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Paychex, Inc. (PAYX)

NASDAQ / Industrials / Staffing & Employment Services

Share price

110.78 USD Market dataClose of Oct 15, 2026

Market capitalisation

39.44B USD Market dataClose of Oct 15, 2026
Market data
Oct 15, 2026
Filed accounts
FY2026, filed Jul 17, 2026
Ratios computed
Oct 15, 2026
Filed years
18, FY2008 to FY2026
Four kinds of sourceSEC filingCompany statementMarket dataComputedWhat each means
SEC filingFiled with the SEC
Read from a statement the company filed with the SEC, with the form, fiscal year, filing date and accession beside it.
Company statementCompany statement
What the company says about itself in a filing: an 8-K item, the auditor, its own segment names.
Market dataMarket data
Prices, market value and what analysts publish, with the date they are as of.
ComputedComputed by ValueScreener
Worked out by us from the other three, with the inputs and the formula one press away. A score is a research output, not a rating or a recommendation.
Reading

1 of 10

Overview

What the business is, what it costs, and how it reads on four questions.

Market dataSEC filingComputed

Four questions, at a glance

Quality

Return on invested capital, after tax

26.3% Computed

From the FY2026 filing

Read quality

Valuation

Price to earnings

22.61x Computed

FY2026 accounts, priced at the latest close

Read valuation

Cash generation

Free cash flow yield

5.8% Computed

FY2026 accounts, priced at the latest close

Read cash generation

Revenue and net income, as filed

FY2017 Revenue: 3.15B USDFY2017 Net income: 826.3M USDFY2018 Revenue: 3.38B USDFY2018 Net income: 994.1M USDFY2019 Revenue: 3.77B USDFY2019 Net income: 1.03B USDFY2020 Revenue: 4.04B USDFY2020 Net income: 1.10B USDFY2021 Revenue: 4.06B USDFY2021 Net income: 1.10B USDFY2022 Revenue: 4.61B USDFY2022 Net income: 1.39B USDFY2023 Revenue: 5.01B USDFY2023 Net income: 1.56B USDFY2024 Revenue: 5.28B USDFY2024 Net income: 1.69B USDFY2025 Revenue: 5.57B USDFY2025 Net income: 1.66B USDFY2026 Revenue: 6.51B USDFY2026 Net income: 1.76B USD
Revenue Net income10 filed fiscal years, from the annual reports; the table in Filings names each document.
Named tests met
3 of 30 Which tests
The business, and the score behind its five axes

The reading, in brief

Is it cheap

Price to earnings is 22.61x at the close of 2026-10-15 on FY2026 figures; the lines are 15.00x (Graham's defensive ceiling) and, by market convention, 10.00x, 25.00x and 40.00x, and this sits between 15.00x and 25.00x.

Today, against the Industrials sector (412 companies), 22.61x sits at the 44th percentile; the middle half of that group runs from 15.04x to 38.40x.

Is it good

Return on invested capital was 26.3% in FY2026, in the band labelled "Exceptional" (20.0% and above), on lines anchored on Damodaran's cost-of-capital data, suggesting returns on the capital in the business well above the usual cost of that capital.

Today, against the Industrials sector (316 companies), 26.3% sits at the 92nd percentile; the middle half of that group runs from 3.4% to 15.3%.

Is it safe

Interest coverage was 9.32x in FY2026, in the band labelled "Comfortable" (6.00x and above), on lines anchored on Damodaran's interest-coverage table, suggesting an interest bill operating profit covers many times over.

Year by year against peers
Whether Paychex, Inc.'s return on invested capital stayed above the median of the Industrials sector, year by year. (FY2020 to FY2026, 7 fiscal years of Paychex, Inc. with a comparable figure)
The direction
Which way Paychex, Inc.'s return on equity has moved, and how steadily. (FY2017 to FY2026, 10 filed years of Paychex, Inc.)
What could explain it
What in Paychex, Inc.'s filed statements could explain the movements. (9 readings drawn from the statement lines Paychex, Inc. filed)
What to check next
What to check next on Paychex, Inc., and where in its filings. (5 questions for Paychex, Inc.)
In one paragraph
One paragraph on Paychex, Inc.'s returns, cash, balance sheet and price. (16 of sixteen figures read for Paychex, Inc.)

