Sunday 11 October 2026
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Paychex, Inc.
PAYX Technology Software Application
Paychex, Inc.’s revenue for fiscal 2026 (year ended May 2026) was $6.5 billion, up 16.9% from fiscal 2025. In the quarter to August 2026, revenue grew 5.88%, EPS grew 13.1%, free cash flow fell 46.1% and total debt fell 8.27%, each against the same quarter a year earlier. Member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100; dividend growth for ten consecutive years, revenue growth for ten, operating cash flow growth for five; insiders bought in the last twelve months.
103.98
0.48
−0.46%
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Target Price Range
Analyst price targets
Free accountTen years at a glance Fiscal years to May
| Group | Line | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Trend | 2027e | 2028e | 2029e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price, $ | |||||||||||||||
| Price, $ | Low | 54.20 | 59.36 | 63.33 | 47.87 | 85.30 | 105.66 | 104.09 | 114.72 | 108.00 | 85.45 |
Analyst estimates 2027–2029 Powerpack |
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| High | 70.39 | 76.02 | 88.43 | 99.95 | 138.97 | 141.92 | 129.70 | 150.71 | 161.24 | 127.98 | |||||
| People | |||||||||||||||
| People | Employees | 13,700 | 14,300 | 15,600 | 15,800 | 15,000 | 16,000 | 16,600 | 16,500 | 19,000 | 17,600 | ||||
| Revenue/emp, $m | 0.23 | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.32 | 0.29 | 0.37 | |||||
| Income, $m | |||||||||||||||
| Income, $m | Revenue | 3,153 | 3,378 | 3,773 | 4,041 | 4,057 | 4,612 | 5,007 | 5,278 | 5,572 | 6,512 | ||||
| Gross margin, % | 70.84 | 69.86 | 68.78 | 68.30 | 68.66 | 70.59 | 70.98 | 71.97 | 72.35 | 74.29 | |||||
| EBT | 1,259 | 1,300 | 1,368 | 1,437 | 1,434 | 1,825 | 2,048 | 2,218 | 2,176 | 2,311 | |||||
| EBT margin, % | 39.93 | 38.49 | 36.26 | 35.57 | 35.35 | 39.56 | 40.91 | 42.02 | 39.05 | 35.49 | |||||
| Net income | 826 | 994 | 1,034 | 1,098 | 1,098 | 1,393 | 1,557 | 1,690 | 1,657 | 1,760 | |||||
| Depreciation | 369 | 378 | 411 | 437 | 419 | 423 | 414 | 401 | 469 | 684 | |||||
| Per share, $ | |||||||||||||||
| Per share, $ | Revenue | 8.76 | 9.41 | 10.50 | 11.27 | 11.27 | 12.79 | 13.89 | 14.65 | 15.47 | 18.14 | ||||
| Earnings | 2.27 | 2.60 | 2.88 | 3.06 | 3.05 | 3.86 | 4.32 | 4.69 | 4.60 | 4.90 | |||||
| Cash flow | 2.67 | 3.56 | 3.54 | 4.02 | 3.50 | 4.41 | 4.73 | 5.27 | 5.28 | 7.12 | |||||
| Capex | (0.26) | (0.43) | (0.34) | (0.35) | (0.32) | (0.37) | (0.35) | (0.45) | (0.53) | (0.65) | |||||
| Free cash flow | 2.41 | 3.13 | 3.20 | 3.67 | 3.18 | 4.04 | 4.38 | 4.82 | 4.74 | 6.47 | |||||
| Book value | 5.43 | 6.56 | 7.29 | 7.76 | 8.19 | 8.56 | 9.69 | 10.55 | 11.46 | 10.41 | |||||
| Shares, m | 360 | 359 | 359 | 359 | 360 | 361 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 359 | |||||
| Valuation, × | |||||||||||||||
| Valuation, × | P/E | 26.21 | 22.67 | 29.79 | 23.44 | 33.11 | 32.08 | 24.29 | 25.57 | 34.24 | 20.86 | ||||
| P/S | 6.76 | 6.97 | 8.17 | 6.38 | 8.96 | 9.68 | 7.55 | 8.20 | 10.18 | 5.65 | |||||
| P/B | 10.90 | 9.99 | 11.76 | 9.27 | 12.33 | 14.47 | 10.83 | 11.39 | 13.74 | 9.84 | |||||
| EV/Sales | 6.67 | 6.86 | 8.19 | 6.34 | 8.89 | 9.58 | 7.39 | 8.06 | 10.77 | 6.23 | |||||
| EV/FCF | 24.30 | 20.65 | 26.93 | 19.49 | 31.48 | 30.32 | 23.41 | 24.51 | 35.10 | 17.46 | |||||
| Cash, $m | |||||||||||||||
| Cash, $m | Operating cash flow | 960 | 1,276 | 1,272 | 1,441 | 1,260 | 1,590 | 1,706 | 1,898 | 1,901 | 2,557 | ||||
| Capex | (94) | (154) | (124) | (127) | (115) | (133) | (126) | (161) | (192) | (235) | |||||
| Free cash flow | 866 | 1,122 | 1,148 | 1,314 | 1,146 | 1,457 | 1,580 | 1,736 | 1,709 | 2,322 | |||||
| Balance, $m | |||||||||||||||
| Balance, $m | Working capital | 547 | 597 | 833 | 1,038 | 1,231 | 1,312 | 1,723 | 1,942 | 1,960 | 1,773 | ||||
| Total debt | — | — | 796 | 802 | 805 | 806 | 808 | 817 | 4,967 | 4,556 | |||||
| Net debt | (323) | (424) | 33 | (180) | (278) | (468) | (837) | (733) | 3,256 | 3,379 | |||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 1,955 | 2,357 | 2,620 | 2,781 | 2,948 | 3,085 | 3,493 | 3,801 | 4,128 | 3,735 | |||||
| Returns, % | |||||||||||||||
| Returns, % | ROA | 12.45 | 13.48 | 12.47 | 12.75 | 12.35 | 14.77 | 15.43 | 16.15 | 12.30 | 10.75 | ||||
| ROIC | 48.02 | 41.77 | 32.31 | 35.09 | 34.20 | 43.94 | 47.83 | 44.29 | 18.69 | 22.06 | |||||
| ROE | 42.74 | 46.11 | 41.57 | 40.66 | 38.31 | 46.17 | 47.35 | 46.35 | 41.80 | 44.77 | |||||
Negative figures in brackets.
