ServiceNow’s Q2 2025 results are in, and the company surpassed expectations across the board. With $3.113 billion in subscription revenue (up 22.5% year-over-year) and $3.215 billion in total revenue, this was a “beat-and-raise” quarter according to ServiceNow Chairman and CEO, Bill McDermott, which reflects strong demand, especially for AI-enabled solutions.
For those of us working closely with enterprise clients and ServiceNow implementations, what stands out is how consistent the growth story has become. Subscription growth is important, but the real signal is in remaining performance obligations. Current RPO hit $10.92 billion, up 24.5% from last year. This tells us ServiceNow’s customers are renewing and expanding their commitment to the platform. The total RPO number, at $23.9 billion, reinforces this momentum as we look further ahead.
“ServiceNow's recent earnings report underscores its robust financial performance and strategic positioning in the AI market,” says Rick Wright, CEO, CoreX. “The company's strong revenue growth and advanced AI Service Management capabilities highlight its leadership in leveraging AI to revolutionize enterprise workflows. This rapid market legitimization of AI within the enterprise underscores ServiceNow's pivotal role in shaping the future of intelligent automation and digital transformation.”
Here's a data point that tells a story: Customers with annual contract values exceeding $20 million grew by over 30%. These aren't impulse purchases. When enterprises commit at that level, they're betting on ServiceNow as foundational infrastructure, not just another tool in an unwieldy tech stack. Sure, big contracts don't guarantee smooth implementations, but they do shape the roadmaps, governance models, and integration strategies we’re helping clients navigate.
AI continues to drive much of that confidence. ServiceNow's Now Assist platform exceeded expectations again this quarter, with both deal sizes and frequency trending upward. The company's goal of $1 billion in net-new, AI-related annual contract value by 2026 is starting to look less like wishful thinking and more like careful planning. What's particularly interesting is how much of this growth comes from existing customers expanding their AI footprint rather than net-new acquisitions.
This quarter also showed how ServiceNow is leaning hard into platform-wide AI orchestration. Recent announcements, such as the AI Control Tower, Workflow Data Network, and new CRM and Core Business Suite offerings, demonstrate that the company is rethinking its entire enterprise operating model with autonomy and cross-functional integration in mind.
From a practitioner’s point of view, this is promising, but it also raises new challenges. Clients are excited about what’s possible, but are also asking deeper questions:
These questions are helping to shape how budgets are allocated, how teams get restructured, and how organizations define success. ServiceNow’s strategy may be ambitious, but it’s increasingly aligned with the kinds of conversations that enterprise leaders are already having.
It’s also worth noting the partnerships fueling this next phase. Integrations with AWS, NVIDIA, Cisco, and UKG signal that ServiceNow isn’t trying to go it alone. They’re building a network around their AI vision. And with the recent acquisition of data.world, they’re adding significant data governance horsepower, something that will matter more as customers lean on the platform for AI insights.
“The partnerships among NVIDIA, ServiceNow, and CoreX are a testament to innovation,” says Eric Jones, Head of Global Sales, CoreX. “By leveraging ServiceNow's AI capabilities, CoreX and NVIDIA have revolutionized the manufacturing process and significantly minimized downtime for one of the most highly recognized automobile makers.”
Of course, none of this comes cheap. ServiceNow’s valuation remains high, and expectations are baked in. However, Q2 suggests that the company is earning that premium through solid execution, strategic clarity, and genuine customer traction.
Another area that may be of interest, especially for those evaluating platforms and strategic positioning, is ServiceNow's growing recognition from analysts and industry benchmarks. In Q2, the company earned Leader status in several IDC MarketScape reports, including new leadership positions in Business Automation Platforms and FinOps Cloud Cost Optimization, while maintaining top placement in Forrester's Wave for Low-Code Platforms.
These recognitions often signal meaningful traction in emerging markets that many clients are beginning to explore. For buyers weighing where to consolidate or expand platform usage, these analyst endorsements can carry as much weight as an updated feature list.
For those of us advising clients on platform strategy, this quarter reinforces what we've seen in the field: AI has moved well beyond the proof-of-concept stage, and ServiceNow is positioning itself as the operational backbone for deploying it at scale. The opportunities are expanding, but so is the pressure to deliver meaningful business outcomes.