GraniteShares 2x Long NOW Daily ETF (NOWL) Climbs +13% as ServiceNow (NOW) Rebounds Strongly

Key Takeaways

• NOWL climbed approximately 13% over the past 30 days, reflecting amplified bullish momentum in underlying holding NOW (ServiceNow, Inc.).
• ServiceNow's second-quarter 2026 earnings beat consensus estimates across revenue and earnings per share (EPS), with AI annual contract value (ACV) surpassing $1 billion for the first time.
• The ETF's 2x daily leveraged structure magnified the recovery as ServiceNow rebounded from a prolonged selloff driven by enterprise software sector concerns and AI disruption fears.
• Over the past quarter, NOWL gained roughly 42%, reflecting both the underlying stock's recovery and the mechanical effect of daily leveraged compounding during a trending period.
• Key risks remain tied to gross margin compression, competitive pressures from Microsoft and Salesforce, and the inherent volatility decay associated with daily-reset leveraged products.

GraniteShares 2x Long NOW Daily ETF (NOWL) Overview and Portfolio Exposure

The GraniteShares 2x Long NOW Daily ETF (NOWL) is an actively managed leveraged fund that seeks to deliver 200% of the daily percentage return of ServiceNow, Inc. common stock. Launched on July 15, 2025, the fund is sponsored by GraniteShares Advisors LLC and carries a net expense ratio of 1.50%. With approximately $285 million in assets under management (AUM — the total market value of assets the fund oversees), NOWL is a concentrated, non-diversified product designed for short-term tactical traders rather than buy-and-hold investors.

NOWL achieves its investment objective primarily through swap agreements and options on ServiceNow shares, supplemented by direct stock purchases. The portfolio typically holds a single equity position alongside derivative instruments, resulting in virtually 100% exposure to the information technology sector and the systems software industry. Because the fund resets its leverage daily, its performance over periods longer than one trading session can diverge meaningfully from two times the cumulative return of ServiceNow stock due to compounding effects and volatility drag. I checked similar leveraged products using Tickeron’s AI Screener to compare exposure profiles.

GraniteShares 2x Long NOW Daily ETF (NOWL) Price Performance: Last 30 Days vs. Quarter

Over the 30-day period ending in early August 2026, NOWL advanced approximately 13%, moving from around $5.12 to roughly $5.80. The move was not linear — the ETF traded as low as $3.66 during the period before staging a sharp recovery. The underlying NOW stock posted a roughly 11% gain over the same horizon, with the ETF's 2x leverage capturing the directional move while being buffeted by daily price swings.

Zooming out to a quarterly view, NOWL gained roughly 42%, rising from approximately $4.08 in early May 2026 to its current level near $5.80. This powerful recovery followed a historically deep drawdown — the ETF had been trading above $24 at its 52-week high in mid-2025 before the enterprise software sector endured a prolonged repricing. The quarterly rebound reflects a combination of ServiceNow's improving fundamentals, easing macro pressures, and the ETF's leveraged structure amplifying a directional uptrend.

What Drove NOWL Price in the Last 30 Days

The most significant catalyst during the past 30 days was ServiceNow's second-quarter 2026 earnings report on July 22. The company delivered revenue of $3.99 billion, up 24% year-over-year and above the $3.93 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $0.90 beat the $0.86 forecast. Subscription revenue, the core growth engine, rose 24.5% to $3.88 billion, while current remaining performance obligations (cRPO — contracted revenue expected to be recognized within 12 months) grew 21% to $13.2 billion.

Investors reacted most strongly to the AI monetization milestone: ServiceNow AI ACV crossed $1 billion for the first time, and the number of customers deploying agentic AI in production increased ninefold over nine months. The company also raised its full-year 2026 subscription revenue guidance to a range of $15.76 billion to $15.78 billion. Separately, the announcement of approximately 1,000 job cuts — roughly 3% of the global workforce — was interpreted positively by markets as a margin discipline signal rather than a sign of distress.

The 30-day window also captured the final phase of a sector-wide recovery in enterprise software. Earlier in 2026, the "SaaSpocalypse" narrative had punished software valuations as investors feared AI-native tools would erode demand for legacy SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platforms. ServiceNow's results directly challenged that thesis, showing that AI was becoming a revenue driver rather than a competitive threat. The underlying stock's post-earnings rebound — from an intra-quarter trough below $92 toward $117 — powered NOWL's leveraged gains.

