Last week, ServiceNow published its quarterly financial results for Q3 2025. The figures represent considerable ongoing success for the organization, with revenues outperforming expectations across all major metrics. In response to this, ServiceNow “raised guidance” alongside the publication of the figures, meaning its financial forecasts have been upgraded as a result.
For ServiceNow, the news shows that Q3 was another unquestionable success. This comes at a particularly difficult time for the wider tech market, with investors becoming increasingly concerned about the dangers of an AI-related stock market downturn. Against this backdrop, ServiceNow’s AI product suite is the leading contributor to its impressive financial performance.
In short, ServiceNow is doing better than expected and is noticeably outperforming its peers elsewhere in the tech market. So why is this?
ServiceNow Continues to Outperform Expectations in Q3
The Q3 results were published last week, on October 29, 2025, and were accompanied by a press release from ServiceNow. Here’s an overview of the main figures released:
- Total revenue for Q3 2025 was $3.41B (according to Forbes), 22% more than Q3 last year. The figure also exceeded last quarter’s $3.22B.
- Subscription revenues were also $3,299M, representing 21.5% year-on-year growth.
- ‘Guidance’ (i.e. forecasts) for subscription revenue, operating margin, and free cash flow across 2025 have all been raised in response to the Q3 figures.
- Remaining performance obligations (RPO) hit $24.3B in Q3, a year-on-year growth of 24%. This is essentially the total future revenue tied to existing contracts.
- Current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) also hit $11.35B in Q3 2025. This is the portion of RPO that is currently due in the next 12 months.
Across all these metrics, therefore, the results are an unqualified success for ServiceNow. Crucially, this quarter is far from an outlier. As we reported at the time, the financial results for Q2 were similarly impressive, with guidance having then also been exceeded and raised across several major metrics.
ServiceNow’s AI Investment Bears Fruit
“Our Q3 results are in, and they show a clear trend: Enterprises are standardizing on ServiceNow to turn AI promise into productivity gains. The momentum is undeniable, especially our AI products, which are on pace to exceed half a billion in ACV this year, toward our target of $1B in ACV in 2026.
“Why? Because customers need AI that’s connected to their data and workflows. Our unique combination of AI + data + workflows in a secured and trusted AI platform is unlocking value that siloed point solutions simply can’t match.”
Amit Zavery, President, Chief Product Officer and Chief Operating Officer, ServiceNow
According to ServiceNow, the company’s impressive performance is summed up by one thing: artificial intelligence.
Over the last year, the company has released a vast range of AI products and solutions, including the AI Experience, ServiceNow AI Platform, AI Agent Fabric, AI Control Tower, and much more. Increasingly, these investments are paying off, with AI platform revenue outperforming even the company’s own expectations. According to Forbes, ServiceNow’s direct AI revenue is expected to exceed its 2025 target of $500M, and is on track to meet the 2026 goal of $1B.
But ServiceNow is hardly unique in putting its time, money, and energy into AI. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a tech company that isn’t betting the house on AI. And yet, few are seeing the kind of returns that ServiceNow is currently enjoying. According to Deloitte, as few as 10% of organizations are seeing any significant ROI from agentic AI investment. Elsewhere, stock market investors are beginning to price in the increasing chances of the “AI bubble” bursting over the next few quarters, largely due to this lack of ROI.
So here’s the multi-billion-dollar question: Why is ServiceNow one of only a few companies to see significant financial returns from its AI investment?
In reality, this question mostly comes down to two fundamental elements of ServiceNow’s approach. First, it’s uniquely placed to help large organizations adopt AI tools effectively, since so many enterprises already rely on ServiceNow for a huge amount of their operational technology. Against a crowded backdrop of emerging AI vendors, ServiceNow already has an in-built advantage here.
But crucially, the product strategy this year has been uniquely focused on helping customers solve complex operational challenges around governance, compliance, risk, and more. These are the very challenges preventing so many organizations from seeing tangible returns on their AI investments.
Final Thoughts: Is the Only Way Up for ServiceNow?
In short, when organizations want to translate their AI investment into tangible ROI, they turn to ServiceNow.
This trend is increasingly beginning to show up in ServiceNow’s financial figures. And with successive quarters now reporting increasing revenues and raised guidance, it’s clear this isn’t just an anomaly. There’s a clear sense of momentum and progress here, with each quarter’s results building on the last. In today’s economy, stories like this are increasingly the exception rather than the rule.