Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) Key Metrics
PAYX valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $39.74B
- Enterprise value
- $40.88B
- P/E (TTM)
- 22.1 10-yr median 26.0
- Forward P/E
- 17.5
- PEG ratio
- 1.85
- Price / sales
- 6.0 10-yr median 7.9
- Price / book
- 10.0 10-yr median 11.6
- EV / EBITDA
- 13.2 10-yr median 17.1
- Dividend yield
- 4.26% $4.76 a year
- Beta
- 0.85
PAYX key metrics, FY2017–FY2026
Fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 · U.S. dollarsPAYX valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
PAYX returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
PAYX per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
PAYX financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
PAYX efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
PAYX valuation history
PAYX returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
PAYX debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
PAYX cash returned to shareholders
PAYX price vs earnings per share
PAYX key metrics
FY2017–FY2026| FY2026 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $34.91B | $57.16B | $43.51B | $38.02B | $44.96B | $36.62B | $26.09B | $31.04B | $23.71B | $21.48B |
| Enterprise value | $38.37B | $60.52B | $42.87B | $37.29B | $44.62B | $36.52B | $26.06B | $31.14B | $23.61B | $21.43B |
| P/E ratio | 19.8 | 34.5 | 25.7 | 24.4 | 32.3 | 33.4 | 23.8 | 30.0 | 25.4 | 26.3 |
| Price / sales | 5.4 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| Price / book | 9.3 | 13.8 | 11.4 | 10.9 | 14.6 | 12.4 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 11.7 | 11.0 |
| Price / free cash flow | 15.0 | 32.5 | 25.1 | 24.4 | 32.8 | 32.0 | 19.9 | 26.6 | 21.1 | 24.8 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 13.7 | 29.3 | 22.9 | 22.4 | 29.9 | 29.1 | 18.1 | 24.4 | 18.6 | 22.4 |
| EV / sales | 5.9 | 10.9 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 6.4 | 8.3 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| EV / EBITDA | 12.7 | 24.3 | 17.6 | 16.5 | 21.7 | 22.0 | 15.6 | 20.0 | 16.5 | 15.5 |
| EV / free cash flow | 16.5 | 34.4 | 24.7 | 24.0 | 32.5 | 31.9 | 19.8 | 26.7 | 21.0 | 24.7 |
| Earnings yield | 5.0% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 4.2% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 3.8% |
| Free cash flow yield | 6.7% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 5.0% | 3.8% | 4.7% | 4.0% |
| Dividend yield | 4.6% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 2.7% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 6.3% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 4.1% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 3.9% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $96.98 | $157.91 | $120.16 | $104.93 | $123.83 | $101.14 | $72.28 | $85.79 | $65.58 | $59.23 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $18.09 | $15.39 | $14.58 | $13.82 | $12.70 | $11.20 | $11.19 | $10.43 | $9.35 | $8.69 |
| Earnings per share | $4.89 | $4.58 | $4.67 | $4.30 | $3.84 | $3.03 | $3.04 | $2.86 | $2.58 | $2.25 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $7.10 | $5.39 | $5.24 | $4.69 | $4.15 | $3.48 | $3.99 | $3.51 | $3.53 | $2.65 |
| Free cash flow per share | $6.45 | $4.86 | $4.80 | $4.30 | $3.78 | $3.16 | $3.64 | $3.22 | $3.10 | $2.39 |
| Cash per share | $3.27 | $4.59 | $4.15 | $4.40 | $3.37 | $2.85 | $2.58 | $1.97 | $1.17 | $0.89 |
| Book value per share | $10.38 | $11.40 | $10.50 | $9.64 | $8.50 | $8.14 | $7.70 | $7.24 | $5.60 | $5.39 |
| Tangible book value per share | −$6.88 | −$6.45 | $4.76 | $4.06 | $2.83 | $2.35 | $1.83 | $1.21 | $2.96 | $3.42 |
| Dividends per share | $4.42 | $4.00 | $3.63 | $3.24 | $2.75 | $2.51 | $2.46 | $2.29 | $2.05 | $1.83 |
| Capex per share | $0.65 | $0.53 | $0.45 | $0.39 | $0.37 | $0.32 | $0.35 | $0.34 | $0.43 | $0.26 |