Fiscal years to May 2026 · latest quarter Aug 2026 · fundamentals updated 2 Oct 2026
Charts ten years each
Paychex, Inc. vs peers in Software Application (Q) = latest quarter vs a year earlier
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Fwd P/E | Revenue growth (Q) | EPS growth (Q) | FCF growth (Q) | Gross margin (Q) | EBIT margin (Q) | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTR Strategy Inc | $63.9B | — (loss-making) | 3.8× | +6.88% (above 0%: growing) | n/m | +6.40% (above 0%: growing) | 66.64% | (6,808.11%) | Compare |
| TEAM Atlassian Corporation PLC | $51.5B | — (loss-making) | 125× | +27.60% (above 0%: growing) | n/m | +31.74% (above 0%: growing) | 86.50% | 11.93% | Compare |
| ADSK Autodesk, Inc. | $48.8B | 30.2× | 27.1× | +16.05% (above 0%: growing) | +59.18% (above 0%: growing) | +24.77% (above 0%: growing) | 91.40% | 29.28% | Compare |
| WDAY Workday, Inc. | $45.3B | 37.6× | 35.1× | +12.82% (above 0%: growing) | +200.00% (above 0%: growing) | −21.77% (below 0%: shrinking) | 75.39% | 11.82% | Compare |
| PAYX Paychex, Inc. | $37.2B | 20.6× | 17.9× | +5.88% (above 0%: growing) | +13.08% (above 0%: growing) | −46.05% (below 0%: shrinking) | 73.62% | 37.98% | |
| ROP Roper Technologies, Inc. | $36.0B | 15.0× | 20.5× | +8.50% (above 0%: growing) | +230.68% (above 0%: growing) | +18.70% (above 0%: growing) | 69.71% | 27.73% | Compare |
| ZM Zoom Communications, Inc. | $27.6B | 8.8× | 24.6× | +4.93% (above 0%: growing) | +342.86% (above 0%: growing) | −7.02% (below 0%: shrinking) | 77.16% | 24.61% | Compare |
| PTC PTC Inc. | $21.1B | 18.7× | 15.2× | −6.82% (below 0%: shrinking) | −11.86% (below 0%: shrinking) | +3.02% (above 0%: growing) | 81.74% | 27.75% | Compare |
| U Unity Software Inc. | $20.2B | — (loss-making) | — (loss-making) | +23.93% (above 0%: growing) | n/m | +59.46% (above 0%: growing) | 79.56% | (5.90%) | Compare |
| Median of peers | $40.6B | 18.7× | 24.6× | +10.66% | +200.00% | +12.55% | 78.36% | 18.27% |
PAYX metrics, ten years each
- Revenue
- Net income
- EPS (diluted)
- EBITDA
- Free cash flow
- Operating cash flow
- Gross margin
- Operating margin
- Net margin
- Free cash flow margin
- P/E ratio
- P/S ratio
- P/B ratio
- Price to free cash flow
- EV/EBITDA
- EV/Sales
- EV/FCF
- Return on equity
- Return on assets
- Return on invested capital
- Debt to equity
- Current ratio
- Total debt
- Shares outstanding
- Book value per share
- Revenue growth
- Piotroski F-score
- Altman Z-score
- Beneish M-score
Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) key facts
- Strength: Paychex, Inc.’s revenue for fiscal 2026 (year ended May 2026) was $6.5 billion, up 16.9% from fiscal 2025.
- Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) is a Software Application company in the Technology sector, listed on Nasdaq.
- As of October 9, 2026, PAYX traded at $103.98, a market capitalization of $37.2 billion.
- Paychex, Inc. pays an annual dividend of $4.54 per share, a yield of 4.37%, with a payout ratio of 90.1%.
- Return on equity was 44.8% and debt-to-equity 1.23.
- Its Piotroski F-score is 6 out of 9 and its Altman Z-score is 2.88 (grey zone) for fiscal 2026.
Financial Analysis (summary)
Updated
Paychex recorded $6.5 billion of revenue, $1.8 billion of net income and $2.3 billion of free cash flow in FY2026. Operating income was $2.5 billion in FY2026, while net debt was $3.4 billion at the end of FY2026.
In Q1 FY2027, revenue was $1.6 billion, operating income was $619.2 million and net income was $429.7 million. Revenue increased 5.88% in Q1 FY2027 against Q1 FY2026, while diluted EPS increased 13.7% over the same period and free cash flow declined 46.1%.