Paychex (PAYX) is an S&P 500 company in Human Resource & Employment Services. It grades strongest on profitability and weakest on momentum.
Where PAYX ranks among the 1,500 U.S. stocks the model scores each trading day, its expected return, the evidence for and against it, and whether the model portfolio holds it. The grades below describe the company's data; they are not the model's view.
See plansTotal returns with dividends reinvested.
Each grade compares PAYX with the rest of its sector (A+ best, F worst); the numbers behind it are shown with the typical figure for its peers.
| Market value | $35.5B |
| Enterprise value | $39.0B |
| P/E (trailing) | 20.4x |
| Forward P/E (Torvanta estimate) | 19.2x |
| PEG (Torvanta estimate) | 3.09 |
| Price / sales | 5.4x |
| Price / book | 9.5x |
| EV / revenue | 6.0x |
| EV / EBITDA | 13.2x |
| Revenue, last 12 months | $6.5B |
| Net income, last 12 months | $1.8B |
| EPS, last 12 months (GAAP) | $4.90 |
| Gross margin | 74.3% |
| Operating margin | 38.6% |
| Net margin | 27.0% |
| Return on equity | 44.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 26.5% |
| Cash | $1.1B |
| Total debt | $4.6B |
| Debt / equity | 1.22x |
| Free cash flow, last 12 months | $2.3B |
| Interest cover | 9.3x |
| Current ratio | 1.26x |
Company figures from its latest SEC filings; market value and returns from end-of-day prices.
From the company's 10-Q and 10-K filings with the SEC.
| Fiscal year | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.6B | $5.0B | $5.3B | $5.6B | $6.5B |
| Net income | n/a | n/a | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.8B |
| EPS (GAAP) | $3.84 | $4.30 | $4.67 | $4.57 | $4.90 |
| Free cash flow | $1.4B | $1.6B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $2.3B |
| Reported | EPS (GAAP) | EPS y/y | Revenue y/y | Stock vs S&P 500, 2 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | $1.18 | +44% | +12% | -1.4% |
| 2026-03-25 | $1.56 | +9% | +20% | +4.5% |
| 2025-12-19 | $1.10 | -4% | +18% | -1.0% |
| 2025-09-30 | $1.06 | -10% | +17% | -4.2% |
| 2025-06-25 | $0.82 | -22% | +10% | -8.2% |
| 2025-03-26 | $1.43 | +4% | +5% | +6.8% |
From the company's SEC registration record.
| Company | Market value | P/E | Revenue growth | Operating margin | 12-month change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYX Paychex | $35.5B | 20.4x | +17% | 38.6% | -16% | |
| UAL United Airlines | $35.7B | 10.3x | +8% | 7.7% | +15% | compare |
| EME Emcor | $34.4B | 24.3x | +19% | 10.4% | +19% | compare |
| ODFL Old Dominion Freight | $37.2B | 34.5x | -1% | 25.8% | +28% | compare |
| AXON Axon Enterprise | $33.5B | 170.9x | +35% | 0.7% | -42% | |
| IR Ingersoll Rand | $30.5B | 32.3x | +8% | 18.1% | -6% | |
| FERG Ferguson Enterprises | $43.1B | 23.3x | -8% | 9.0% | -2% |
Torvanta does not tell individuals what to buy. Its grades for PAYX are shown above. Subscribers see the model's rank, expected return and whether the model portfolio holds it. This is research, not a recommendation.
PAYX trades at about 20.4 times its last 12 months of GAAP earnings reported to the SEC, and about 19.2 times Torvanta's own estimate of the next 12 months.
Based on its filing history, Torvanta expects Paychex to report around 2026-12-18.
Yes. Its dividend yield is about 4.6%, and it has raised its dividend 12 years in a row.
Over the past year PAYX returned -16.4%, against +17.0% for the S&P 500, dividends reinvested.
Subscribers get the model's rank and expected return for every covered company, the reasoning behind each, and the Torvanta model portfolio's trades each trading day, sized and explained, at three risk levels.
See plans Or get the free weekly newsletterTorvanta is research only - not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Grades describe a company's reported data against its sector; they are not the model's view, change as data changes and can be wrong. Financial figures come from the company's SEC filings; returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results.
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