Automatic Data Processing vs Paychex
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The short version
- Automatic Data Processing is the larger business, with $21.9B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $6.5B for Paychex, about 3.4 times as much.
- Paychex grew revenue faster (16.9%, against 6.7%).
- Paychex turned more of its sales into free cash flow (35.7% FCF margin, against 23.9%).
- Automatic Data Processing earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (68.8%, against 26.2%).
| Latest fiscal year | ADP · FY26 | PAYX · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $122.7B | $42.1B |
| Revenue | $21.9B | $6.5B |
| Free cash flow | $5.2B | $2.3B |
| Net income | $4.4B | $1.8B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.7% | 16.9% |
| 5-year growth | 7.9% | 9.9% |
| Share count change | −1.3% | −0.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 46.4% | 74.3% |
| Operating margin | — | 38.6% |
| Net margin | 20.1% | 27.0% |
| FCF margin | 23.9% | 35.7% |
| Return on capital | 68.8% | 26.2% |
| Return on equity | 72.2% | 44.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $734M | $3.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | 1.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $4.7B | $2.2B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 23.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
ADP $12.4B
PAYX $3.2B
FY18
ADP $13.3B
PAYX $3.4B
FY19
ADP $14.1B
PAYX $3.8B
FY20
ADP $14.6B
PAYX $4.0B
FY21
ADP $15.0B
PAYX $4.1B
FY22
ADP $16.5B
PAYX $4.6B
FY23
ADP $18.0B
PAYX $5.0B
FY24
ADP $19.2B
PAYX $5.3B
FY25
ADP $20.6B
PAYX $5.6B
FY26
ADP $21.9B
PAYX $6.5B
ADP
PAYX
Operating margin
FY17
ADP —
PAYX 39.8%
FY18
ADP —
PAYX 38.2%
FY19
ADP —
PAYX 36.4%
FY20
ADP —
PAYX 36.2%
FY21
ADP —
PAYX 36.0%
FY22
ADP —
PAYX 39.9%
FY23
ADP —
PAYX 40.6%
FY24
ADP —
PAYX 41.2%
FY25
ADP —
PAYX 39.6%
FY26
ADP —
PAYX 38.6%
ADP
PAYX
Free cash flow
FY17
ADP $1.9B
PAYX $866M
FY18
ADP $2.3B
PAYX $1.1B
FY19
ADP $2.5B
PAYX $1.1B
FY20
ADP $2.9B
PAYX $1.3B
FY21
ADP $2.9B
PAYX $1.1B
FY22
ADP $2.9B
PAYX $1.5B
FY23
ADP $4.0B
PAYX $1.6B
FY24
ADP $3.9B
PAYX $1.7B
FY25
ADP $4.8B
PAYX $1.7B
FY26
ADP $5.2B
PAYX $2.3B
ADP
PAYX
Return on capital
FY17
ADP —
PAYX —
FY18
ADP —
PAYX —
FY19
ADP —
PAYX —
FY20
ADP —
PAYX 41.7%
FY21
ADP 44.4%
PAYX 41.6%
FY22
ADP —
PAYX 52.1%
FY23
ADP —
PAYX 57.5%
FY24
ADP —
PAYX 56.9%
FY25
ADP 78.2%
PAYX 31.9%
FY26
ADP 68.8%
PAYX 26.2%
ADP
PAYX
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.