Paychex (PAYX): financials, SEC filings and peers
Paychex (PAYX) is a human resource & employment services company in the Industrials sector of the S&P 500, headquartered in Penfield, New York.
It was founded in 1971 and joined the S&P 500 on October 1, 1998.
Its fiscal year ends in May, and its shares trade on the Nasdaq.
In its SEC filings it is classified as “Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management”.
Paychex at a glance
- Revenue (12 months)
- $6.6B
- Revenue growth
- +14.0%
- Operating margin
- 39.2%
- Net income (12 months)
- $1.8B
- Free cash flow (12 months)
- $2.0B
- Cash
- $601M
- Debt
- $4.6B
- Diluted EPS (12 months)
- $5.05
Twelve months to August 31, 2026, from the 10-Q filed September 24, 2026.
Latest twelve months
Over the twelve months to August 31, 2026, Paychex reported revenue of $6.6 billion, up 14.0% from a year earlier.
Its operating margin was 39.2%, up 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier: for every $100 of sales, about $39 was left as operating profit.
Net income was $1.8 billion (27.4% of revenue), 11.9% higher than a year earlier.
Operating cash flow was $2.3 billion and capital spending $235 million, leaving free cash flow of $2.0 billion (30.5% of revenue).
At the end of the period it held $601 million in cash and $4.6 billion in debt, a net debt position of $4.0 billion.
The diluted share count fell 1.5% in a year, typically the result of buybacks.
Five-year trend
- Revenue went from $4.1 billion in fiscal 2021 to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2026, about 9.9% a year.
- Revenue has grown for 5 fiscal years in a row.
- Operating margin widened from 36.0% to 38.6% over the same years.
- Free cash flow was positive in each of the last 6 fiscal years.
| Fiscal year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.6B | $5.0B | $5.3B | $5.6B | $6.5B |
| Revenue growth | 13.7% | 8.6% | 5.4% | 5.6% | 16.9% |
| Operating margin | 39.9% | 40.6% | 41.2% | 39.6% | 38.6% |
| Net income | $1.4B | $1.6B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.8B |
| Free cash flow | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $2.3B |
| Diluted EPS | $3.84 | $4.30 | $4.67 | $4.58 | $4.89 |
Fiscal years as reported in Paychex’s 10-K filings. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital spending.
Recent SEC filings
- 10-Q filed September 24, 2026 — quarterly report
- 8-K filed September 23, 2026 — Earnings results
- 8-K filed July 21, 2026 — Executive or director change
- 10-K filed July 17, 2026 — annual report
- 8-K filed June 24, 2026 — Earnings results
- 10-Q filed March 26, 2026 — quarterly report
- 8-K filed March 25, 2026 — Earnings results
- 8-K filed January 26, 2026 — Material agreement; Agreement terminated
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Questions about Paychex
Is Paychex's revenue growing?
Yes. Revenue for the twelve months to August 31, 2026 was $6.6 billion, up 14.0% from a year earlier, according to its SEC filings.
Is Paychex profitable?
Yes. It earned $1.8 billion in net income over the twelve months to August 31, 2026, a net margin of 27.4%.
Does Paychex have more cash or more debt?
At August 31, 2026 it had $601 million in cash and $4.6 billion in debt, so more debt than cash.
When did Paychex last file financial results?
Its latest quarterly report (10-Q) was filed with the SEC on September 24, 2026.
Which companies are similar to Paychex?
In the S&P 500, Paychex is grouped in Human Resource & Employment Services within the Industrials sector. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) are in the same group.
Understand the numbers
Source: Paychex’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), retrieved September 27, 2026. Figures are as reported by the company and may be restated. This page is for information only and is not financial advice.