Skip to content
stoqly

Paychex

PAYX Nasdaq Human Resource & Employment Services Financials FY2017–FY2026

Paychex's revenue rose 16.9% to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 38.5%, down from 39.6% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $2.3 billion, up 35.9%. It paid out $2.2 billion in dividends and buybacks, 95% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.6%.

Last close · Oct 23, 2026

$118.04

0.6%
Value it Compare
Revenue Total sales reported in the income statement.
$6.5B
16.9% vs prior year
Operating margin Operating income as a share of revenue.
38.6%
1.1 pts
Net income Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
$1.8B
6.2%
Free cash flow Cash from operations minus capital spending.
$2.3B
35.8%
Return on capital After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
26.2%
5.7 pts
Market cap Last close times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate.
$42.1B
Oct 23 close
P/E Last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters.
23.4x
On $5.05 EPS (TTM)

What Paychex does

No business description yet.

Legal name
Paychex, Inc.
Fiscal year ends
May 31, 2026
Latest annual report
—
Accession · CIK
0001193125-26-307785
0000723531

Revenue and margins

Paychex had $6.5B of revenue in fiscal 2026, up 16.9% on the year before.

Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2017 to 2026, diluted EPS grew 8.8% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.

Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS

Returns on capital

After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.

Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
Return on capital Return on equity Return on assets

Cash flow

Free cash flow was $2.3B in fiscal 2026, 35.7% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.

Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending

Dividends, buybacks and share count

Paychex returned $2.2B to shareholders in fiscal 2026, 95% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.6%.

Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)

Value Paychex yourself

Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.

Discounted cash flow

Value per share

—

Adds net cash of −$3.4B and divides by 360.0M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.

Earnings multiple

Value per share

—

Reference multiples: today 23.4x · peers 21.3x · sector 26.0x.

Balance sheet

Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Paychex can carry it.

Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Cash Debt
Fiscal year endFY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
Cash and short-term investments $1.2B$1.6B$1.5B$1.7B$1.1B
Debt incl. finance leases $806M$808M$817M$5.0B$4.6B
Net debt / EBITDA −0.2x−0.4x−0.3x1.4x1.2x
Debt / equity 0.3x0.2x0.2x1.2x1.2x
Interest coverage 50.3x55.4x58.3x21.0x9.3x
Current ratio 1.3x1.3x1.4x1.3x1.3x
Quick ratio 1.3x1.3x1.4x1.3x1.3x
Total assets $9.6B$10.5B$10.4B$16.6B$16.2B
Total liabilities $6.6B$7.1B$6.6B$12.4B$12.4B
Shareholders' equity $3.1B$3.5B$3.8B$4.1B$3.7B
Net debt (− = net cash) −$418M−$787M−$686M$3.3B$3.4B

Insider trades

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Bought, 12 months

$0.2M

2 insiders

Sold, 12 months

$4.6M

6 insiders

Of sales under plans

0%

$0.0M

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Oct 14, 2026 Joseph M VelliDirector Sold 7,839 $107.68 $0.8M Form 4
Jul 20, 2026 Robert L. SchraderSr. VP, CFO Sold 2,600 $115.09 $0.3M Form 4
Jul 17, 2026 Christopher C SimmonsVP, Controller & Treasurer Sold 2,615 $115.92 $0.3M Form 4
Jul 14, 2026 Martin MucciDirector Sold 25,000 $109.93 $2.7M Form 4
Jun 26, 2026 Joseph M TucciDirector Sold 3,907 $98.25 $0.4M Form 4
May 13, 2026 Elizabeth RoaldsenSr. Vice President Sold 459 $90.00 $0.0M Form 4
Feb 4, 2026 Joseph DoodyDirector Bought 1,000 $98.76 $0.1M Form 4
Feb 4, 2026 Tom BonadioDirector Bought 1,000 $98.50 $0.1M Form 4

Piotroski F-score

Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.

