PAYX
Paychex, Inc.
PAYX has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over PAYX overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
PAYX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
PAYX's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over PAYX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PAYX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PAYX, with profitability improving.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for VRT, 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.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over PAYX on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 VRT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over PAYX on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT's operating margin was 23% last quarter, up 3.5 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
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.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over PAYX on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 VRT 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.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
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.
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over PAYX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
PAYX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | PAYX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 5.1% below |
| PE % | 11 | 58 | 47 pts below |
PAYX has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to 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 the edge over VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% 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 finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 0.9% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over PAYX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.