Touchstone
Last syncNov 1, 2026, 6:55 PM ET

PAYX

Paychex Inc Industrials Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management S&P 500Nasdaq-100Russell 3000
$112.12Close $39.9BMarket cap $83.61 – $127.3452-week range Dec 18, 2026Next report

Highlights

Cautions

  • Trend not confirmed 6 of 8 conditions · 200-day not rising, RS under 70

Price

Filing Results Screen pick 52-week high and low Adjusted prices

Key figures

FY to May 31, 2026 · filed Sep 24, 2026
Off 12-month high 12%
1wk down 4.0% price change
1mo up 15.0% price change
12-month return 0% market up 11% · its own down 11%
F-score 6 / 9 Mixed
Altman Z″ 2.44 Moderate risk
P/E 22.7× price / earnings
PEG 3.33 P/E / EPS growth
P/B 10.7× price / book
Earnings yield up 5.8% EBIT / enterprise value
Cheaper than 53% of the market · around average
Revenue growth up 16% year on year
EPS growth up 14% latest quarter · -30 pts
Sales growth up 6% latest quarter · -6 pts
ROE up 45% return on equity
Free cash margin up 37% $2.3B FCF
D/E 1.22 long-term debt / equity
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2×
Interest cover —EBIT / interest
Piotroski tests
  • profitability slipped from last year
  • short-term liquidity weakened
  • assets working less efficiently
  • profitable on its assets
  • generating cash from operations
  • profits backed by cash
  • reduced long-term debt
  • no new shares issued
  • gross margin widened

Repair signals

  • Gross margin 71.5% → 73.4%

Trade setup

ATR% 2.8% $3.11 a day · 2×ATR $105.90
RS 53 / 99 vs the universe
Trend 6 / 8 200-day not rising, RS under 70
Relative volume 1.2× vs 50-day average
Up/down volume 0.80 50 sessions
Implied move 12.8% by Jan 15, 2027 · report Dec 18, 2026
Contractions 2 24% → 10%
Pivot $118.27 5.2% below
Volume dry-up 0.9× 10 vs 50 sessions
Trend template · 6 of 8
  • 200-day average rising for a month: fails
  • RS rank 70 or higher: fails

Screen verdict

Did not qualify for any screen.

Warning signs

none flagged
  • No restatement or impairment
  • Equity positive
  • Interest covered
  • No material dilution
  • Profits tracking cash
  • Margins and revenue not shrinking
Last reported Sep 23, 2026
Results reaction Sep 23, 2026-10% vs market2 sessions after results
Options $640,12835.0% IV · activity