| Debt per share | $12.86 | $13.87 | $2.39 | $2.39 | $2.43 | $2.56 | $2.49 | $2.24 | $0.90 | $0.77 |
| Shares outstanding | 360.0M | 362.0M | 362.1M | 362.3M | 363.1M | 362.1M | 361.0M | 361.8M | 361.5M | 362.6M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −0.6% | −0.0% | −0.1% | −0.2% | +0.3% | +0.3% | −0.2% | +0.1% | −0.3% | +0.0% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 44.8% | 41.8% | 46.3% | 47.3% | 46.2% | 38.3% | 40.7% | 44.5% | 46.9% | 42.3% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 26.1% | 31.6% | 55.9% | 56.2% | 50.3% | 40.0% | 40.8% | 44.7% | 48.3% | 43.8% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 10.8% | 12.3% | 16.2% | 15.4% | 14.8% | 12.3% | 12.7% | 12.8% | 13.1% | 12.3% |
| Return on tangible assets | 17.7% | 16.4% | 20.4% | 18.3% | 18.4% | 15.4% | 17.1% | 15.9% | 14.3% | 13.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | 35.7% | 31.6% | 32.9% | 31.1% | 29.8% | 28.2% | 32.5% | 30.9% | 33.2% | 27.5% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.45 | 1.18 | 1.12 | 1.09 | 1.08 | 1.15 | 1.31 | 1.23 | 1.37 | 1.18 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $4.63B | $5.02B | $866.3M | $865.7M | $881.2M | $926.0M | $898.8M | $809.4M | $325.2M | $280.5M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $1.18B | $1.66B | $1.50B | $1.60B | $1.22B | $1.03B | $932.4M | $712.6M | $424.2M | $323.4M |
| Net debt | $3.45B | $3.36B | −$636.5M | −$729.7M | −$342.7M | −$105.9M | −$33.6M | $96.8M | −$99.0M | −$42.9M |
| Debt / equity | 1.24 | 1.22 | 0.23 | 0.25 | 0.29 | 0.31 | 0.32 | 0.31 | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| Debt / assets | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.15 | 1.35 | −0.26 | −0.32 | −0.17 | −0.06 | −0.02 | 0.06 | −0.07 | −0.03 |
| Current ratio | 1.26 | 1.28 | 1.37 | 1.30 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.23 | 1.17 | 1.09 | 1.12 |
| Quick ratio | 1.26 | 1.28 | 1.37 | 0.57 | 1.25 | 0.47 | 0.44 | 0.37 | 0.20 | 0.20 |
| Interest coverage | 9.3 | 20.9 | 58.3 | 55.4 | 50.3 | 40.8 | 37.6 | 77.9 | 330.1 | 495.8 |
| Working capital | $1.77B | $1.96B | $1.94B | $1.72B | $1.31B | $1.23B | $1.04B | $832.7M | $487.7M | $546.9M |
| Invested capital | $7.19B | $7.49B | $3.16B | $2.76B | $2.74B | $2.84B | $2.75B | $2.72B | $1.93B | $1.91B |
| Tangible asset value | −$2.48B | −$2.33B | $1.72B | $1.47B | $1.03B | $851.5M | $659.7M | $437.8M | $949.7M | $1.24B |
| Net current asset value | −$3.83B | −$3.52B | $669.4M | $474.9M | $31.6M | −$109.7M | −$304.7M | −$385.3M | $225.8M | $393.6M |
| Graham number | $33.78 | $34.27 | $33.21 | $30.54 | $27.08 | $23.56 | $22.96 | $21.58 | $18.04 | $16.54 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$26.68 | −$25.67 | −$10.66 | −$6.29 | −$11.95 | −$7.01 | −$6.91 | −$7.66 | −$6.59 | −$5.44 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $1.59B | $1.45B | $1.32B | $1.18B | $999.6M | $908.7M | $889.4M | $826.8M | $739.7M | $662.3M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $611.0M | $104.5M | $169.2M | $169.2M | $145.2M | $155.7M | $171.9M | $56.9M | $143.1M | $166.2M |
| Dividend payout ratio | 90.3% | 87.4% | 77.8% | 75.5% | 71.8% | 82.8% | 81.0% | 79.9% | 79.2% | 81.0% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 94.8% | 88.3% | 85.5% | 86.4% | 83.4% | 92.9% | 80.8% | 75.8% | 78.7% | 95.7% |
| Capex / revenue | 3.6% | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 4.6% | 3.0% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 9.2% | 9.8% | 8.5% | 8.4% | 8.8% | 9.1% | 8.8% | 9.7% | 12.1% | 9.8% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.53 | 0.92 | 0.91 | 0.81 | 0.69 | 0.60 | 0.61 | 0.68 | 1.12 | 0.74 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 1.5% | 2.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
