Automatic Data Processing vs Paylocity
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The short version
- Automatic Data Processing is the larger business, with $21.9B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $1.8B for Paylocity, about 12 times as much.
- Paylocity grew revenue faster (11.0%, against 6.7%).
- Paylocity turned more of its sales into free cash flow (28.1% FCF margin, against 23.9%).
- Automatic Data Processing earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (68.8%, against 26.5%).
| Latest fiscal year | ADP · FY26 | PCTY · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $122.7B | $9.7B |
| Revenue | $21.9B | $1.8B |
| Free cash flow | $5.2B | $497M |
| Net income | $4.4B | $270M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.7% | 11.0% |
| 5-year growth | 7.9% | 22.8% |
| Share count change | −1.3% | −3.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 46.4% | 69.2% |
| Operating margin | — | 21.8% |
| Net margin | 20.1% | 15.2% |
| FCF margin | 23.9% | 28.1% |
| Return on capital | 68.8% | 26.5% |
| Return on equity | 72.2% | 22.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $734M | −$191M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.1x | −0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $4.7B | $398M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 8 |
Revenue
FY17
ADP $12.4B
PCTY $300M
FY18
ADP $13.3B
PCTY $378M
FY19
ADP $14.1B
PCTY $468M
FY20
ADP $14.6B
PCTY $561M
FY21
ADP $15.0B
PCTY $636M
FY22
ADP $16.5B
PCTY $853M
FY23
ADP $18.0B
PCTY $1.2B
FY24
ADP $19.2B
PCTY $1.4B
FY25
ADP $20.6B
PCTY $1.6B
FY26
ADP $21.9B
PCTY $1.8B
ADP
PCTY
Operating margin
FY17
ADP —
PCTY 2.4%
FY18
ADP —
PCTY 4.2%
FY19
ADP —
PCTY 12.0%
FY20
ADP —
PCTY 11.8%
FY21
ADP —
PCTY 9.1%
FY22
ADP —
PCTY 9.9%
FY23
ADP —
PCTY 13.2%
FY24
ADP —
PCTY 18.5%
FY25
ADP —
PCTY 19.1%
FY26
ADP —
PCTY 21.8%
ADP
PCTY
Free cash flow
FY17
ADP $1.9B
PCTY $40.6M
FY18
ADP $2.3B
PCTY $76.2M
FY19
ADP $2.5B
PCTY $104M
FY20
ADP $2.9B
PCTY $96.1M
FY21
ADP $2.9B
PCTY $115M
FY22
ADP $2.9B
PCTY $137M
FY23
ADP $4.0B
PCTY $261M
FY24
ADP $3.9B
PCTY $367M
FY25
ADP $4.8B
PCTY $405M
FY26
ADP $5.2B
PCTY $497M
ADP
PCTY
Return on capital
FY17
ADP —
PCTY —
FY18
ADP —
PCTY —
FY19
ADP —
PCTY —
FY20
ADP —
PCTY —
FY21
ADP 44.4%
PCTY 24.3%
FY22
ADP —
PCTY 22.7%
FY23
ADP —
PCTY 26.8%
FY24
ADP —
PCTY 32.8%
FY25
ADP 78.2%
PCTY 27.4%
FY26
ADP 68.8%
PCTY 26.5%
ADP
PCTY
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.