What Drove NOWL Performance Over the Last Quarter

The quarterly rally of approximately 42% reflects a broader re-rating of ServiceNow and leveraged exposure to enterprise software. After reaching deeply discounted levels in early May — when NOW traded near $89 and NOWL touched roughly $4 — sentiment began to shift as quarterly earnings across the technology sector showed resilient enterprise spending. ServiceNow's Q1 2026 results had already demonstrated 22% revenue growth, and the May financial analyst day laid out a credible path toward $30 billion in subscription revenue by 2030.

Institutional flows also played a supporting role. Data from ETF flow trackers indicated net AUM growth for NOWL over the three-month period, suggesting traders were adding leveraged long exposure as the underlying stock stabilized. The ETF's daily average volume of over 19 million shares underscored robust liquidity, enabling rapid repositioning during volatile sessions. Performance was further supported by the compounding mathematics of a 2x daily reset structure during a period when the underlying stock's daily moves skewed more positive than negative, reducing the typical headwind from volatility decay.

ServiceNow's acquisitions of Armis ($7.75 billion) and Veza also contributed to the quarterly narrative, positioning the company as a consolidator in cybersecurity and AI governance — two of the fastest-growing segments in enterprise IT. The combination of organic subscription growth above 20% and strategic M&A (mergers and acquisitions) helped rebuild investor confidence after the severe drawdown that characterized the first four months of 2026.

NOWL ETF Outlook: What Investors Should Watch Next

The forward-looking picture for NOWL is tightly linked to ServiceNow's execution and the broader enterprise software demand environment. The most immediate factor is ServiceNow's third-quarter 2026 performance, with management guiding to subscription revenue of $3.975 billion to $3.980 billion — implying roughly 20% constant-currency growth. A strengthening U.S. dollar is expected to create an estimated $35 million headwind to cRPO, and investors will monitor whether AI-driven deal acceleration offsets currency pressures and any lingering enterprise spending caution.

Gross margin trends represent a critical watchpoint. ServiceNow's non-GAAP subscription gross margin contracted 250 basis points year-over-year to 80.5% in Q2, partly reflecting increased AI-related infrastructure costs. The Armis acquisition is also expected to reduce full-year operating margin by 75 basis points and free cash flow margin by 200 basis points. Any further margin erosion could weigh on the underlying stock and, through leverage, on NOWL.

Competitive dynamics in enterprise AI remain fluid. Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce are investing aggressively in AI agents and workflow automation, directly challenging ServiceNow's positioning as the "AI control tower" for enterprise deployments. Meanwhile, the risk of enterprises building AI tools in-house — exemplified by several high-profile cases in 2026 — continues to hang over the SaaS industry. For NOWL holders, the key structural risk is that daily-reset leveraged ETFs are explicitly designed for holding periods of one trading session or less. Over multi-week or multi-month periods, the combination of volatility decay, expense ratio drag, and compounding path-dependency can produce returns that differ substantially from 2x the underlying stock's performance. Investors should monitor volatility levels in NOW closely, as elevated daily swings accelerate NAV (net asset value) erosion in leveraged products. From what I see, these factors warrant close attention in the months ahead.

Using Tickeron AI Tools in My Research

In my analysis of leveraged ETFs like NOWL, I often turn to Tickeron’s AI Screener to scan for technical setups, volume anomalies, and sector momentum across thousands of securities. The platform’s AI-driven filters help surface opportunities that align with specific performance criteria, allowing me to cross-check ideas more efficiently than manual review alone. This approach complements traditional fundamental work and supports more informed tactical decisions.

Disclaimer

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Contributor

Jimmy Landsman|Expert

My name is Jimmy, and I’m a financial analyst focused on identifying compelling opportunities across the ETF market. Each day, I analyze hundreds of ETFs to uncover potential trading and investment opportunities using a broad range of market factors. For short-term trading, I rely heavily on technical analysis, including price channels, momentum indicators, support and resistance levels, trend patterns, and other market signals. At the same time, I dedicate significant attention to evaluating ETFs from a long-term investment perspective. My objective is to build a well-balanced ETF portfolio that combines core investment holdings with more tactical and speculative positions. The goal is to create a portfolio that can participate effectively in market rallies while also remaining resilient during periods of volatility and market corrections.

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