The Impact of Software Concerns on Private Credit and Recommended BDC Stocks to Consider
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 06 2026
0mins
Source: Barron's
- Private Credit Sector: The emergence of private credit "cockroaches" indicates a shift in the market, particularly affecting the software sector.
- Investment Opportunities: This situation may present new investment opportunities in shares of business development companies that hold the debt of these affected companies.
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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: 91.970
Low
172.00
Averages
222.81
High
263.00
Current: 91.970
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.
ServiceNow Launches Unified AI Platform to Drive Enterprise Transformation
- AI Platform Integration: At the Knowledge 2026 event, ServiceNow launched a unified AI platform designed to streamline enterprise AI applications through real-time sensing, decision-making, and execution, which is expected to significantly enhance operational efficiency and decision quality for businesses.
- Autonomous Workforce Enhancement: The newly introduced ServiceNow Otto integrates conversational AI and autonomous workflows, enabling employees to seamlessly complete tasks across various systems, which is anticipated to improve employee productivity and satisfaction.
- Clear Financial Goals: ServiceNow aims to achieve over $30 billion in subscription revenue by 2030, with AI expected to represent over 30% of annual contract value, highlighting the company's commitment to AI technology and its critical role in future growth.
- Enhanced Security Governance: The expanded AI Control Tower offers comprehensive governance over the enterprise AI lifecycle, ensuring effective risk and compliance management when utilizing AI, thereby enhancing the organization's security posture.
See More
Freshworks Cuts 500 Jobs Amid AI Industry Shift
- Job Cuts Announcement: Freshworks has announced a reduction of approximately 500 jobs, representing 11% of its global workforce, as the company grapples with the impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry, highlighting an urgent need for automation and cost control.
- Industry Trends: The move aligns with broader industry trends, as peers like Atlassian also implement layoffs, indicating widespread challenges in the sector, with Freshworks' stock declining about 26% this year.
- Restructuring Costs: The restructuring is expected to incur one-time charges of about $8 million, affecting multiple departments, with the CEO stating that cost savings will be achieved through merging sales teams and reducing management layers.
- Financial Outlook: Freshworks anticipates second-quarter revenue between $232 million and $235 million, exceeding analysts' average estimate of $232.7 million, while first-quarter revenue rose 16% year-over-year, demonstrating the company's potential for growth despite challenges.
See More
ServiceNow Unveils New Collaborations and Platforms for AI Control
- Collaboration Expansion: ServiceNow's partnership with FedEx Dataworks integrates logistics into existing procurement workflows, aiming to enhance supply chain visibility and customer experience, which is expected to significantly improve procurement solution efficiency.
- AI Governance Innovation: The expanded collaboration with Nvidia introduces Project Arc, designed to enhance enterprise AI governance through an autonomous desktop agent that completes complex tasks automatically, thereby increasing employee productivity and security.
- New Product Launch: ServiceNow has unveiled a new product called Otto, which aims to unify conversational AI, autonomous workflows, and enterprise search into a single experience, expected to enhance employee and team efficiency and drive digital transformation.
- Security Risk Management: The launch of Autonomous Security & Risk by ServiceNow aims to map every identity and connected asset through a single graph, enhancing real-time threat neutralization capabilities, which is anticipated to significantly improve enterprise security management efficiency and response speed.
See More
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- Intelligent Supply Chain Management: FedEx's collaboration with ServiceNow integrates logistics intelligence from FedEx Dataworks into ServiceNow's procurement processes, aiming to enhance supply chain visibility and customer experience, thereby optimizing operational efficiency for enterprises.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: FedEx's global network generates over 2 petabytes of data daily, and by combining this with ServiceNow, businesses can access real-time logistics intelligence, helping procurement teams reduce uncertainty and improve response times during decision-making.
- Supplier Insight Capabilities: The new solution will provide supplier insights based on FedEx network data, automating supplier assessments to ensure procurement teams can act proactively before issues arise, thus lowering operational risks.
- Future Innovation Exploration: FedEx and ServiceNow plan to continue exploring other innovations to advance intelligent supply chain management, further enhancing enterprise competitiveness in complex market environments.
See More
Nvidia and ServiceNow Launch Project Arc for Desktop AI Agents
- Project Overview: Nvidia and ServiceNow have launched Project Arc, an enterprise AI agent similar to OpenClaw, designed to enhance user productivity by directly accessing content on users' machines, thus avoiding delays and security risks associated with cloud access.
- Enhanced Security: Project Arc leverages Nvidia's OpenShell sandbox platform to ensure that AI agents operate in a secure environment, preventing them from executing potentially harmful actions that could jeopardize user data, thereby reducing security risks for enterprises using desktop AI agents.
- Monitoring and Control: The project integrates with ServiceNow's AI Control Tower platform, which monitors agent behavior and file access in real-time, ensuring compliance with enterprise operating procedures and enhancing corporate governance over AI agents.
- Market Demand: As more companies test and adopt desktop AI agents, the launch of Project Arc addresses the growing market need for secure and effective AI solutions, helping businesses enhance efficiency while ensuring data security.
See More
SERVICENOW BRINGS ORDER TO ENTERPRISE AI WITH A PLATFORM FOR GOVERNED, AUTONOMOUS WORK
Service Now's New Platform: Service Now has launched a new platform aimed at enhancing governance and control in autonomous work environments.
Focus on Chaos Management: The platform is designed to help organizations manage chaos and streamline operations effectively.
