We recently published a list of 10 Best Stocks to Buy and Hold For 2 Years. In this article, we are going to take a look at where ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) stands against other best stocks to buy and hold for 2 years.
Will The Tech Stocks Continue to Rally?
On March 27, CNBC reported that the stocks dipped on Wednesday, led by the technology sector. The S&P 500 dipped around 1.12%, followed by the Dow Jones, which fell by 132.71 points. More notably, the technology-dominated NASDAQ dropped by 2.40% closing at 17,899.01 points. The drop in the stock market was further aggravated by the White House’s announcement of new tariffs on auto imports.
To talk about the future of technology and artificial intelligence Doug Clinton, Intelligent Alpha founder, joined CNBC for an interview on March 29. He mentioned that it has been more than a month now that the big technology names, especially artificial intelligence companies, are not performing so well. However, despite the recent dip, Clinton maintained his bullish sentiment for the sector. He pointed out that if we zoom out of the current situation and look at the sector from two to three years from today, we will still see AI stocks rally and large capital expenditure bills. Clinton pointed out that if you are a believer in AI trade it is important to remember that the market has had more than two years of absolutely no turbulence. This period of stability started from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2025. Clinton categorized the current dip as the first real challenge for the AI trade. Referencing history, he pointed to the Dot Com era, when the Dot Com trade faced its first real challenge. The turbulence took 200 days to reach a new NASDAQ high back then. He clarified that this does not mean that the current turbulence will last 6 months, however, if someone believes in the AI trade then they need to be patient through the dip.
While talking about the valuations, Clinton highlighted that the question is about the kind of risks an investor wants to take during the trade. He noted that investors can choose to trade during the turbulence by exiting the market at high times, however, the risk is that the AI stocks can rise 20% to 30% in no time, making it difficult for investors to get back in. Clinton pointed out that he is looking at this trade from a two to three years lens. He believes that this will give him enough exposure and will also reduce the risk of missing out on the bigger picture.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 10 best stocks to buy and hold for 2 years we sifted through financial media reports. From these sources, we shortlisted stocks with more than 20% sales growth over the past 3 years. Next, we ranked these stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
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A team of software engineers at desks working on code for a cutting-edge cloud computing solution.
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) is another software technology company that ranks as one of the best stocks to buy and hold for 2 years. It is known for its Now Platform, which helps digitize workflow, automate processes, and digitally optimize enterprises using artificial intelligence. On March 11, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Brad Reback maintained a Buy rating on the stock, with a price target of $1,175.
On March 10, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) announced signing a definitive agreement to acquire Moveworks. The company aims to use the front-end AI assistant of Moveworks to enhance AI adoption for every employee. Management noted that both companies together will drive significant growth in its CRM business. Moreover, during the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) announced impressive results. The quarterly subscription revenue grew 21% year-over-year to reach $2.86 billion, resulting in a total revenue of $2.96 billion. Notably, the company grew its more than $5 million ACV customers by 21% year-over-year, indicating its reach. The company now has 2,190 customers out of which 500 have an ACV of more than $5 million.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Similar to last quarter, ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) was a top relative contributor, a testament to the consistent, high-level execution they’ve demonstrated over the past several years. The company’s latest earnings report highlighted across-the-board strength, with better-than-expected results across key metrics such as renewal rates, subscription growth, average contract value growth per $1M+ customer, etc. This is a company on offense, attacking a large and growing addressable market and positioning it for a long growth runway—especially considering their early success at integrating GenAI capabilities, which should only drive increasing workflow efficiencies for customers in the years ahead.
Overall, NOW ranks 6th on our list of best stocks to buy and hold for 2 years. While we acknowledge the potential of NOW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. 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.