These are PAYX’s filed figures. The research desk says what they mean, against peers and its own years, with what to check next.

Research PAYXPart of Serious. New accounts start with 30 days of Professional, free, no card.

2 of 10

What changed

The newest filing, what it moved, and when the next one is due.

SEC filingCompany statement

The newest accounts on file are the FY2026 annual report: 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, accession 0001193125-26-307785.

3 of 10

Quality

The returns the business earns on its capital, and the margins behind them.

SEC filingComputed

Paychex, Inc: returns on capital and margins, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Return on invested capital, after tax26.3% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Return on equity47.1% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Return on capital employed, pre-tax26.9% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Return on assets10.9% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Gross margin74.3% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Operating margin38.5% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Net margin27.0% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
PAYX 27.0%
FIX 55.8%ODFL 18.6%VRSK 29.6%AME 20.0%ITW 19.1%
18.6%55.8%
Net margin: PAYX against the 5 companies named under Valuation context, each as filed for its own latest year. Placement only: no average is drawn.

4 of 10

Financial strength

What it owes against what it owns, and whether it can meet what falls due.

SEC filingComputedCompany statement

Paychex, Inc: leverage, liquidity and distress, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Debt to equity1.24 ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Current ratio1.26 ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Quick ratio1.26 ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Interest coverage9.32x ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Altman Z-score3.13 ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Net debt3.51B ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Total assets 16.17BTotal liabilities 12.44BShareholders' equity 3.74BOwnsOwes, and equity
Total assets Total liabilities Shareholders’ equity
The balance sheet, line by line

Financial health

What Paychex, Inc owned and owed at the end of fiscal 2026, from the balance sheet it filed (10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785).

Paychex, Inc: balance sheet position
Total assets16.17B FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026
Total liabilities12.44B FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026
Shareholders' equity3.74B FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026
Cash1.12B FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026
Total debt4.63B FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026
Net debt3.51B
Current ratio1.26
Debt to equity1.24

Read from the filed balance sheet for each year, with the income statement of the same year supplying operating profit where a ratio needs it. Nothing here is a view on whether this company is sound.

5 of 10

Valuation context

What the market charges for it, against its own record and companies like it.

Market dataSEC filingComputed

Paychex, Inc: what the market charges, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Price to earnings22.61x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
P/E on trailing twelve months21.98x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · Trailing four quarters, each as known on the day; the quarterly filings are listed under Filings
Price to book10.68x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Price to sales6.12x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Enterprise value to EBIT17.30x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Enterprise value to EBITDA14.70x ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Price to earnings over growth2.27 ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Diluted earnings per share4.89 USD FiledFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Graham number33.82 USD ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785

We publish no fair value or price target of our own. Value PAYX on your own assumptions in the DCF workbench, starting from the filed figures.

Its own record, and companies like it

Valuation

What the market charges for Paychex, Inc today, and the multiples it has carried. No value of ours: the figures are the filings’ and the market’s.

Paychex, Inc: valuation
Share price110.78 USD
Market capitalisation39.44B USD
Enterprise value to EBITDA14.70x
Graham number33.82 USD
Diluted earnings per share, FY20264.89 USD

Price to earnings on trailing twelve months, a different basis from the fiscal-year P/E above, since Oct 3, 2016: low 16.85x, median 28.28x, high 39.03x, latest 21.98x. 2,523 trading days with a meaningful ratio. Each close over the trailing twelve months of earnings as known that day: a quarter counts from the day it was filed.

Companies like Paychex, Inc

  1. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX)Market cap 52.13B USD
  2. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL)Market cap 39.28B USD
  3. Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK)Market cap 24.38B USD
  4. AMETEK, Inc. (AME)Market cap 56.96B USD
  5. Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW)Market cap 77.23B USD

Same sector (Industrials) and size band (Large, 10B to 200B), nearest in market value, net margin and current ratio. Each of those counts equally, by how many of the companies considered sit between the two on it. Closest first: the order is likeness and nothing else.

6 of 10

Cash generation

Whether profit arrives as cash, and what is paid back to shareholders.

