We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Large Cap Stocks To Buy Now. In this article, we will look at where ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) ranks among the best large cap stocks to buy now.

Is the Next Bull Cycle Picking Up?

Analysts’ anticipation about the Fed initiating three rate cuts of 25 basis points each, starting in September, has become a hot topic in the current market. While some economic indicators show resilience, recent market fluctuations have raised concerns about deeper rate cuts being overestimated. Yet, a recession appears unlikely, and the steady economic growth suggests a cautious but positive outlook for the markets.

But the question is: why is a recession even being talked about? We discussed this earlier in another one of our articles, 12 Best Small Cap Tech Stocks to Buy, here’s an excerpt from it:

“Inflation in the US may have reached a 3-year low of 2.6% in August, the lowest rate since March 2021, according to a survey of economists by FactSet. Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, is believed to have remained at 3.2%.

Inflation peaked at a 4-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022 as the economy rebounded rapidly from the pandemic recession. The Fed responded with 11 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, raising its key rate to a 23-year high and significantly increasing borrowing costs across the economy. The easing of inflation may pave the way for the Fed to start cutting interest rates next week.”

Binky Chadha, Deutsche Bank’s chief global strategist, joined CNBC last week to discuss what’s next for stocks, given the US elections — particularly the typical pullback seen in the month leading up to closely contested races, where markets often decline by 4% to 5%.

Chadha thinks that this trend, driven by uncertainty, prompts investors to seek protection against volatility, leading to a dip in stock prices. This decline usually hits its lowest point on election day, followed by a substantial rally if the election outcome is clear and resolves uncertainty. Historical instances, such as the Bush/Gore election, show that unresolved outcomes can exacerbate volatility, as seen with further market declines during that period.

Understanding market trends about elections is crucial, as delays can significantly impact investor confidence and overall market behavior. The current market is led by a significant rally in the S&P 500, reaching record highs despite challenges like high interest rates and geopolitical tensions. While election years typically see market weakness, the incumbency of both major party nominees may reduce uncertainty this cycle. However, potential volatility remains as the election approaches and corporate earnings are closely examined against high expectations, according to Chadha.

Chadha further talked about the Bush/Gore election and when a Supreme Court resolution seemed imminent, the market rallied. However, this was followed by a continued market decline. While relying on a single instance for broader conclusions is not ideal, this case reflects general market behavior. It’s important to recognize the prevailing positive trend, despite experiencing two pullbacks.

Chadha said that while the S&P 500 has shown unusual recovery dynamics, peaking with 26% year-on-year sales growth, this growth has slowed unsustainably over the past 2 years. As sales growth decelerates, concerns about potential downturns rise, leading to increased inquiries about negative sales growth in the S&P 500.

While Chadha acknowledges that S&P 500 sales growth has returned to pre-pandemic levels, implying stability, there’s also a decline in the labor market, particularly in private payrolls over the past 7  months. Such a mixed sentiment should be given into and used as a buying opportunity. With that, we’re bringing you a list of the 12 best large-cap stocks to buy now.

Methodology

For this article, we have defined large cap stocks as those trading between $20 billion and $200 billion. We sorted our screen by market cap and looked through the top 25 stocks that matched our criteria. We then selected 12 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q2 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW)

Market Capitalization as of September 13: $181.62 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is a software company that operates a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. Its products are designed to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience, and are widely used by businesses of all sizes, from small enterprises to large corporations.

The company impressed the market with a strong second quarter. The total revenue generated was up 22.19% year-over-year and reached $2.63 billion. Revenue generated from new Pro Plus edition contracts, which feature GenAI capabilities, doubled from the previous quarter. Subscription revenue increased by 23% year-over-year.

The company experienced a 26% year-over-year increase in deals exceeding $1 million, securing 6 net new logos. A federal customer that surpassed the $100 million annual contract value (ACV) threshold, and it also signed its third-largest net new ACV deal ever.

All workflow segments were represented in the top 20 deals, with Security, Risk, IT Service Management (ITSM), and IT Operations Management (ITOM) each having 8-10 deals valued over $1 million. Specifically, Customer Workflows had 14 deals, Employee Workflows had 12, and Creator Workflows had 10 deals exceeding $1 million. It secured 11 new contracts, each valued at over $1 million.

Analysts believe that the company’s strength lies in its NOW platform, which simplifies the integration of various tools and software, including Salesforce, Microsoft, and SAP. ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) offers a portfolio of 168 digital workflow solutions, with a 98% renewal rate.

The company is positioned for impressive growth, driven by its strong Q2 performance and innovative AI capabilities. 97 hedge funds are long NOW, with the highest stake at $1.26 billion by Fisher Asset Management.

Lakehouse Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in its April 2024 investor letter:

“US-based software company, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW), provided another strong result, continuing its long and consistent track record of 20%-plus revenue growth combined with healthy profitability. Subscription revenues grew 25% year-on-year to $2.5 billion and free cash flow grew 47% year-on-year to $1.2 billion. The company’s core operating metrics were also impressive with remaining performance obligations growing 26% year-on-year to $17.7 billion (i.e. roughly 2x 2023 revenue) and renewal rates holding steady at 98%. Performance was evenly spread across segments, products, and geographies, with notable strength in the US federal government. The company now boasts 1,933 customers generating in excess of $1 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV), which is pleasing to see as it implies multiple solutions are involved and that the company’s platform model is increasingly resonating with customers. In our view, ServiceNow is one the highest quality software businesses globally as the combination of consistent growth at scale, robust free cash flow generation and a large addressable market make it a compelling opportunity.”

Overall NOW ranks 4th on our list of the best large cap stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of NOW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NOW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.