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NASDAQ NMS - GLOBAL MARKET · Professional Services · CIK 0000723531
$118.81
+5.61% · live
Updated
$42.25B market value
From PAYCHEX INC's FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026 · read the filing
PAYCHEX provides engineering, research and consulting services. It took in $6.30B last year, which makes it a mid-sized company. Of every dollar it sells, about 28 cents is left as profit.
The financial picture is led by profitability, growth and debt.
A conclusion from the filings, not a recommendation. Detailed figures and supporting evidence appear in their dedicated sections below.
Recent open-market selling by VELLI JOSEPH M, not under a pre-arranged plan.
$844.1K sold in the last 120 days · Read the filing
These are things the company filed or that a published model flagged — not predictions, and not a reason on their own to buy or sell anything.
Financial health
Strong finances across the board.
From PAYCHEX INC's FY2026 annual filing · share price scored separately
Largest year-over-year changes in FY2026
Revenue
$5.41B → $6.30B
Gross profit
$3.87B → $4.63B
Free cash flow
$1.71B → $2.32B
Cash
$1.63B → $1.09B
Measured against FY2025, from the 10-K filed Jul 17, 2026
Improved: +16.5%
$5.41B to $6.30BSignificant
Why it matters: Sales are what everything else is built on. A fall can be lost customers, lower prices, or a business the company sold — the filing itself says which.
How the latest move compares (quote live), and what was published around it
PAYX rose 5.61% on the latest quote. The average Industrials company tracked here moved +0.37%, and the S&P 500 −1.04%. That is 5.2 points above its sector and 6.7 points above the market.
Expectations
Not from the filings — what other people are betting on, and what the price already assumes.
The growth rate someone buying today is paying for, against what the company has delivered
At today's price, the market is paying for free cash flow to grow by about 5% a year for the next 10 years. Over the last 10 years it grew by about 10% a year.
The essentials
Each answered from the filings, with the numbers behind it.
Yes. It keeps about 28 cents of every dollar of sales as profit, earning $1.76B last year.
Yes, quickly. Sales grew 16.5% last year.
No. At its current cash flow it could clear its debt in about 1.4 years. For every $1 it owes, it owns $1.30 in assets.
Core operating and valuation reference metrics
Whether the dividend is covered by what the business actually earns
It pays out 90 cents of every dollar of profit, which leaves little room for the payment to survive a bad year. It paid out 62% of the cash its operations generated. It has paid in each of the last 12 years.
MixedFigures from the FY2026 annual filing
Last year it earned $1.76B and generated $2.56B of cash from operations.
Reported annual figures
As reported to the SEC, in USD. Hover or show sources to see where each figure came from.
| Income statement | FY202610-K · Jul 17, 2026Filing for FY2026 | FY202510-K · Jul 17, 2026Filing for FY2025 | FY202410-K · Jul 17, 2026Filing for FY2024 | FY202310-K · Jul 11, 2024Filing for FY2023 | FY202210-K · Jul 11, 2024Filing for FY2022 | ChangeFY2026 vs FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RevenueWhat is this? | $6.30B | $5.41B | $5.13B | $4.91B | $4.55B | +16.5% |
| Cost of revenue | $1.67B | $1.54B | $1.48B | $1.45B | $1.36B | +8.7% |
| Gross profit | $4.63B† | $3.87B† | $3.65B† | $3.45B† | $3.20B† | +19.6% |
| Gross marginGross profit ÷ revenueWhat is this? | 73.4% | 71.5% | 71.2% | 70.4% | 70.2% | +1.9 pts |
| Selling, general and administrative | $2.33B | $1.82B | $1.62B | $1.52B | $1.42B | +27.6% |
| Operating income | $2.51B | $2.21B | $2.17B | $2.03B | $1.84B | +13.7% |
| Operating marginOperating income ÷ revenueWhat is this? | 39.8% | 40.8% | 42.4% | 41.4% | 40.4% | −1.0 pts |
| Interest expense | $269.5M | $105.4M | $37.3M | $36.7M | $36.6M | +155.7% |
| Income before tax | $2.31B | $2.18B | $2.22B | $2.05B | $1.82B | +6.2% |
| Net income | $1.76B | $1.66B | $1.69B | $1.56B | $1.39B | +6.2% |
| Net marginNet income ÷ revenueWhat is this? | 27.9% | 30.6% | 32.9% | 31.7% | 30.6% | −2.7 pts |
| Earnings per shareNet income ÷ shares outstanding at the period end — close to, but not the same as, the reported EPSWhat is this? | $4.95 | $4.60 | $4.69 | $4.32 | $3.87 | +7.7% |
† calculated from other reported figures, such as total liabilities as assets minus equity.