SEC filingComputed

Paychex, Inc: cash generation and what is paid out, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Free cash flow yield5.8% ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Free cash flow2.32B USD ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Free cash flow margin35.6% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Dividend yield4.1% ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026 · FY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Payout ratio90.3% ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
FY2017 Free cash flow: 866.1M USDFY2017 Net income: 826.3M USDFY2018 Free cash flow: 1.12B USDFY2018 Net income: 994.1M USDFY2019 Free cash flow: 1.15B USDFY2019 Net income: 1.03B USDFY2020 Free cash flow: 1.31B USDFY2020 Net income: 1.10B USDFY2021 Free cash flow: 1.14B USDFY2021 Net income: 1.10B USDFY2022 Free cash flow: 1.46B USDFY2022 Net income: 1.39B USDFY2023 Free cash flow: 1.56B USDFY2023 Net income: 1.56B USDFY2024 Free cash flow: 1.74B USDFY2024 Net income: 1.69B USDFY2025 Free cash flow: 1.71B USDFY2025 Net income: 1.66B USDFY2026 Free cash flow: 2.32B USDFY2026 Net income: 1.76B USD
Free cash flow Net incomeProfit that arrives as cash stands level with net income; a gap year after year is worth reading about.

7 of 10

Filings

Every figure, the year it is for and the document it was read from.

SEC filingMarket data

The filed figures

Computed from the accounts this company filed with the SEC and, in a ratio with a price in it, the last close, dated on this page. Every filed figure below carries the fiscal year and the filing date its accounts were read from, and every blank carries the reason it is blank. Nothing here is a view on this company.

Paychex, Inc.: the eight ratios, with the fiscal year and filing date behind each.
FigureValueYearAs of
22.61xFY2026Oct 15, 2026
10.68xFY2026Oct 15, 2026
17.30xFY2026Oct 15, 2026
5.8%FY2026Oct 15, 2026
26.3%FY2026Jul 17, 2026
4.1%FY2026Oct 15, 2026
1.24FY2026Jul 17, 2026
1.26FY2026Jul 17, 2026
6.12xFY2026Oct 15, 2026
2.27FY2026Oct 15, 2026
3.13FY2026Oct 15, 2026
-2.45FY2026Jul 17, 2026
7/9FY2026Jul 17, 2026

The figures are computed from the accounts for fiscal 2026, the newest full year on file. 18 filed fiscal years on record, FY2008 to FY2026, from SEC EDGAR. Prices as of Oct 15, 2026. Ratios recomputed Oct 15, 2026. Two facts, because a recompute is not a fresh quote.

The year and the filing date name the statement each figure’s accounts are read from, and they stand even where the figure itself could not be computed: the line beneath a blank says what that statement did not carry. A figure’s name opens its formula and the filings behind it; a statement that names no SEC filing has no filing date, and reads n/a.

Ten years of filed figures, year by year

Ten years of filed figures

10 filed fiscal years, FY2017 to FY2026, read from the annual reports Paychex, Inc filed with the SEC. Each year names its filing. Amounts in USD, as filed.

Paychex, Inc: revenue, earnings, free cash flow and returns, by fiscal year, with the filing each year was read from
YearRevenueOperating incomeNet incomeEPS, dilutedFree cash flowOperating marginReturn on equityFiling
FY20266.51B2.51B1.76B4.892.32B38.5%47.1%10-K, Jul 17, 20260001193125-26-307785
FY20255.57B2.21B1.66B4.581.71B39.6%40.1%10-K, Jul 11, 20250000950170-25-095300
FY20245.28B2.17B1.69B4.671.74B41.2%44.5%10-K, Jul 11, 20240000950170-24-082958
FY20235.01B2.03B1.56B4.301.56B40.6%44.6%10-K, Jul 14, 20230000950170-23-032988
FY20224.61B1.84B1.39B3.841.46B39.9%45.1%10-K, Jul 15, 20220000950170-22-012734
FY20214.06B1.46B1.10B3.031.14B36.0%37.2%10-K, Jul 16, 20210000723531-21-000035
FY20204.04B1.46B1.10B3.041.31B36.1%39.5%10-K, Jul 17, 20200000723531-20-000048
FY20193.77B1.37B1.03B2.861.15B36.4%39.5%10-K, Jul 24, 20190000723531-19-000032
FY20183.38B1.29B994.1M2.751.12B38.2%42.2%10-K, Jul 20, 20180000723531-18-000026
FY20173.15B1.25B826.3M2.28866.1M39.8%37.1%10-K, Jul 21, 20170000723531-17-000023
  • Revenue, compound annual growth FY2017 to FY2026: 8.4%
  • Earnings, compound annual growth FY2017 to FY2026: 8.8%
  • Earnings per share, compound annual growth FY2017 to FY2026: 8.8%
  • Free cash flow, compound annual growth FY2017 to FY2026: 11.6%