TestFY24FY25FY26
Net income is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash from operations is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Return on assets rose ✕ ✕ ✕
Cash from operations exceeds net income ✓ ✓ ✓
Debt fell relative to assets ✓ ✕ ✓
Current ratio rose ✓ ✕ ✕
Share count didn't rise ✓ ✓ ✓
Gross margin rose ✓ ✓ ✓
Revenue rose relative to assets ✕ ✓ ✕
F-score 7 / 96 / 96 / 9
Accruals ratio −2.0%−1.8%−4.9%
Altman Z'' 3.942.472.44

Similar companies

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.

CompanyMarket capGrowthOp. marginFCF marginROICP/EF-score
Paychex PAYX $42.1B 16.9% 38.6% 35.7% 26.2% 23.4x 6
Korn Ferry KFY $4.0B 6.4% 12.8% 11.0% 21.9% 14.8x 8 Compare →
Automatic Data Processing ADP $122.7B 6.7% — 23.9% 68.8% — 9 Compare →
Paylocity PCTY $9.7B 11.0% 21.8% 28.1% 26.5% — 8 Compare →
Upwork UPWK $1.2B 2.4% 16.4% 30.8% 31.0% 12.3x 6 Compare →

10 years of figures

US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.

Download CSV
Fiscal yearFY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
Income statement
Revenue $3.2B $3.4B $3.8B $4.0B $4.1B $4.6B $5.0B $5.3B $5.6B $6.5B
Gross profit — $2.4B $2.6B $2.8B $2.8B $3.3B $3.6B $3.8B $4.0B $4.8B
Operating income $1.3B $1.3B $1.4B $1.5B $1.5B $1.8B $2.0B $2.2B $2.2B $2.5B
Interest expense $2.5M $3.9M $17.6M $38.8M $35.8M $36.6M $36.7M $37.3M $105M $270M
Pretax income $1.3B $1.3B $1.4B $1.4B $1.4B $1.8B $2.0B $2.2B $2.2B $2.3B
Income tax $433M $306M $334M $339M $337M $432M $491M $528M $519M $551M
Net income $826M $994M $1.0B $1.1B $1.1B $1.4B $1.6B $1.7B $1.7B $1.8B
Diluted EPS $2.28 $2.75 $2.86 $3.04 $3.03 $3.84 $4.30 $4.67 $4.58 $4.89
Diluted shares 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B 0.36B
Cash flow
Cash from operations $960M $1.3B $1.3B $1.4B $1.3B $1.6B $1.7B $1.9B $1.9B $2.6B
Capital expenditure $94.3M $154M $124M $127M $118M $134M $143M $161M $192M $235M
Free cash flow $866M $1.1B $1.1B $1.3B $1.1B $1.5B $1.6B $1.7B $1.7B $2.3B
Depreciation and amortization $127M $138M $182M $210M $192M $192M $177M $177M $210M $443M
Stock-based compensation $35.4M $44.6M $46.2M $47.4M $52.5M $52.8M $62.6M $61.1M $112M $96.1M
Acquisitions $0.0M $180M $992M $6.1M $19.5M $24.9M $2.7M $208M $3.0B $0.4M
Share buybacks $166M $143M $56.9M $172M $156M $145M $0.0M $169M $105M $611M
Dividends paid $662M $740M $827M $889M $909M $1,000M $1.2B $1.3B $1.4B $1.6B
Dividends and buybacks $829M $883M $884M $1.1B $1.1B $1.1B $1.2B $1.5B $1.6B $2.2B
Balance sheet
Cash and short-term investments $323M $424M $713M $932M $1.0B $1.2B $1.6B $1.5B $1.7B $1.1B
Total debt — — $796M $802M $805M $806M $808M $817M $5.0B $4.6B
