NEW YORK, May 29, 2026, 10:05 EDT
ServiceNow shares rose about 9% in Friday morning trading, as a new Wipro partnership and fresh analyst commentary pulled investors back to a familiar question: whether artificial intelligence will help the workflow-software company or eat into the business it built. The stock was recently at $118.99, after touching $120 intraday.
That matters now because software investors have spent much of 2026 marking down companies whose products could be disrupted by AI agents — programs that can carry out tasks across apps with less human prompting. ServiceNow is trying to show it is not another seat-based software vendor exposed to that shift, but a system for controlling and routing those agents inside large companies.
Wipro said on Thursday it would integrate its Wipro Intelligence suite with the ServiceNow AI Platform to automate work across IT, human resources, procurement and cybersecurity. Wipro’s India-listed shares rose as much as 4% on Friday, while its U.S. ADRs jumped almost 19% overnight after the announcement.
“AI isn’t new to enterprises, but connected, governed, and outcome-driven AI is,” ServiceNow President and Chief Product Officer Amit Zavery said in Wipro’s statement. Malay Joshi, chief executive of Wipro’s Americas 1 unit, said the problem for most companies was “not ambition, but execution at scale.” Reuters
ServiceNow’s own numbers give bulls something to work with. The company reported first-quarter subscription revenue of $3.67 billion, up 22% from a year earlier, and current remaining performance obligations — contracted revenue expected to be recognized over the next 12 months — of $12.64 billion, up 22.5%.
At its investor day earlier this month, the company laid out a target of more than $30 billion in subscription revenue by 2030, roughly double its expected 2026 level. Its Now Assist AI product had topped $750 million in annual contract value, the expected yearly value of subscription contracts, as of the first quarter, and ServiceNow expects that to exceed $1.5 billion by year-end.
The stock remains under pressure despite the bounce. StockStory, in a Yahoo Finance-syndicated article, noted on Thursday that ServiceNow was down 27% for the year at $107.62 and was trading far below its July 2025 high. Bank of America analysts recently reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $130 price target, arguing that ServiceNow should benefit from AI rather than be replaced by it. FinancialContent
Zacks Investment Research’s Subhasish Mukherjee framed the issue more cautiously on Thursday, saying ServiceNow’s ability to sustain growth would depend on how well it differentiates its AI platform as enterprise-AI competition rises. A Seeking Alpha analysis this week kept a Buy view, but noted that AI revenue is still nascent and execution risk remains. Yahoo Finance
The competitive backdrop is not theoretical. Salesforce this week gave a second-quarter revenue forecast below Wall Street estimates even after a stronger first quarter, as investors weighed AI disruption fears and its Agentforce platform. “The next few quarters will be critical,” Valoir CEO Rebecca Wettemann said, referring to Salesforce’s need to prove both its core licenses and AI products are delivering value. Reuters
Workday, another enterprise-software peer, moved the other way last week after results eased some of the same worries. Jefferies analysts said Workday looked “relatively insulated from AI disruption,” citing its user base, retention and role as a system of record. Reuters
But the risk for ServiceNow is plain enough. If AI agents reduce paid software seats faster than AI consumption revenue replaces them, the company’s pricing model could come under pressure. Its first-quarter report also carried reminders of execution risk: delayed Middle East deals hurt growth, and the Armis cybersecurity acquisition is expected to weigh on margins in the near term.
For now, the Wipro deal gives ServiceNow another proof point in its pitch that large companies need governed AI inside their existing workflows, not just standalone models. The next test is whether those partnerships show up in larger contracts, stronger current remaining performance obligations and clearer AI revenue disclosure.
