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Side-by-side financial comparison of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA) and ServiceNow (NOW). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.9B vs $3.8B, roughly 1.3× ServiceNow). ServiceNow runs the higher net margin — 12.4% vs 6.1%, a 6.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (40.4% vs 2.8%). ServiceNow produced more free cash flow last quarter ($1.7B vs $613.3M). Over the past eight quarters, LPL Financial Holdings Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (32.0% CAGR vs 19.8%).

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is considered the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States. As of 2021 the company had more than 17,500 financial advisors, over US$1 trillion in advisory and brokerage assets, and generated approximately $10.3 billion in annual revenue for the 2023 fiscal year. LPL Financial has main offices in Boston, Fort Mill, Austin, and San Diego. The company is a member of FINRA and the SIPC.

ServiceNow, Inc. is an American software company that supplies a cloud computing platform for the creation and management of automated business workflows. The company was founded in Santa Clara, California, United States, in 2003 by Fred Luddy. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the S&P 100 and S&P 500 indices.

LPLA vs NOW — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LPLA
LPLA
1.3× larger
LPLA
$4.9B
$3.8B
NOW
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LPLA
LPLA
+37.7% gap
LPLA
40.4%
2.8%
NOW
Higher net margin
NOW
NOW
6.3% more per $
NOW
12.4%
6.1%
LPLA
More free cash flow
NOW
NOW
$1.1B more FCF
NOW
$1.7B
$613.3M
LPLA
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LPLA
LPLA
Annualised
LPLA
32.0%
19.8%
NOW

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Revenue
$4.9B
$3.8B
Net Profit
$300.7M
$469.0M
Gross Margin
75.1%
Operating Margin
8.1%
13.3%
Net Margin
6.1%
12.4%
Revenue YoY
40.4%
2.8%
Net Profit YoY
11.1%
-53.7%
EPS (diluted)
$3.65
$1.04

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$3.8B
Q4 25
$4.9B
$3.6B
Q3 25
$4.6B
$3.4B
Q2 25
$3.8B
$3.2B
Q1 25
$3.7B
$3.1B
Q4 24
$3.5B
$3.0B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$2.8B
Q2 24
$2.9B
$2.6B
Net Profit
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$469.0M
Q4 25
$300.7M
$401.0M
Q3 25
$-29.5M
$502.0M
Q2 25
$273.2M
$385.0M
Q1 25
$318.6M
$460.0M
Q4 24
$270.7M
$384.0M
Q3 24
$255.3M
$432.0M
Q2 24
$243.8M
$262.0M
Gross Margin
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
75.1%
Q4 25
76.6%
Q3 25
77.3%
Q2 25
77.5%
Q1 25
78.9%
Q4 24
78.7%
Q3 24
79.1%
Q2 24
79.0%
Operating Margin
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
13.3%
Q4 25
8.1%
12.4%
Q3 25
-0.7%
16.8%
Q2 25
9.6%
11.1%
Q1 25
11.4%
14.6%
Q4 24
9.7%
12.6%
Q3 24
11.2%
14.9%
Q2 24
11.3%
9.1%
Net Margin
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
12.4%
Q4 25
6.1%
11.2%
Q3 25
-0.6%
14.7%
Q2 25
7.1%
12.0%
Q1 25
8.7%
14.9%
Q4 24
7.7%
13.0%
Q3 24
8.2%
15.4%
Q2 24
8.3%
10.0%
EPS (diluted)
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$1.04
Q4 25
$3.65
$-4.77
Q3 25
$-0.37
$2.40
Q2 25
$3.40
$1.84
Q1 25
$4.24
$2.20
Q4 24
$3.58
$1.84
Q3 24
$3.39
$2.07
Q2 24
$3.23
$1.26

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.1B
$2.7B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$7.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$5.3B
$11.7B
Total Assets
$18.5B
$24.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.36×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$2.7B
Q4 25
$1.1B
$3.7B
Q3 25
$1.6B
$2.7B
Q2 25
$4.3B
$3.1B
Q1 25
$1.4B
$3.4B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$1.6B
$1.9B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$2.2B
Total Debt
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
Q4 25
$7.3B
Q3 25
$7.5B
Q2 25
$7.2B
Q1 25
$5.7B
Q4 24
$5.5B
Q3 24
$4.4B
Q2 24
$4.4B
Stockholders' Equity
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$11.7B
Q4 25
$5.3B
$13.0B
Q3 25
$5.0B
$11.3B
Q2 25
$5.1B
$10.9B
Q1 25
$3.1B
$10.1B
Q4 24
$2.9B
$9.6B
Q3 24
$2.8B
$9.3B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$8.7B
Total Assets
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$24.4B
Q4 25
$18.5B
$26.0B
Q3 25
$18.0B
$21.8B
Q2 25
$17.5B
$22.1B
Q1 25
$14.0B
$21.0B
Q4 24
$13.3B
$20.4B
Q3 24
$11.9B
$18.4B
Q2 24
$11.5B
$18.2B
Debt / Equity
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.36×
Q3 25
1.49×
Q2 25
1.41×
Q1 25
1.82×
Q4 24
1.87×
Q3 24
1.60×
Q2 24
1.77×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$785.0M
$1.7B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$613.3M
$1.7B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
12.4%
44.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.61×
3.56×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-981.8M
$4.8B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$1.7B
Q4 25
$785.0M
$2.2B
Q3 25
$-1.7B
$813.0M
Q2 25
$193.3M
$716.0M
Q1 25
$339.8M
$1.7B
Q4 24
$-178.8M
$1.6B
Q3 24
$209.3M
$671.0M
Q2 24
$-178.9M
$620.0M
Free Cash Flow
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
$1.7B
Q4 25
$613.3M
$2.0B
Q3 25
$-1.9B
$578.0M
Q2 25
$56.3M
$526.0M
Q1 25
$220.3M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$-344.3M
$1.4B
Q3 24
$62.3M
$469.0M
Q2 24
$-307.8M
$358.0M
FCF Margin
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
44.2%
Q4 25
12.4%
56.1%
Q3 25
-41.1%
17.0%
Q2 25
1.5%
16.4%
Q1 25
6.0%
47.7%
Q4 24
-9.8%
46.7%
Q3 24
2.0%
16.8%
Q2 24
-10.5%
13.6%
Capex Intensity
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.5%
6.7%
Q3 25
3.1%
6.9%
Q2 25
3.6%
5.9%
Q1 25
3.3%
6.6%
Q4 24
4.7%
8.6%
Q3 24
4.7%
7.2%
Q2 24
4.4%
10.0%
Cash Conversion
LPLA
LPLA
NOW
NOW
Q1 26
3.56×
Q4 25
2.61×
5.58×
Q3 25
1.62×
Q2 25
0.71×
1.86×
Q1 25
1.07×
3.65×
Q4 24
-0.66×
4.26×
Q3 24
0.82×
1.55×
Q2 24
-0.73×
2.37×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LPLA
LPLA

Segment breakdown not available.

NOW
NOW

Subscription revenues$3.7B97%
Other$99.0M3%

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