Finance lease liabilities $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Current assets $5.3B $5.9B $5.7B $5.5B $6.2B $6.6B $7.5B $7.3B $8.9B $8.6B
Current liabilities $4.7B $5.3B $4.8B $4.4B $4.9B $5.3B $5.8B $5.3B $7.0B $6.8B
Inventory $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Property and equipment, net $337M $394M $409M $407M $396M $401M $396M $412M $512M $589M
Total assets $6.8B $7.9B $8.7B $8.6B $9.2B $9.6B $10.5B $10.4B $16.6B $16.2B
Total liabilities $4.9B $5.6B $6.1B $5.8B $6.3B $6.6B $7.1B $6.6B $12.4B $12.4B
Shareholders' equity $2.2B $2.4B $2.6B $2.8B $2.9B $3.1B $3.5B $3.8B $4.1B $3.7B
Margins
Gross margin — 69.9% 68.8% 68.3% 68.7% 70.6% 71.0% 72.0% 72.4% 74.3%
Operating margin 39.8% 38.2% 36.4% 36.2% 36.0% 39.9% 40.6% 41.2% 39.6% 38.6%
EBITDA margin 43.8% 42.3% 41.2% 41.3% 40.7% 44.1% 44.1% 44.5% 43.4% 45.4%
Net margin 26.2% 29.4% 27.4% 27.2% 27.1% 30.2% 31.1% 32.0% 29.7% 27.0%
FCF margin 27.5% 33.2% 30.4% 32.5% 28.2% 31.6% 31.2% 32.9% 30.7% 35.7%
Returns
Return on capital — — — 41.7% 41.6% 52.1% 57.5% 56.9% 31.9% 26.2%
Return on capital employed 60.0% 54.6% 42.5% 36.7% 34.7% 42.5% 44.7% 44.3% 30.1% 26.5%
Return on equity 39.9% 43.4% 41.6% 40.7% 38.3% 46.2% 47.4% 46.4% 41.8% 44.8%
Return on assets 12.5% 13.5% 12.5% 12.8% 12.4% 14.8% 15.4% 16.2% 12.3% 10.8%
Growth
Revenue growth 6.8% 7.1% 11.7% 7.1% 0.4% 13.7% 8.6% 5.4% 5.6% 16.9%
Net income growth 9.2% 20.3% 4.1% 6.2% −0.1% 26.9% 11.8% 8.6% −2.0% 6.2%
EPS growth 9.1% 20.6% 4.0% 6.3% −0.3% 26.7% 12.0% 8.6% −1.9% 6.8%
FCF growth −5.9% 29.6% 2.3% 14.5% −13.1% 27.5% 7.4% 11.1% −1.6% 35.9%
Share count change 0.0% −0.3% 0.1% −0.2% 0.3% 0.3% −0.2% −0.1% −0.0% −0.6%
Financial health
Net debt / EBITDA — — 0.1x −0.1x −0.1x −0.2x −0.4x −0.3x 1.4x 1.2x
Debt / equity — — 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x 0.2x 0.2x 1.2x 1.2x
Interest coverage 501.6x 331.2x 77.9x 37.6x 40.8x 50.3x 55.4x 58.3x 21.0x 9.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.2x 1.2x 1.3x 1.3x 1.3x 1.4x 1.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.2x 1.2x 1.3x 1.3x 1.3x 1.4x 1.3x 1.3x
Capital allocation
Capex / revenue 3.0% 4.6% 3.3% 3.1% 2.9% 2.9% 2.9% 3.1% 3.4% 3.6%
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.3% 1.2% 1.2% 1.3% 1.1% 1.3% 1.2% 2.0% 1.5%
Payouts / FCF 95.7% 78.7% 77.0% 80.8% 93.2% 78.6% 75.2% 85.5% 90.9% 94.8%
Quality scores
Piotroski F-score — — — 6.0 8.0 7.0 9.0 7.0 6.0 6.0
Altman Z'' 2.7 2.6 2.7 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.5 3.9 2.5 2.4
Accruals ratio −2.0% −3.8% −2.9% −4.0% −1.8% −2.1% −1.5% −2.0% −1.8% −4.9%

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000723531). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.

↑ ↓ to move · ↵ to open