This company's latest filing beside its peers' stored scores
| Company | Health | F-Score | Revenue growth | Profit margin | P/E | Debt to equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYXPAYCHEX INC · this page | 10.0/10 | 7/9 | 16.5% | 27.9% | 24.00x |
Insider activity, ownership stakes and what's coming — straight from EDGAR, before any article is written about it
Officers, directors and major shareholders must report within two business days of a trade.
Had shares withheld to cover taxes — 409 shares at $110.75 ($45.3K)
Holds 80,957 shares after this filing.
Was granted or awarded shares — 970 shares
Holds 1,594 shares after this filing.
20 recent filings, newest first. Each is labelled from its form and item numbers, not from its wording.
Held a shareholder vote
Read the filingQuarterly report for Q1 FY2027
Revenue +5.9% · Operating margin +2.9 pts · Free cash flow -46.1% — against Q1 FY2026
Read the filingWrite down why you are following PAYCHEX INC, what has to go right and what would change your mind, then see each new annual report measured against it. Sign in to start one.
Go deeper
Every figure above traces back to a filing in the timeline, each linked to the document itself.
The 27 subsidiaries named in its 10-K, incorporated across 6 places. A filer lists the significant ones and may leave the rest out, so this is the floor rather than the full count.
Every company's figures are checked for internal consistency: the balance sheet adding up, figures sharing one currency, cash flow and share counts within plausible ranges, and how recent the latest annual report is. Nothing here changes a figure.
Financial figures are from PAYX's 10-K for fiscal year 2026 (period ending 2026-05-31, filed Jul 17, 2026), reported under the US GAAP taxonomy. View the source filing.
3 of 4 scored areas had enough reported figures to judge
The score averages profitability, growth, debt and accounting. Accounting had too few reported figures and is left out of the average rather than counted as a weakness, so a company is never marked down for a figure it did not publish. Cash generation is shown for context and already feeds profitability. Valuation is scored separately, because a share price says nothing about whether the business is sound. 9 of the 9 Piotroski checks could be evaluated. How the score works
Each year scored only from its annual report as it was first filed
| Fiscal year | Health | F-Score | Scored from |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 10.0 | 7/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026 |
| FY2025 | 8.7 | 5/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 11, 2025 |
| FY2024 | 8.7 | 8/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 11, 2024 |
| FY2023 | 8.7 | 8/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 14, 2023 |
| FY2022 | 8.7 | 8/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 15, 2022 |
| FY2021 | 8.7 | 7/9 | 10-K, filed Jul 16, 2021 |
A later restatement never reaches back into an earlier year, and every year is scored without a share price, so the latest point can differ a little from the headline score, which uses today's price.
Every check behind the three models, and what each one tests
7 of 9 checks passed
Nine yes-or-no tests of whether this year's finances improved on last year's.
2.44
In the grey zone
For this model, above 2.6 is safe and below 1.1 is distress.
Distance from bankruptcy, from a model fitted on companies that did and did not go bust. It describes a balance sheet's shape today; it does not forecast a failure.
not reported — This company has not reported enough of the required figures to calculate this score.
This company has not reported enough of the required figures to calculate this score.
Screens eight accounting ratios for the pattern earnings manipulators tend to leave. A flag is a reason to read the filing closely, never evidence of wrongdoing.
Every figure above comes from the FY2026 filing as filed with the SEC.
Improved: +19.6%
$3.87B to $4.63BSignificant
Why it matters: What is left of sales after the direct cost of producing them. It normally moves with revenue, so a move out of step with revenue is the part worth noticing.
Improved: +35.8%
$1.71B to $2.32BSignificant
Why it matters: Cash left after paying for the plant that produced it — the money genuinely available for dividends, buybacks or paying down debt. Harder to flatter than profit.
Deteriorated: -33.2%
$1.63B to $1.09BSignificant
Why it matters: A falling cash pile is only a warning if the company is consuming it. Paying down debt, buying back stock and paying a dividend all reduce cash by choice.
Changed: +22.5%
$191.8M to $234.9MSignificant
Why it matters: Neither good nor bad on its own. Heavy spending is a company building capacity or a company struggling to stand still, and the two look identical in this figure.
Improved: +13.7%
$2.21B to $2.51BNotable
Why it matters: Profit from running the business, before interest and tax. Less exposed than profit to one-off financing and tax items, so a clearer read on the business itself.