Every figure in this section is a line of a filed annual statement or a ratio of two of them. Nothing here is estimated or smoothed. Earnings per share filed before a share split are put on today's share count, and say so. Nothing here is a verdict on the company.

8 of 10

Risks and guardrails

The accounting screens, the published tests, and the lines you can set to be told.

ComputedCompany statement

Paychex, Inc: accounting screens and published tests, each with its source
FigureValue, source and document
Beneish M-score-2.45 ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Piotroski F-score7/9 ComputedFY2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, 0001193125-26-307785
Named tests met3 of 30 Computed
Beta0.42 ComputedClose of Oct 15, 2026

The named tests

Of 30 tests value investors published: 3 met, 27 not met, 0 we could not complete. Counts, never a score: a single figure would have to decide that meeting one investor’s criteria and meeting another’s are worth the same.

Which tests, by name(all 30)
Meets
ROIC at or above WACC; Cash-covered dividend; Cash-flow yield and ROIC
Does not
Defensive investor (Benjamin Graham); Deep value; Large cap, low P/E; Earnings yield and ROIC (Joel Greenblatt); High F-score, low P/B (Joseph Piotroski); Three forensic scores; Low PEG, low debt (Peter Lynch); High returns and growth; Gross margin, turnover (Robert Novy-Marx); EV/EBITDA and coverage; High yield, low payout; Dividends and buybacks; Low beta, profitable; Near the 52-week low; Z-score and coverage (Edward Altman); Two thirds of NCAV (Benjamin Graham); P/E times P/B (Benjamin Graham); High returns, low debt; Owner earnings yield; High return on tangibles; Low P/S, rising earnings (James O'Shaughnessy); Book or below, low debt (Walter Schloss); Tangible book or below; Clean books, high ROIC; Cheapest quarter on P/E (David Dreman); Cheapest quarter on P/B (David Dreman); Low P/E, growth, yield (John Neff)
Figures we could not read(1)
  • Price Tangible Book: We do not hold this figure for this company, so there is nothing to show.

9 of 10

Declared positions

Whether anybody here owns this company.

Positions declared by Javier Sanz Alvarez: no holding in any company shown here, as of October 3, 2026.

10 of 10

Next step

What to do with what you have read.

A thesis is your reason for owning it, in your words, with the figures that must stay true. Checking those figures every night against the newest filed accounts, and telling you once when one breaks, is what the subscription adds.

More on this company

What this cannot tell you

  • One figure could not be read on this company: Price Tangible Book.

And the one that is true of all of it: This is what the numbers say today. It cannot tell you the day one of them stops being true. Nothing here can, because the reasons are not written down.

Running this once is arithmetic on public documents and you are welcome to it. Writing down why you own each company, in your own words and with the numbers that have to stay true for it to hold, and then having those numbers re-checked every night against the newest filed accounts, and against the latest close where a rule watches a price, is Professional, the plan a new account starts on for 30 days, one trial per person. It writes to you the day one breaks, and stays quiet when nothing does. The check runs every night at 23:30 UTC. A filing is picked up the night after it is published.

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Analyze your own portfolio

ValueScreener · valuescreener.ai · Computed from accounts filed with the SEC by this company, read from EDGAR, and from dated closing prices. On this page a filed figure opens into its formula, its inputs and the statement, fiscal year and filing date it was read from, and a price into the day of its close. A figure that cannot show that trail says so.

A computation on accounts filed with the SEC, not a recommendation and not advice. Past filings do not indicate future results. Risk disclaimer.

Once a week, what changed in the filings of US-listed companies, why it can matter to a thesis, and what deserves a closer review. Grounded in filings, not market noise.

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