PAYC
Paycom Software, Inc.
PAYC has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PLTR
Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR has the edge over PAYC overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
PAYC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
PAYC's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
PLTR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLTR's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
PAYC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $249 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $216 | -13% |
| Current | 24x | $249 | — |
| Fair | 57x | $591 | +138% |
| Expensive | 127x | $1,325 | +433% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PAYC's PE is in its cheap range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 17x next year's earnings.
PLTR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 75x | $172 | — |
| Current | 120x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 165x | $236 | +37% |
| Fair | 251x | $359 | +109% |
| Expensive | 452x | $646 | +277% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLTR has the edge over PAYC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PAYC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PAYC, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PLTR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for PLTR, with profitability improving.
PAYC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $14.94 | +43% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.43 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.40 | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.64 | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.08 | -9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.06 | -2.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.41 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.03 | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.92 | +52% |
PAYC earned $10.43 per share over the past year, up 29% from the year before.
PLTR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.30 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.43 | +240% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.17 | +290% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.89 | +287% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | +232% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.42 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.30 | +76% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.23 | +92% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.19 | +111% |
PLTR has the edge over PAYC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PAYC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $543.8M | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $531.2M | +9.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $571.9M | +7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $544.3M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $493.3M | +9.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $483.6M | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $530.5M | +6.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $493.9M | +14% |
PAYC's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $544M last quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 36% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 32% | +8.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 37% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | -1.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 35% | -22 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +5.5 points |
PAYC's operating margin was 36% last quarter, up 13 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLTR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +93% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +85% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +63% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +48% |
| Q1 2025 | $883.9M | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $827.5M | +36% |
PLTR has the edge over PAYC on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 47% | +14 points |
| Q2 2026 | 47% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +26 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | +40 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +18 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3% | -9.5 points |
PLTR has the edge over PAYC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PAYC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $163.8M | +105% |
| Q2 2026 | $190.1M | +213% |
| Q1 2026 | $182.6M | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $122.6M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $79.8M | +79% |
| Q2 2025 | $60.8M | -30% |
| Q1 2025 | $144.8M | +43% |
| Q4 2024 | $109M | +41% |
PAYC generated $659M in free cash flow over the past year, up 67% from the year before.
PLTR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +139% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +126% |
| Q1 2026 | $891.8M | +193% |
| Q4 2025 | $764M | +67% |
| Q3 2025 | $500.9M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $531.6M | +276% |
| Q1 2025 | $304.1M | +140% |
| Q4 2024 | $457.2M | +54% |
PLTR has the edge over PAYC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PAYC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -3.1% | -1.4M shares |
| 1 year | -21% | -11.9M shares |
| 3 years | -23% | -13.5M shares |
| 5 years | -24% | -13.7M shares |
| Available history | -24% | -13.9M shares |
PAYC has the edge over PLTR on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $335.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B |
| Q4 2025 | $106.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $1,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $42M |
| Q4 2023 | $211.6M |
| Q4 2022 | — |
PAYC spent $1.5B buying back its own shares over the past year.
PLTR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +5.2M shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +2.9M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +248M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +610M shares |
| Available history | +184% | +1.7B shares |
PLTR has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q4 2024 | $18.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $18.9M |
| Q2 2024 | $17.7M |
| Q1 2024 | $9M |
PAYC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
PAYC's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
PLTR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
PLTR has the edge over PAYC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
PAYC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 73.3 | Neutral |
PAYC's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (neutral).
PLTR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
PLTR's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (neutral).
PAYC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PAYC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 28x | 14% below |
| PE % | 20 | 35 | 15 pts below |
PAYC has the edge over PLTR on valuation relative to its sector.
PLTR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLTR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 120x | 28x | 331% above |
| PE % | 1 | 38 | 37 pts below |
PLTR is trading at 120x earnings, a 331% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
PAYC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $243.8 | 2.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $213.2 | 17% above |
| 50 week MA | $167.3 | 49% above |
| 100 week MA | $191.7 | 30% above |
| 200 week MA | $209.8 | 19% above |
PAYC has the edge over PLTR on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PLTR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $185.8 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $167.6 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $157.1 | 9.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $143.8 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $83.3 | 106% above |
PLTR's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 106% above its 200-week average.
PAYC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $268.9 | $462.1 | +72% |
| 2021 | $462.1 | $423.8 | -8.3% |
| 2022 | $423.8 | $305.2 | -28% |
| 2023 | $305.2 | $206.7 | -32% |
| 2024 | $206.7 | $206.7 | 0% |
| 2025 | $206.7 | $160.4 | -22% |
| 2026 YTD | $160.4 | $248.8 | +55% |
PAYC has the edge over PLTR on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLTR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.20 | $27.8 | +202% |
| 2021 | $27.8 | $18.9 | -32% |
| 2022 | $18.9 | $6.29 | -67% |
| 2023 | $6.29 | $17.2 | +173% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $79.1 | +361% |
| 2025 | $79.1 | $188.7 | +139% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.7 | $171.6 | -9.1% |
PLTR's yearly returns have swung widely, from +361% in 2024 to −67% in 2022. It's down 9.1% so far in 2026.