Improved: +6.2%
$1.66B to $1.76BNotable
Why it matters: Profit swings far more than sales do, and one-off items — a legal settlement, a tax charge, an asset sale — move it without the underlying business changing.
Improved: +1.9 pts
71.5% to 73.4%Notable
Why it matters: What survives each sale before overheads. Falling gross margin usually means the company is discounting or its input costs rose — it is the earliest place pricing pressure shows.
Deteriorated: −2.7 pts
30.6% to 27.9%Notable
Why it matters: What survives to the very end of each sale. Worth reading beside revenue: growing sales on a shrinking margin means the company is buying its growth.
Improved: +7.7%
$4.60 to $4.95Notable
Why it matters: Profit divided by the shares in issue at the period end, so it sits close to but not on the company's own reported figure. It can rise with no growth in profit when the company buys back stock — read it beside the share count.
Improved: -1.4%
360.5M to 355.6MNotable
Why it matters: The company bought back stock, so each remaining holding owns slightly more of it. Worth checking it was not funded by borrowing.
Changed: +9.7%
$1.45B to $1.59BNotable
Why it matters: Cash handed to shareholders. A rise can be a higher dividend or simply more shares, and a cut is a decision the company explains in its own filing — neither is rated here.
Q1 FY2027 against Q1 FY2026, from the 10-Q filed Sep 24, 2026 — read it.
Deteriorated: -46.1%
$662.5M to $357.4MCritical
Why it matters: Cash left after paying for the plant that produced it — the money genuinely available for dividends, buybacks or paying down debt. Harder to flatter than profit.
Deteriorated: -25.7%
$809.0M to $600.9MSignificant
Why it matters: A falling cash pile is only a warning if the company is consuming it. Paying down debt, buying back stock and paying a dividend all reduce cash by choice.
Improved: +5.9%
$1.49B to $1.58BNotable
Why it matters: Sales are what everything else is built on. A fall can be lost customers, lower prices, or a business the company sold — the filing itself says which.
Improved: +6.7%
$1.08B to $1.15BNotable
Why it matters: What is left of sales after the direct cost of producing them. It normally moves with revenue, so a move out of step with revenue is the part worth noticing.
Improved: +14.3%
$541.9M to $619.2MNotable
Why it matters: Profit from running the business, before interest and tax. Less exposed than profit to one-off financing and tax items, so a clearer read on the business itself.
Improved: +12.0%
$383.8M to $429.7MNotable
Why it matters: Profit swings far more than sales do, and one-off items — a legal settlement, a tax charge, an asset sale — move it without the underlying business changing.
Improved: +2.9 pts
36.3% to 39.2%Notable
Why it matters: What survives each sale after running the business. A falling operating margin beside a steady gross margin points at overheads — wages, marketing, research — rather than pricing.
Improved: +1.5 pts
25.7% to 27.2%Notable
Why it matters: What survives to the very end of each sale. Worth reading beside revenue: growing sales on a shrinking margin means the company is buying its growth.
Improved: +13.2%
$1.07 to $1.21Notable
Why it matters: Profit divided by the shares in issue at the period end, so it sits close to but not on the company's own reported figure. It can rise with no growth in profit when the company buys back stock — read it beside the share count.
Improved: -1.1%
359.9M to 356.0MNotable
Why it matters: The company bought back stock, so each remaining holding owns slightly more of it. Worth checking it was not funded by borrowing.
Changed: +9.0%
$389.1M to $424.1MNotable
Why it matters: Cash handed to shareholders. A rise can be a higher dividend or simply more shares, and a cut is a decision the company explains in its own filing — neither is rated here.
2 other measures barely moved. Figures compare the two most recent annual filings — read the latest one. Moves are graded on fixed lines — 5%, 15% and 40% for amounts, and 1, 3 and 8 points for margins — as notable, significant or critical. Nothing here reads the management commentary, which is where a company explains its own numbers.
These coincide with the move in time. None is presented as its cause: a price can move on news that names no company, on the wider market, or on trading that no document records.
Filter by minute, hour, day or week — or compare against peers
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Discounted at 8%–10% a year, with growth settling to 2.5% after 10 years. Those rates are ordinary choices, not measurements: across that range the assumed growth works out between 3% and 7%. This describes what the price implies — it is not a forecast, and not a view on whether the price is right.
Opinions from 26 analysts covering this company, as of . Their views, not this site's.
Of 26 analysts publishing on this company, 4 say strong buy, 4 say buy, 16 say hold and 2 say sell. Analysts are paid to publish a view and are wrong often; the split above says how much they agree with each other, which is the part a single headline rating hides.
