Paycom Software vs Paychex
PAYC and PAYX side by side. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How PAYC and PAYX compare
Paychex is the larger company, worth 3.4 times as much as Paycom Software ($39.9B against $11.9B).
On earnings, Paychex is cheaper: it trades at 22.2× trailing earnings, against 28.1× for Paycom Software.
Paychex grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (14.0% versus 9.2% for Paycom Software).
Paychex keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 27.4% compared with 22.8% at Paycom Software.
Both pay dividends: Paycom Software yields 0.57% and Paychex 5.1%.
Paychex scores higher on the StockData Score (20 against 19 for Paycom Software), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | PAYC | PAYX |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $11.9B | $39.9B |
| Share price | $264.20 | $112.12 |
| Change, 1 year | 41.7% | −4.5% |
| Change, 5 years | −47.6% | −10.0% |
| Beta (5Y) | 1.25 | 0.76 |
| Employees | 5,770 | 18K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 19 | 20 (better) |
| Valuation score | 3 | 4 (better) |
| Growth score | 3 | 3 |
| Performance score | 6 (better) | 3 |
| Health score | 4 | 4 |
| Dividend score | 3 | 6 (better) |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 28.1× | 22.2× (better) |
| P/S | 5.6× (better) | 6.0× |
| P/B | 20.8× | 10.8× (better) |
| EV/EBITDA | 15.8× | 14.4× (better) |
| P/FCF | 20.7× | 19.8× (better) |
| PEG | 1.51 (better) | 5.08 |
| FCF yield | 4.8% | 5.1% (better) |
| Fair value | $290.92 | $125.36 |
| Margin of safety | 9.2% | 10.6% (better) |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 9.2% | 14.0% (better) |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 19.5% (better) | 9.9% |
| Net income growth (TTM) | 17.3% (better) | 11.9% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | 27.0% (better) | 13.3% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 26.9% (better) | 10.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 83.7% (better) | 74.4% |
| Operating margin | 30.3% | 39.2% (better) |
| Net margin | 22.8% | 27.4% (better) |
| FCF margin | 26.9% | 30.5% (better) |
| Return on equity | 41.1% | 47.1% (better) |
| Return on invested capital | 36.4% (better) | 26.9% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 1.57 | 1.23 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.88 (better) | 1.20 |
| Interest coverage | 39.8× (better) | 9.7× |
| Current ratio | 1.07 | 1.28 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 3.09 | 3.26 (better) |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 (better) | 5 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 0.57% | 5.1% (better) |
| Payout ratio | 15.9% | 90.0% |
| Years of dividend growth | 0 | 15 (better) |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | – | 11.9% |
| Buyback yield | – | 1.1% |
| Shareholder yield | 0.57% | 6.2% (better) |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 92.0% | 83.3% |
| Held by insiders | 15.8% | 10.1% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$1.6M (better) | −$3.6M |
| Superinvestors holding | 3 (better) | 2 |
| Short interest, % of float | 6.8% | 5.9% |
Go deeper
- PAYC stock overview
- PAYC income statement
- PAYC valuation and score
- PAYX stock overview
- PAYX income statement
- PAYX valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.