Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Announces Earnings Results

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) issued its earnings results on Friday. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex updated its FY 2026 guidance to 5.480-5.530 EPS.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $2.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.17. 2,311,821 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,470,726. Paychex has a 52 week low of $108.00 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $686,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 19.3% in the third quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat — Paychex reported $1.26 EPS vs. $1.24 consensus and revenue of $1.56B vs. $1.55B expected; revenue rose ~18% year-over-year, showing continued top-line strength. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance nudged up — Paychex set FY2026 EPS guidance to $5.480–$5.530, slightly above consensus (~$5.46), which supports modest forward visibility. Business Wire Release
• Positive Sentiment: High profitability metrics — Q2 net margin (~27.9%) and ROE (~45.2%) remain strong, underscoring operating leverage and cash-generation capacity. View Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity ahead of the print — Several analysts revised forecasts ahead of the call and previews expected single‑digit earnings growth; materials (slide deck, call notes) were posted for review. Benzinga Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue drivers called out — Management Solutions growth and the Paycor acquisition/contribution were cited as primary drivers of the revenue increase, which may support longer‑term cross‑sell opportunities. Zacks Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction muted/negative — Despite the beat and guidance tweak, the guidance raise was modest and may have fallen short of investor expectations, contributing to selling pressure. Business Wire Release
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and sentiment — Shares are trading below the 50‑day and well under the 200‑day moving averages after pulling back from the 52‑week high, and at least one shop (Stifel) maintained a hold, which may limit near‑term upside. Stifel Coverage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $131.13.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.