Published by Finnhub. Analyst coverage skews towards larger companies and towards optimism — sell ratings are rare across the whole market, so a company with none is ordinary rather than endorsed.
Measured on and published about a week later — this is a fortnightly snapshot, not a live position.
About 5.3% of this company's shares have been borrowed and sold by people expecting to buy them back cheaper. That is a bet the price falls. Those people can be wrong, and when a heavily shorted share rises they have to buy it back, which pushes it up further.
Collected by FINRA from broker-dealers twice a month. It counts positions, not intentions, and some of it is hedging rather than a directional bet against the company.
Nothing in this section is a figure this company reported about itself. These are expectations and positions — what the price implies, what analysts have published, what short sellers are betting, and what large funds held at the last count. WylthIQ reports them; it does not endorse them, does not forecast prices, and takes no view on whether any of them will turn out to be right.
The trailing P/E is 23.9x — investors pay $23.9 for each $1 of trailing profit.
This company has not reported enough of the required figures to calculate this score.
| 3.33x |
| ADPAUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC | 9.0/10 | 7/9 | 6.7% | 20.1% | 27.76x | 9.48x |
|---|
| Median of peers | 9.0/10 | — | 6.7% | 20.1% | 27.76x | 9.48x |
|---|
Peers come from the company's industry classification. A difference describes the companies; it does not rank them.
Had shares withheld to cover taxes — 116 shares at $110.78 ($12.9K)
Holds 18,431 shares after this filing.
Was granted or awarded shares — 1,137 shares
Holds 436,028 shares after this filing.
Had shares withheld to cover taxes — 38 shares at $110.78 ($4.2K)
Holds 3,252 shares after this filing.
Was granted or awarded shares — 970 shares
Holds 1,695 shares after this filing.
Reported another kind of transaction — 725 shares
Holds 970 shares after this filing.
Sold on the open market — 7,839 shares at $107.68 ($844.1K)
Holds 81,725 shares after this filing.
Was granted or awarded shares — 970 shares
Holds 82,695 shares after this filing.
Was granted or awarded shares — 970 shares
Holds 12,740 shares after this filing.
Notice filed ahead of a planned sale — the sale itself has not necessarily happened yet.
Filed notice to sell 295,857 shares ($32.7M) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Private Placement.
Filed notice to sell 14,747 shares ($1.7M) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Private Placement.
Filed notice to sell 7,839 shares ($844.1K) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Stock Option Exercise.
Filed notice to sell 562,635 shares ($56.2M) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Private Placement.
Filed notice to sell 2,600 shares ($299.2K) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Restricted Stock Vesting.
Filed notice to sell 9,309 shares ($1.1M) on or after .
Shares originally obtained via Gift.
Not investment advice, and not a signal to act on by itself — a filing says what happened, not why, and insiders trade for ordinary reasons having nothing to do with where they think the company is headed.
Published results
Proxy statement for a shareholder meeting
Read the filingHad a director or senior officer leave or join
Read the filingAnnual report for FY2026
Revenue +16.5% · Profit margin −2.7 pts · Gross profit +19.6% — against FY2025
Read the filingPublished results
Read the filingQuarterly report for Q3 FY2026
Revenue +19.5% · Operating margin −2.0 pts · Long-term debt +470.0% — against Q3 FY2025
Read the filingPublished results
Read the filingSigned a material agreement · Terminated a material agreement · Took on a direct financial obligation
Read the filingHad a director or senior officer leave or join · Reported another event
Read the filingQuarterly report for Q2 FY2026
Revenue +17.4% · Operating margin −4.0 pts · Long-term debt +469.8% — against Q2 FY2025
Read the filingPublished results
Read the filingHeld a shareholder vote
Read the filingQuarterly report for Q1 FY2026
Revenue +16.5% · Operating margin −6.4 pts · Long-term debt +469.7% — against Q1 FY2025
Read the filingPublished results
Read the filingProxy statement for a shareholder meeting
Read the filingHad a director or senior officer leave or join · Made a Regulation FD disclosure
Read the filingAnnual report for FY2025
Revenue +5.4% · Operating margin −1.6 pts · Long-term debt +469.5% — against FY2024
Read the filingAttached financial statements or exhibits
Read the filingSource: Exhibit 21 of the 10-K filed 2026-07-17. These are legal entities, not brands or acquisitions — a company that bought a business may hold it inside an entity named here, or inside one small enough that the rule does not require naming it at all.
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