More
