Paychex, Inc. (PAYX)
Paychex is a US-based company that handles the tricky bits of running a business, like paying staff, managing taxes, and sorting out human resources.
Is Paychex, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: High profit margins show a very efficient business model. Worth weighing: The share price has struggled recently, falling over 20% in a year.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does Paychex, Inc. do?
Think of Paychex as the invisible engine room for small and medium-sized businesses, taking care of payroll, benefits, and tax filings so owners can focus on their actual work. Subscription fees for their software and services provide a steady stream of income. Keep an eye on how well they retain existing clients while attracting new ones in a competitive market for business software.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and growth, and weakest on value.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 3.9% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 12% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 27% of sales into profit
- —
- Value screens low
Does Paychex, Inc. pay a dividend?
Yes - Paychex, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 3.9% a year, which is £39 a year for every £1,000 invested (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →
What do the numbers say about Paychex, Inc.'s dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 28 Jul 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
Does Paychex, Inc. have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $1.14B in cash against about $4.63B of debt - so it has net debt of about $3.49B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Paychex, Inc.'s numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has Paychex, Inc. actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Paychex, Inc. fell as much as −46% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns Paychex, Inc.?
About 86% of Paychex, Inc., or about 86 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds, and company insiders hold about 10%. The rest, roughly 3%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does Paychex, Inc. make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of Paychex, Inc.'s sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £33 covers making the product or service, £40 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £27 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does Paychex, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Paychex, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-09-29 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | $1.31 | $1.32 | In line |
| 2026-03-25 | $1.67 | $1.71 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-12-19 | $1.23 | $1.26 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-09-30 | $1.20 | $1.22 | Beat +1% |
| 2025-06-25 | $1.20 | $1.19 | In line |
| 2025-03-26 | $1.48 | $1.49 | In line |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Paychex, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 3 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Paychex, Inc.?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Dominance in the small business HR software market.
Long-term decline in small business formation.
What are the pros and cons of Paychex, Inc.?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- High profit margins show a very efficient business model.
- Provides essential services that businesses find difficult to stop using.
- Offers a consistent dividend payment to shareholders.
- The share price has struggled recently, falling over 20% in a year.
- High valuation metrics suggest the stock is not particularly cheap.
- Relies heavily on the health of small and medium-sized businesses.
- Economic downturns often lead to business closures, reducing the customer base.
- Rapidly changing technology could make their current software feel outdated.
- Regulatory changes in tax or employment law could increase their operational costs.
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A significant, sustained drop in the number of small businesses in the US.
- A major security breach that damages the company's reputation for handling sensitive data.
Common questions about Paychex, Inc.
Does Paychex, Inc. pay a dividend?
Yes - Paychex, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 3.9% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.
When does Paychex, Inc. report earnings next?
Paychex, Inc. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-09-29. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.