PAYX
Paychex, Inc.
PAYX has the edge over RKLB overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
RKLB
Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
RKLB offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PAYX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
PAYX's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
RKLB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
RKLB's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
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.
RKLB PE Valuation
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PAYX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PAYX, with profitability improving.
RKLB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect RKLB's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 has the edge over RKLB on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
RKLB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.36 | +$0.03 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.27 | +$0.19 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.32 | +$0.09 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.37 | +$0.01 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.39 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.46 | -$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.41 | -$0.04 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.38 | $0.00 |
RKLB is still losing money, but less than at its worst: $0.36 per share over the past year, against $0.46 at its worst in mid-2025.
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 has the edge over RKLB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
RKLB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $267.8M | +73% |
| Q2 2026 | $234.1M | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $200.3M | +63% |
| Q4 2025 | $179.7M | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $155.1M | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $144.5M | +36% |
| Q1 2025 | $122.6M | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $132.4M | +121% |
RKLB has the edge over PAYX on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -30% | +8.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | -25% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | -28% | +20 points |
| Q4 2025 | -28% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | -38% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -41% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | -48% | -1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | -39% | +41 points |
RKLB's operating margin was −30% last quarter, up 8.5 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 has the edge over RKLB on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
RKLB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$23.9M | +$45.5M |
| Q2 2026 | -$110.1M | -$54.8M |
| Q1 2026 | -$77.4M | +$5.5M |
| Q4 2025 | -$114.2M | -$90.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$69.4M | -$27.5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$55.3M | -$26.9M |
| Q1 2025 | -$82.9M | -$61.1M |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.9M | +$28.7M |
RKLB has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$326M over the past year, against −$232M 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 the edge over RKLB on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| 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.
RKLB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.6% | +22.6M shares |
| 1 year | +23% | +124M shares |
| 3 years | +35% | +168M shares |
| 5 years | +46% | +204M shares |
RKLB has 652M diluted shares, up 23% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | — |
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.
RKLB Net Leverage
RKLB's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
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).
RKLB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.6 | Neutral |
RKLB's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (neutral).
PAYX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | PAYX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 5.1% below |
| PE % | 11 | 58 | 47 pts below |
PAYX is trading at 23x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
RKLB PE vs Industrials Sector
RKLB has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
RKLB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $61.4 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.1 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $77.6 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.5 | 13% above |
| 200 week MA | $31.4 | 104% above |
RKLB's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 104% above 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 the edge over RKLB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
RKLB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.82 | $10.3 | +4.9% |
| 2021 | $10.3 | $12.0 | +17% |
| 2022 | $12.0 | $3.77 | -69% |
| 2023 | $3.77 | $5.53 | +47% |
| 2024 | $5.53 | $27.2 | +392% |
| 2025 | $27.2 | $70.7 | +160% |
| 2026 YTD | $70.7 | $64.1 | -9.3% |
RKLB's yearly returns have swung widely, from +392% in 2024 to −69% in 2022. It's down 9.3% so far in 2026.