| SG&A / revenue | 35.7% | 32.7% | 30.8% | 30.4% | 30.7% | 32.7% | 32.2% | 32.4% | 31.8% | 31.5% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 117.2 | 117.9 | 105.5 | 100.0 | 93.9 | 83.0 | 74.3 | 66.7 | 57.7 | 57.2 |
| Days of inventory on hand | — | — | — | 1,059.3 | — | 1,052.6 | 1,050.3 | 1,331.8 | 1,625.9 | 1,658.1 |
| Days payables outstanding | 31.0 | 27.7 | 23.3 | 23.9 | 26.2 | 24.2 | 22.1 | 23.2 | 23.5 | 22.6 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 86.2 | 90.2 | 82.2 | 1,135.4 | 67.7 | 1,111.4 | 1,102.5 | 1,375.3 | 1,660.1 | 1,692.7 |
| Receivables turnover | 3.11 | 3.10 | 3.46 | 3.65 | 3.89 | 4.40 | 4.91 | 5.47 | 6.33 | 6.38 |
| Payables turnover | 11.77 | 13.16 | 15.65 | 15.26 | 13.93 | 15.10 | 16.49 | 15.75 | 15.55 | 16.15 |
| Inventory turnover | — | — | — | 0.34 | — | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.27 | 0.22 | 0.22 |
| Asset turnover | 0.40 | 0.41 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.49 | 0.46 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.47 |
| Average receivables | $2.09B | $1.80B | $1.53B | $1.37B | $1.19B | $922.0M | $822.2M | $689.4M | $534.0M | $494.1M |
| Average payables | $142.3M | $117.0M | $94.5M | $95.2M | $97.3M | $84.2M | $77.7M | $74.8M | $65.5M | $57.0M |
| Average inventory | — | — | — | $4.22B | — | $3.67B | $3.69B | $4.30B | $4.53B | $4.18B |
| Intangibles / total assets | 38.4% | 39.0% | 20.0% | 19.2% | 21.3% | 22.7% | 24.8% | 25.1% | 12.8% | 10.5% |
Computed from PAYX's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed July 17, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
PAYX valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2026 (May 31, 2026), Paychex traded at 19.8 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 26.0. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 22.1 and the forward P/E is 17.5. Paychex earned a return on equity of 44.8% and a return on invested capital of 26.1% in fiscal 2026. It ended the year with $4.6 billion of debt and $1.2 billion in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $3.5 billion. It returned $2.2 billion to shareholders: $1.6 billion in dividends and $611.0 million in share buybacks, 95% of free cash flow.
See the PAYX income statement, the PAYX chart for price history, or the PAYX stock overview for the latest quote and news.
PAYX key metrics FAQ
What is Paychex's P/E ratio?
Paychex's trailing P/E ratio is 22.1 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 17.5. At the end of fiscal 2026 it was 19.8, compared with a 10-year median of 26.0.
What is Paychex's EV/EBITDA?
Paychex's enterprise value was 12.7 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2026 (enterprise value $38.4 billion, EBITDA $3.0 billion); the current EV/EBITDA is 13.2.
What is Paychex's return on equity?
Paychex's return on equity (ROE) was 44.8% in fiscal 2026: net income of $1.8 billion on average shareholders' equity of $3.9 billion.
What is Paychex's ROIC?
Paychex's return on invested capital was 26.1% in fiscal 2026, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Paychex have?
Paychex had total debt of $4.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2026, a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24 and $3.5 billion of net debt (1.15 times EBITDA).
What is Paychex's dividend yield?
Paychex's forward dividend yield is 4.26%. Paychex paid $1.6 billion in dividends in fiscal 2026 ($4.42 per share), a payout ratio of 90.3%.
Does Paychex buy back its shares?
Yes. Paychex spent $611.0 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2026 Shares outstanding changed −0.6% over the year, to 360.0M..
What is Paychex's free cash flow yield?
Paychex generated $2.3 billion of free cash flow in fiscal 2026, a free cash flow yield of 6.7% on its market value at year-end ($34.9 billion).
What is Paychex's current ratio?
Paychex's current ratio was 1.26 at the end of fiscal 2026: current assets were 1.26 times current liabilities.