Salesforce Agentforce ARR hits $1.2B; ServiceNow doubles Now Assist growth via M&A

Salesforce and ServiceNow are testing two competing models for enterprise AI dominance, each betting their approach will prove superior. Salesforce is monetizing agents rapidly—customers processed 3.8 billion Agentic Work Units, and more than 50% of Agentforce and Data 360 bookings came from existing accounts, a sign that Customer 360 remains sticky. However, the company is defending this position by taking on debt to repurchase shares, a signal that management may believe the stock is undervalued despite near-term uncertainty. The stock is down 36.97% year to date, and the forward P/E of 12x with a PEG of 0.779 reflects investor skepticism.

ServiceNow has suffered steeper declines (down 47.35% over the past year) but is pursuing a different narrative: grow through acquisition of security and identity capabilities, which agentic workflows will increasingly need. Now Assist net new ACV more than doubled year over year, and the company closed 244 transactions above $1 million（約1.6億円） in net new ACV. ServiceNow's higher valuation (forward P/E of 25x, EV/EBITDA of 33x) reflects investors' bet on faster growth. The company's guided cRPO growth of 22.5% (versus Salesforce's 14%) and non-GAAP operating margin of 31% with Q4 FCF margin of 57% suggest the M&A strategy is delivering both top-line acceleration and operational efficiency.

The near-term test is clear: whose agents get adopted fastest, and which security-plus-workflow bet proves more defensible. Salesforce's lower valuation offers cash-flow yield and a $0.42 quarterly dividend, but the leverage used to fund buybacks while competitors target Customer 360 customers reads as a defensive move. ServiceNow's steep valuation is justified only if Agentforce bookings decelerate and the AI-driven CRM language converts into real losses for Salesforce.