Autonomous Work Integration: It emphasizes the integration of autonomous work processes to improve efficiency and productivity.
Governance Features: The platform includes features that support governance, ensuring compliance and oversight in automated workflows.
See More
ServiceNow Launches Unified AI Platform to Drive Enterprise Transformation
- AI Platform Integration: At the Knowledge 2026 event, ServiceNow launched a unified AI platform designed to streamline enterprise AI applications through real-time sensing, decision-making, and execution, which is expected to significantly enhance operational efficiency and decision quality for businesses.
- Autonomous Workforce Enhancement: The newly introduced ServiceNow Otto integrates conversational AI and autonomous workflows, enabling employees to seamlessly complete tasks across various systems, which is anticipated to improve employee productivity and satisfaction.
- Clear Financial Goals: ServiceNow aims to achieve over $30 billion in subscription revenue by 2030, with AI expected to represent over 30% of annual contract value, highlighting the company's commitment to AI technology and its critical role in future growth.
- Enhanced Security Governance: The expanded AI Control Tower offers comprehensive governance over the enterprise AI lifecycle, ensuring effective risk and compliance management when utilizing AI, thereby enhancing the organization's security posture.
See More
Freshworks Cuts 500 Jobs Amid AI Industry Shift
- Job Cuts Announcement: Freshworks has announced a reduction of approximately 500 jobs, representing 11% of its global workforce, as the company grapples with the impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry, highlighting an urgent need for automation and cost control.
- Industry Trends: The move aligns with broader industry trends, as peers like Atlassian also implement layoffs, indicating widespread challenges in the sector, with Freshworks' stock declining about 26% this year.
- Restructuring Costs: The restructuring is expected to incur one-time charges of about $8 million, affecting multiple departments, with the CEO stating that cost savings will be achieved through merging sales teams and reducing management layers.
- Financial Outlook: Freshworks anticipates second-quarter revenue between $232 million and $235 million, exceeding analysts' average estimate of $232.7 million, while first-quarter revenue rose 16% year-over-year, demonstrating the company's potential for growth despite challenges.
See More
ServiceNow Unveils New Collaborations and Platforms for AI Control
- Collaboration Expansion: ServiceNow's partnership with FedEx Dataworks integrates logistics into existing procurement workflows, aiming to enhance supply chain visibility and customer experience, which is expected to significantly improve procurement solution efficiency.
- AI Governance Innovation: The expanded collaboration with Nvidia introduces Project Arc, designed to enhance enterprise AI governance through an autonomous desktop agent that completes complex tasks automatically, thereby increasing employee productivity and security.
- New Product Launch: ServiceNow has unveiled a new product called Otto, which aims to unify conversational AI, autonomous workflows, and enterprise search into a single experience, expected to enhance employee and team efficiency and drive digital transformation.
- Security Risk Management: The launch of Autonomous Security & Risk by ServiceNow aims to map every identity and connected asset through a single graph, enhancing real-time threat neutralization capabilities, which is anticipated to significantly improve enterprise security management efficiency and response speed.
See More
FedEx and ServiceNow Deepen Collaboration for AI-Driven Supply Chain
- Intelligent Supply Chain Management: FedEx's collaboration with ServiceNow integrates logistics intelligence from FedEx Dataworks into ServiceNow's procurement processes, aiming to enhance supply chain visibility and customer experience, thereby optimizing operational efficiency for enterprises.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: FedEx's global network generates over 2 petabytes of data daily, and by combining this with ServiceNow, businesses can access real-time logistics intelligence, helping procurement teams reduce uncertainty and improve response times during decision-making.
- Supplier Insight Capabilities: The new solution will provide supplier insights based on FedEx network data, automating supplier assessments to ensure procurement teams can act proactively before issues arise, thus lowering operational risks.
- Future Innovation Exploration: FedEx and ServiceNow plan to continue exploring other innovations to advance intelligent supply chain management, further enhancing enterprise competitiveness in complex market environments.
See More
Nvidia and ServiceNow Launch Project Arc for Desktop AI Agents
- Project Overview: Nvidia and ServiceNow have launched Project Arc, an enterprise AI agent similar to OpenClaw, designed to enhance user productivity by directly accessing content on users' machines, thus avoiding delays and security risks associated with cloud access.
- Enhanced Security: Project Arc leverages Nvidia's OpenShell sandbox platform to ensure that AI agents operate in a secure environment, preventing them from executing potentially harmful actions that could jeopardize user data, thereby reducing security risks for enterprises using desktop AI agents.
- Monitoring and Control: The project integrates with ServiceNow's AI Control Tower platform, which monitors agent behavior and file access in real-time, ensuring compliance with enterprise operating procedures and enhancing corporate governance over AI agents.
- Market Demand: As more companies test and adopt desktop AI agents, the launch of Project Arc addresses the growing market need for secure and effective AI solutions, helping businesses enhance efficiency while ensuring data security.
See More
SERVICENOW BRINGS ORDER TO ENTERPRISE AI WITH A PLATFORM FOR GOVERNED, AUTONOMOUS WORK
Service Now's New Platform: Service Now has launched a new platform aimed at enhancing governance and control in autonomous work environments.
Focus on Chaos Management: The platform is designed to help organizations manage chaos and streamline operations effectively.
Autonomous Work Integration: It emphasizes the integration of autonomous work processes to improve efficiency and productivity.
Governance Features: The platform includes features that support governance, ensuring compliance and oversight in automated workflows.
See More
