Don’t look now but guess who’s crushing it in the frenetic age of AI? Oracle. SAP. And enterprise leader ServiceNow. Crushing it. 22% growth at $12.5 Billion in ARR — and accelerating. And AI is the accelerant. Even for some of the established leaders in SaaS and enterprise software.
5 Top Learnings:
1. You CAN Maintain 20%+ Growth at Massive Scale
ServiceNow hit $3.113B in quarterly subscription revenue growing 22.5% YoY (21.5% constant currency). At a $12.4B+ annual run rate, they added ~$570M in incremental subscription revenue year-over-year in Q2 alone. Most SaaS companies see dramatic growth deceleration at this scale – ServiceNow proves it’s not inevitable.
2. The 2010 Customer Cohort: 280% Annual Growth Over 15 Years
This is the most mind-blowing metric in SaaS. Customers who started with ServiceNow in 2010 with ~$100K initial ACV now average $4.3M annually. That’s 43x expansion over 15 years, or 28% compounded annual growth within existing accounts. Even recent cohorts (2022-2025) are expanding at 45-70% annually.
3. $23.9B Total RPO Growing 29% YoY = Unprecedented Visibility
With nearly $24B in contracted future revenue growing faster than current revenue, ServiceNow has unmatched revenue predictability. Their current RPO of $10.9B (up 24.5% YoY) represents roughly 85% of expected FY25 revenue already contracted. For context, their entire 2024 revenue was ~$10.6B.
4. 98% Renewal Rates for 5 Consecutive Quarters at Scale
Maintaining 98% renewal rates while serving 8,400+ customers including 85%+ of Fortune 500 is extraordinary. The 528 customers with $5M+ ACV are averaging $14.5M each and growing. This isn’t just retention – it’s expansion within a retention framework.
5. Growing Both Revenue (22.5%) AND Operating Margins (29.5%)
The “growth vs. profitability” trade-off is apparently optional. ServiceNow delivered 22.5% revenue growth with 29.5% operating margins (250bps improvement YoY), plus 83% subscription gross margins at massive scale. Revenue per employee exceeds $440K annually.
Other Interesting Learnings:
Technology Workflows Still Drive 56% of New ACV – Despite massive diversification into CRM, Industry, and Creator workflows, IT remains the expansion engine. The lesson: own a mission-critical category first, then expand.
Only 38% International Revenue Despite Global TAM – With North America at 62%, EMEA at 26%, and APAC at just 12%, ServiceNow has massive geographic runway. The US represents ~25% of global GDP, suggesting significant under-penetration internationally.
Creator Workflows Steady at 18% of New ACV – The low-code platform provides crucial stickiness. When customers build custom workflows on your platform, switching costs become exponential.
$440K+ Revenue Per Employee – With 27,294 total employees supporting $12B+ revenue, ServiceNow demonstrates how efficient SaaS can be at scale.
The Bottom Line:
ServiceNow is redefining what’s possible in SaaS at scale. The combination of 20%+ growth, 98% retention, expanding margins, and 15-year customer cohort data suggests they’ve built something closer to infrastructure than traditional software.
