ServiceNow (NOW) Stock: Weekend Update on Deal-Spree Scrutiny, Fresh Analyst Calls, and What Investors Should Watch Before Monday’s Open

NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 10:53 p.m. ET — Market closed (weekend).

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE: NOW) is heading into the final stretch of 2025 with its stock hovering near the mid-$150s and investors weighing two forces that don’t always play nicely together: an aggressive M&A push and Wall Street’s appetite for clean, repeatable subscription growth. Shares last traded around $153.89 following Friday’s session, with about 5.45 million shares changing hands in thin, post-holiday trade.

That broader “thin tape” matters. U.S. stocks ended Friday essentially flat in a light-volume, post-Christmas session, with the Dow down 0.04%, the S&P 500 down 0.03%, and the Nasdaq down 0.09%, as traders continued to watch for signs of the seasonal “Santa Claus rally.” ^[1]

Where ServiceNow stock stands heading into Monday

ServiceNow’s Friday range ran from roughly $152.02 to $154.45, and the stock finished the shortened holiday week with a modest gain versus the prior close.

In the macro backdrop, Reuters described a market “catching its breath” after a strong run-up, quoting Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, as saying: “We had a very strong five-day rally… we’re just simply catching our breath today after the holiday.” ^[2]

For ServiceNow investors, the key question into the next session isn’t whether the market is calm—it’s whether the company’s strategy reads as disciplined expansion or deal-dependent growth.

The headline narrative: a $12 billion deal spree draws scrutiny

A Bloomberg News analysis published Friday spotlighted ServiceNow’s recent pivot: after years of avoiding large mergers, the company has spent at least $12 billion in 2025 on acquisitions or strategic investments—raising investor concerns about whether dealmaking is becoming a growth crutch, particularly given CEO Bill McDermott’s history with major mergers during his SAP tenure. ^[3]

The centerpiece is the Armis agreement. ServiceNow says it will acquire the cyber exposure management firm for about $7.75 billion in cash, expecting to fund the deal with a combination of cash on hand and debt, with closing targeted for the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. ^[4]

ServiceNow is pitching Armis as a way to expand its security workflow footprint—linking asset discovery and threat intelligence to automated remediation inside the ServiceNow platform. In the company’s announcement, Amit Zavery (president, COO, and chief product officer) said, “ServiceNow is building the security platform of tomorrow,” framing the move as essential for “trust and governance” in an “agentic AI” era. ^[5]

Armis, meanwhile, brings a large installed base and a fast-growing recurring revenue profile: ServiceNow said Armis has surpassed $340 million in annual recurring revenue, with year-over-year ARR growth exceeding 50%. ^[6]

Still, the investor pushback is real. MarketWatch noted that investors have worried about the cost of the acquisition and the company’s reliance on inorganic growth, even as ServiceNow argues the deal materially expands its security opportunity. ^[7]

New analyst action in the last 24 hours: TD Cowen trims its target

One of the most current Wall Street updates heading into the weekend came from TD Cowen: the firm reduced its price target to $230 from $250 while maintaining a “buy” rating, according to reports published Friday and Saturday. ^[8]

At Friday’s last price near $153.89, a $230 target implies roughly 49% upside—a reminder that many analysts still see meaningful room above current levels, even as the stock digests M&A-driven uncertainty. ^[9]

Wall Street’s broader forecast: targets cluster in the low-to-high $220s

Across the Street, the consensus still leans positive—though not euphoric.

MarketBeat data cited alongside the TD Cowen note lists an average target price around $223.53 and a consensus leaning “Moderate Buy.” ^[10]
StockAnalysis shows an average price target near $223.29, with forecasts ranging from $155 to $260. ^[11]
TipRanks posts an average target around $227.56, with a $263 high and $155 low, based on a recent set of analyst forecasts. ^[12]

The practical takeaway for SEO-minded, real-world investors: the debate isn’t whether ServiceNow is “an AI winner.” It’s whether the current strategy—especially the scale and cadence of acquisitions—enhances the platform’s moat without slowing execution or pressuring margins.

Corporate governance watch: McDermott’s contract runs through 2030

Another important, still-fresh corporate development (filed earlier this week, but central to the current storyline) is leadership continuity.

In an SEC-filed amendment to Bill McDermott’s employment agreement, ServiceNow states that he has agreed to remain in service through at least Dec. 31, 2030, and may serve as CEO, co-CEO, executive chairman, or non-executive chairman, depending on board discretion and mutual agreement. The amendment is effective Jan. 1, 2026, and ties compensation (in CEO/co-CEO roles) to performance against its compensation peer group. ^[13]

For investors, that filing cuts two ways:

It can reduce uncertainty around leadership during a high-stakes integration cycle.
It also reinforces that the board is aligning itself with a longer-term strategy that includes large, transformational dealmaking.

Don’t get tripped up by the share count: ServiceNow’s 5-for-1 split is now in effect

ServiceNow also recently completed a 5-for-1 stock split. The company said shareholders approved the split, with trading on a split-adjusted basis expected to begin Dec. 18, 2025. ^[14]

Splits don’t change a company’s underlying value, but they can affect:

liquidity and options activity (more “round-lot friendly” pricing),
investor psychology,
and headline comparisons (especially when older price targets or historical prices are not cleanly split-adjusted).

What investors should know before the next session

Because it’s the weekend, NOW won’t print a new tape until Monday—and year-end conditions can amplify moves. Here’s what matters most going into the next open.

1) Year-end liquidity can exaggerate reactions

Friday’s market session was explicitly low-volume, with Reuters putting total U.S. exchange volume at 10.22 billion shares, well below the ~15.98 billion 20-day average—exactly the kind of environment where single headlines can push prices more than usual. ^[15]

2) Watch for follow-through (or pushback) on the M&A thesis

The near-term “tell” for ServiceNow stock is whether additional analysts echo TD Cowen’s tempered stance or instead argue that Armis (and other 2025 deals) strengthens the platform’s end-to-end security posture in an AI-heavy enterprise stack. ServiceNow itself emphasized integration and execution benefits—but also listed integration risks as part of its forward-looking statements. ^[16]

3) Monday’s U.S. data calendar is light—but not empty

Even in a holiday-thinned week, macro releases can move rates, and rates can move high-multiple software. The New York Fed’s economic indicators calendar shows several Monday morning releases, including:

Advance International Trade in Goods (8:30 a.m. ET)
NAR Pending Home Sales Index (10:00 a.m. ET)
Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey (10:30 a.m. ET) ^[17]

4) Know the holiday schedule as 2025 ends

Investopedia notes that markets will have a full trading day on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), but stock and bond markets are closed on Jan. 1, 2026, for New Year’s Day (with bond trading ending early at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 31). ^[18]

5) Be clear on session timing

For NYSE-listed stocks like ServiceNow, the NYSE lists the core trading session as 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, with late trading/after-hours running to 8:00 p.m. ET on its schedules. ^[19]

Bottom line for ServiceNow (NOW) stock this weekend

ServiceNow enters Monday’s session with a stock price near $154, a market backdrop still buoyed by late-year seasonality, and a corporate storyline dominated by platform expansion through big-ticket security M&A—a strategy that can unlock new growth vectors or create integration drag if execution slips. ^[20]

The most actionable setup into the next open: monitor whether the next wave of analyst notes focuses more on strategic upside (security + AI workflows + larger TAM) or on deal risk (cost, complexity, and organic-growth durability). ^[21]