The takeaway
Now Inc shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in January (+2.8%) and softest in October (−4.5%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 60% of years, averaging +3.3%, about +1.2 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
Now Inc's most dependable month has been January, higher in 7 of 10 years; October has been its least reliable, up just 10% of the time.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win rate % | ||||||||||||
| Median return % | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||
| 2016 |
Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in February (+5.6 pts); it has trailed the market most in October (−5.5 pts).
“vs S&P” is Now Inc’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Now Inc’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, January has closed higher 80% of the time versus 70% across the last 10 years — the pattern is strengthening.
Figures are the typical (median) January return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
The seasonal story is really one month's story — January. It has closed higher in 7 of 10 Januaries, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+2.8%) and median (+2.0%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. That reliability comes with real swings, mind — even January ranges by 10.9% from year to year, so any single year can land far from the average. Better still, that strength is the stock's own and not just a buoyant market — January has outpaced the S&P 500 by +3.0 points on average. Few peers keep such company in January — the typical stock clears it just 53% of the time.
January anchors a run, too: the December-through-February window has been the stock's reliable season. The weaker half of the year is plainer: October has been the soft spot — the weakest of 4 months that average a loss (−4.5%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in October, March, and September. Its roughest month on record was a −42.0% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
If anything it has sharpened recently — the last five Januaries run ahead of the earlier years.
For a stock this dependable in January, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on. With returns that swing hard year to year, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the stock's best month (January), its worst (October), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (January, +2.8%) has run well ahead of its worst (October, −4.5%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
January has been the strongest, averaging +2.8% and closing higher in 7 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −4.5% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade