Industrials · Human Resource & Employment Services · US stock · price as of 22 Oct 2026
Key indicators
Price
$118.81
52-week range
$85.45 – $128.57
Market cap
$42.4B
P/E (trailing)
23.6×
EV / EBITDA
15.2×
Free-cash-flow yield
4.8%
Dividend yield
3.8%
Revenue (last 12 months)
$6.6B
Revenue growth (3y a year)
9.2%
Operating margin
39.2%
Return on invested capital
26.8%
Net debt / EBITDA
1.2×
Fair value
Fair value (average of valid models)$136.38 middle half of models $126 – $153
Versus priceFair+15% to fair value
P/E multiple
$125.97
P/B multiple
$121.24
P/S multiple
$132.40
EV/EBITDA multiple
$132.44
EV/EBIT multiple
$134.76
EV/revenue multiple
$123.30
10-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$161.81
5-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$154.74
10-year DCF, revenue exit
$160.28
5-year DCF, revenue exit
$152.66
10-year DCF, growth exit
$129.46
5-year DCF, growth exit
$117.52
Earnings power value
$126.35
Model uncertainty
Low
X-Ray Score
69/ 100 · High confidence · ahead of 96% of sector peers
Valuation79
Growth67
Profitability73
Financial health58
Dividends61
Five-year price chart navy: price · brown: 200-day average · blue band: fair value range
Executive summary
Paychex provides payroll processing and human resources outsourcing services, mainly to small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. Its offerings cover payroll, benefits administration, retirement plans, insurance services and workforce management software. Revenue comes largely from recurring service fees charged per payroll run or per employee, plus interest earned on client funds held between collecting taxes and payments and passing them on to the proper recipients.
Over the last twelve months Paychex Inc reported revenue of $6.6 billion, which expanded at 9.2% a year across three years. Its operating margin is 39.2% and its return on invested capital is 27%. Leverage, measured as net debt to EBITDA, is 1.2 times. Shareholders receive a dividend, yielding 3.8%.
StocksXray gives Paychex Inc an X-Ray Score of 69 out of 100 (high confidence), ahead of 96% of the S&P 500 stocks in its sector. Its strongest lens is valuation (79) and its weakest is financial health (58).
Our fair value (the average of the valid models) is $136.38 (range $125.97 to $152.66). At $118.81 the stock trades 13% below that value, so the label is "Fair" with low model uncertainty. Fair value is a range, not a price target.
XStocksXray
Paychex Inc (PAYX)
Valuation history multiples at each fiscal year-end price; the last column uses today's price and the last twelve months
FY2022
FY2023
FY2024
FY2025
FY2026
Now
Price
$107.94
$94.06
$111.04
$150.11
$95.98
$118.81
Market cap
$39.2B
$34.1B
$40.2B
$54.3B
$34.6B
$42.4B
P/E
28.1×
21.9×
23.8×
32.8×
19.6×
23.6×
EV / revenue
8.4×
6.6×
7.5×
10.3×
5.8×
7.0×
EV / EBITDA
19.1×
15.1×
16.8×
23.8×
12.9×
15.2×
Price / free cash flow
26.9×
21.8×
23.2×
31.8×
14.9×
21.0×
Free-cash-flow yield
3.7%
4.6%
4.3%
3.1%
6.7%
4.8%
Price / book
12.7×
9.8×
10.6×
13.2×
9.3×
11.4×
Dividend yield
2.57%
3.47%
3.29%
2.68%
4.62%
3.82%
Fundamentals checklist ● 10 Good · ● 5 Average · ● 1 Bad · each check graded against the sector
Cash quality
Earnings backed by cash−2.8%Average
Free-cash-flow yield4.8%Good
Risk models
Altman Z score2.5×Average
Piotroski F-Score8 of 9Good
Growth
EPS growth (3y)4.4%Average
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)14.1%Average
Revenue growth (3y)9.2%Good
Growth consistency100%Good
Balance sheet
Current ratio1.3×Average
Net debt / EBITDA1.2×Good
Interest cover9.7×Bad
Valuation
Fair value vs price1.1×Good
EBIT / EV yield5.6%Good
Profitability
Return on invested capital26.8%Good
Operating margin39.2%Good
Gross profitability31.4%Good
XStocksXray
Paychex Inc (PAYX)
Financials US$ millions, from SEC filings; last column is the last twelve months
Income statement
FY22
FY23
FY24
FY25
FY26
LTM
Revenue
4,612
5,007
5,278
5,572
6,512
6,603
Gross profit
3,255
3,554
3,799
4,031
4,838
4,912
Operating income
1,840
2,033
2,174
2,208
2,511
2,588
Net income
1,393
1,557
0
1,657
1,760
1,806
Diluted EPS ($)
3.84
4.30
4.67
4.58
4.89
5.03
Free cash flow
1,456
1,563
1,736
1,709
2,322
2,017
Gross margin
70.6%
71.0%
72.0%
72.4%
74.3%
74.4%
Operating margin
39.9%
40.6%
41.2%
39.6%
38.6%
39.2%
Net margin
30.2%
31.1%
0.0%
29.7%
27.0%
27.4%
Balance sheet
FY22
FY23
FY24
FY25
FY26
LTM
Total assets
9,635
10,546
10,383
16,564
16,175
15,661
Cash
370
1,222
1,469
1,629
1,088
601
Total debt
806
808
817
4,967
4,556
4,558
Equity
3,085
3,493
3,801
4,128
3,735
3,706
Dividend per share ($)
2.77
3.26
3.65
4.02
4.43
4.54
Revenue and net income US$ billions: navy revenue, teal net income
Every number comes from SEC filings, end-of-day prices and the StocksXray models described on the methodology page. The X-Ray Score ranks each metric against the company's own sector. Fair value is the average of up to 15 valuation models, most of them anchored to the company's own multiples, so it stays near the price and should be read as a range, not a point. Analyst ratings, price targets and earnings-call summaries are not part of this report. Educational research, not financial advice; read the disclaimer.
