PAYX
Paychex, Inc.
PAYX's fundamentals are strong: it turned 31% of its revenue into free cash flow and revenue grew 14%. At 23x earnings, it's trading below its usual 29x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
PAYX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
PAYX's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
PAYX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $115 | — |
| Current | 23x | $115 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $123 | +7.1% |
| Fair | 28x | $144 | +25% |
| Expensive | 33x | $168 | +46% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PAYX's PE is in its cheap range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
PAYX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PAYX, with profitability improving.
PAYX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.06 | +20% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.04 | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.89 | +6.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.55 | -5.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.42 | -6.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.46 | -4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.58 | -1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.80 | +4.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.75 | +5.6% |
PAYX earned $5.04 per share over the past year, up 13% from the year before.
PAYX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +5.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.4B | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +4.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B | +4.7% |
PAYX's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $1.6B last quarter, up 5.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 38% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 38% | +7.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 44% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 37% | -4.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 35% | -6.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 30% | -7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 41% | +0.6 points |
PAYX's operating margin was 38% last quarter, up 2.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PAYX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $357.4M | -46% |
| Q2 2026 | $515M | +82% |
| Q1 2026 | $761.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $382.8M | +54% |
| Q3 2025 | $662.5M | +30% |
| Q2 2025 | $283.3M | +57% |
| Q1 2025 | $667.3M | +5.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $248M | -19% |
PAYX's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $2B over the past year, up 8.4% from the year before.
PAYX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -3.4M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -5.3M shares |
| 3 years | -1.7% | -6.2M shares |
| 5 years | -1.7% | -6.2M shares |
| Available history | -1.1% | -4M shares |
PAYX has 357M diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago, with $451M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $249.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $75M |
| Q4 2025 | $126.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $160.1M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $500,000 |
PAYX spent $451M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 181% from the year before.
PAYX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
PAYX's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.7 years a year ago.
PAYX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.0 | Neutral |
PAYX's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 56 (neutral).
PAYX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | PAYX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 4.9% below |
| PE % | 11 | 58 | 47 pts below |
PAYX is trading at 23x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
PAYX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $109.8 | 4.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $114.2 | 0.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $105.4 | 9.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $122.9 | 6.2% below |
| 200 week MA | $122.2 | 5.7% below |
PAYX has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 5.7% below its 200-week average.
PAYX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $85.1 | $94.7 | +11% |
| 2021 | $94.7 | $134.2 | +42% |
| 2022 | $134.2 | $116.0 | -14% |
| 2023 | $116.0 | $119.1 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | $119.1 | $141.3 | +19% |
| 2025 | $141.3 | $114.2 | -19% |
| 2026 YTD | $114.2 | $115.2 | +0.9% |
PAYX has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 0.9% so far in 2026.