Bank of America has reinstated ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) as a top buy while assigning Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) an Underperform rating, citing artificial intelligence (AI) as the defining factor separating the futures of these two major software giants.
BofA Unveils Stark Contrast Between NOW And CRM
Speaking on CNBC, BofA analyst Tal Liani explained the stark contrast between the two platforms. He emphasized that while both companies are “deeply embedded in the workflow,” their ability to monetize AI differs drastically.
For ServiceNow, AI serves as a powerful “growth engine” because its core business of routing, governing, and auditing enterprise operations aligns perfectly with the need to deploy AI responsibly.
Liani highlighted that this advantage is already visible in the financial metrics, with ServiceNow currently growing at approximately 20%.
Salesforce Faces ‘Major Risk’
Conversely, Salesforce faces a much steeper uphill battle. Liani warned that AI represents a “major risk” to the company's long-term expansion. While acknowledging that Salesforce is too critical to be entirely replaced, he pointed out the company’s ongoing struggle to accelerate growth and find new customers.
Crucially, Liani noted that their recently launched Agentforce product “is not finding traction.” As a result, BofA views Salesforce as a mature “cash cow” rather than a growth compounder, predicting it will grow below 10% a year moving forward.
To capture future revenue, Liani stressed that Salesforce must organically expand into new areas to avoid standing still and simply turning into a legacy software firm.
The Microsoft Exception
Addressing the broader software landscape, Liani categorized Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) as a completely different story.
Instead of trying to build a standalone model to compete directly with AI pioneers like Gemini or Anthropic, Microsoft aims to serve as the ultimate “orchestration layer of AI.”
By leveraging its dominant productivity suite, Microsoft is successfully integrating various models to give users the best answers, securely cementing its well-established position within the enterprise space.
How Have NOW And CRM Performed In 2026?
In comparison with the S&P 500’s 8.97% year-to-date advance, shares of CRM have declined by 32.03%, while NOW has descended 33.33% over the same period.
Over the last month, CRM stock was down 5.13%, and it fell 20.71% and 36.47% over the last six months and the year, respectively. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRM maintains a weak price trend in the medium, short, and long terms, with a moderate quality score.
Over the last month, NOW stock was down 0.91%, and it fell 37.22% and 49.73% over the last six months and the year, respectively. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NOW maintains a weak price trend in the medium and long terms but strong trend in the short term, with a solid growth ranking.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock
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