Paychex is a cloud-based human capital management provider offering payroll, compliance, talent management, benefits administration, and retirement services. The firm also provides HR outsourcing services, including professional employer organization, or PEO, offerings, enabling clients to reduce HR overhead.
It is a $37.0B technology company. Revenue grew 14.0% over the last year, and it keeps 27¢ of every dollar of sales as profit. It trades at 20.5× earnings — near the lowest of its own history.
- Website
- paychex.com
- Location
- Rochester, NY
- Employees
- 17 600
- Sector
- Technology
- Founded
- 1971
Skills
Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.
Strong valuation, profitability, quality and moat; Health lags behind.
Valuation77
- P/E vs own history4th pct · 25/25
- FCF yield5.4% · 20/25
- P/S5.6x · 12/25
- EV/EBITDA13.5x · 20/25
Growth56
- Revenue CAGR9.0% · 12/25
- Net income CAGR6.0% · 12/25
- EPS CAGR ~5Y10.0% · 20/25
- Fwd implied growth9.0% · 12/25
Profitability75
- ROICn/a · 0/25
- ROE47.1% · 25/25
- Net margin27.4% · 25/25
- Operating margin39.2% · 25/25
Health37
- Altman Zn/a · 0/25
- Current ratio1.28 · 12/25
- Interest coverage12.2x · 25/25
- Net cash / debtn/a · 0/25
Quality100
- Piotroski F8/9 · 25/25
- Beneish M-7.10 · 25/25
- FCF conversion112% · 25/25
- Margin stabilityσ 2.7% · 25/25
Moat100
- ROIC >12% years10/10 yrs · 25/25
- Median gross margin71.0% · 25/25
- FCF-positive years11/11 yrs · 25/25
- Worst-year net marginworst 25.6% · 25/25
Experience
The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.
- FY2026FinancialBest year on record$1.76B net income
- 2025AcquisitionIt acquired Paycor for $4.1 billion In May 2025, Paychex acquired SixFifty, the legal tech unit of U.S
- FY2020FinancialBecame debt-freecash now exceeds total debt
- 2018AcquisitionIt acquired Lessor Group 2018
- FY2016FinancialProfitable every year on record11 consecutive profitable years in our data
- FY2016FinancialRevenue already above $1B$2.95B in first reported year
- FY2016FinancialPositive free cash flow every year since11-year streak
- 2014ProductPaychex and IHS Markit launched a Small Business Jobs Index in 2014 that measures the health of businesses employing…
- 2013AcquisitionBetween 2013 and 2017, it purchased myStaffingPro NETtime solutions Advance Partners
- 2007AcquisitionThe company purchased Hawthorne Benefit Technologies in 2007, SurePayroll, Inc
- 2002AcquisitionBetween 2002 and 2003, it acquired Advantage Payroll Services, Interpay
- 1996AcquisitionThe company acquired Olsen Computer Systems and National Business Systems
- 1995AcquisitionPaychex acquired Pay-Fone in 1995
- 1983IPOThe company (ticker symbol: PAYX) became a public company via an initial public offering
- 1971FoundedPaychex was founded in 1971 by Tom Golisano, who started the company with only $3,000
Achievements
Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.
Strengths & watch-outs
What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.
Strengths
- High gross margin (91.3%)
- Strongly profitable — 27.4% net margin
- Revenue growing 14.0% year over year
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 30.5% of revenue
- Interest covered 12.2× by operating earnings
Watch-outs
Nothing stands out as a concern in the available data.
Qualifications
The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.
- Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+14.0% YoY
- Profitable — makes more than it spends$1.81B TTM
- Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+4.4% YoY
- Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$2.02B TTM
- Debt under control — could handle its obligationscurrent ratio 1.28
- Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$37.0B market cap
- Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-0.6% shares over ~5y
- Proven track record — years of profitability behind it11/11 profitable years
- Financially stable — balance sheet not near distresshealth score 37/100
- Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 4.39%
- Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 20.5
Peer comparisonPaychex Inc vs 6 largest technology peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾Close ▴
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYX this company | $37.0B | 20.5 | +14.0% | 27.4% | Mixed |
| NVDA Nvidia Corp | $5.5T | 28.6 | +83.4% | 63.7% | Mixed |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | $4.9T | 38.1 | +14.2% | 27.6% | Strong |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | $4.3T | 17.6 | +20.1% | 54.8% | Mixed |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp | $4.0T | 29.7 | +17.8% | 40.3% | Strong |
| SPCX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | $2.1T | — | +33.2% | -34.0% | Strained |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | $1.8T | 26.9 | +27.7% | 29.8% | Mixed |
Head-to-head: PAYX vs NVDA · PAYX vs AAPL · PAYX vs GOOGL
References
What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.
Appendix · Financial records
The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2026. For readers who want to check the numbers.
Live data and quarterly detail: stockcv.com/PAYX
Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?
Deeper analysis of PAYX on PreMarketPriceFigures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $104.00 · market cap $37.0B.