Financials

6 fiscal years · from filings
Revenue What customers paid the company over its fiscal year, before any cost, as filed in its annual report. The change is against the year before. Methodology $6.3B +16% on FY2025
$0 $10B FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 · $4.0B FY2022 · $4.6B FY2023 · $4.9B FY2024 · $5.1B FY2025 · $5.4B FY2026 · $6.3B
Net income Profit left after every cost, interest and tax for the year. A column below the line is a loss. Methodology $1.8B +6% on FY2025
$0 $2B FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 FY2022 · $1.4B FY2023 · $1.6B FY2024 · $1,690 FY2025 · $1.7B FY2026 · $1.8B
Free cash flow Cash from running the business less what it spent on equipment and buildings: the cash a year actually left behind, which profit alone does not show. Not shown for banks and insurers, whose cash moves with their loans. Methodology $2.3B +36% on FY2025
$0 $2.5B FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 · $1.1B FY2022 · $1.5B FY2023 · $1.6B FY2024 · $1.7B FY2025 · $1.7B FY2026 · $2.3B
Margins Each as a share of revenue. Gross: left after the direct cost of what was sold. Net: left after every cost. Free cash: free cash flow over revenue. A margin rising over years means the business keeps more of each dollar it sells. Methodology
  • Gross 73%
  • Net 28%
  • Free cash 37%
0% 100% FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 · Gross 68% · Free cash 29% FY2022 · Gross 70% · Net 31% · Free cash 32% FY2023 · Gross 70% · Net 32% · Free cash 32% FY2024 · Gross 71% · Net 0% · Free cash 34% FY2025 · Gross 72% · Net 31% · Free cash 32% FY2026 · Gross 73% · Net 28% · Free cash 37%
Cash and long-term debt Cash on the balance sheet at the year's end beside debt due after a year. Net cash is cash less that debt; net debt is the shortfall. Debt some filers do not tag shows as a gap, not as zero. Methodology $3.5B net debt
  • Cash
  • Long-term debt
$0 $5B FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 · Cash $995.2M · Long-term debt $797.3M FY2022 · Cash $370.0M · Long-term debt $797.7M FY2023 · Cash $1.2B · Long-term debt $798.2M FY2024 · Cash $1.5B · Long-term debt $798.6M FY2025 · Cash $1.6B · Long-term debt $4.5B FY2026 · Cash $1.1B · Long-term debt $4.6B
Shares outstanding Shares in issue at the year's end. A rising count means each share owns a smaller slice of the company (stock pay, share sales); a falling one, buybacks. The chart's scale is fitted to the count, so a small change looks large: read the percentage. Methodology 355.60m -1.2% since FY2021
360.50m 355.60m FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY2021 · 359.80m FY2022 · 359.90m FY2023 · 360.50m FY2024 · 360.10m FY2025 · 360.50m FY2026 · 355.60m
  FY2021May 31, 2021 FY2022May 31, 2022 FY2023May 31, 2023 FY2024May 31, 2024 FY2025May 31, 2025 FY2026May 31, 2026
Revenue $4.0B $4.6B $4.9B $5.1B $5.4B $6.3B
Gross margin 68% 70% 70% 71% 72% 73%
Operating income $1.5B $1.8B $2.0B $2.2B $2.2B $2.5B
Net income — $1.4B $1.6B $1,690 $1.7B $1.8B
Net margin — 31% 32% 0% 31% 28%
Earnings per share — $3.84 $4.30 $0.00 $4.58 $4.89
Free cash flow $1.1B $1.5B $1.6B $1.7B $1.7B $2.3B
Free cash margin 29% 32% 32% 34% 32% 37%
Cash $995.2M $370.0M $1.2B $1.5B $1.6B $1.1B
Long-term debt $797.3M $797.7M $798.2M $798.6M $4.5B $4.6B
Shareholders' equity $2.9B $3.1B $3.5B $3.8B $4.1B $3.7B
Shares outstanding 359.80m 359.90m 360.50m 360.10m 360.50m 355.60m

Next report

Dec 18, 2026

Expected move The move, either way, the option market prices in through the next scheduled report: the at-the-money straddle for the first expiry that contains it, over the price. It includes the days around the report, so it slightly overstates the report alone. Methodology ±12.8% $97 – $126 by Jan 15, 2027
Usual move The median, over the company's last four reports, of how far the stock moved either way from the close before the filing to the close of the session after it. Methodology ±2.3% last 4: -11.3% · -1.3% · +3.3% · +0.6%
Expected against usual The move the options price through this report over the move the last four reports delivered. Above 1 the event is priced bigger than the company's own record; below 1, smaller. A price, not a forecast: it says what protection through the report costs, not which way the stock will go. Methodology Bigger than usual 5.6× the usual move

What options price now

Expected 1-month range The at-the-money straddle for the expiry nearest a month out, as a share of the price: the move, either way, the option market is pricing by then. The range is the price plus and minus that move; the stock ends inside it a little more often than not. Methodology
$103 – $120 ±7.5% by Nov 20, 2026
Swings expected vs recent The daily swings the options are priced for (implied volatility) against the swings the stock actually had over the last 20 sessions (realised volatility). Bigger means options charge for more movement than the stock has been delivering; smaller, less. On a contract row, that contract's own implied volatility over the stock's realised. Methodology
About the same 35.0% priced · 34.4% recent
Next month vs later At-the-money implied volatility for 8-45 day expiries over 46-90 day ones: whether options price the coming month as choppier or calmer than the two after it. Ahead of a report it usually reads choppier, and the extra comes out once the report is out. Methodology
About the same
Crash protection What options that pay off in a fall cost against options that pay off in a rise (the 25-delta skew), compared with this company's own normal - the median of its stored nightly readings, once there are 20 - and with five sessions ago. Protection costs a little more than upside on most shares. More than usual means readers of the chain are paying up to insure against a drop; it does not say which way the stock will go. Methodology
past week: no change
Positioning
Premium traded
$640,128 calls $473,368 · puts $166,760 · latest session
Puts against calls, by premium Money spent on puts divided by money spent on calls. Measured in dollars rather than contracts on purpose: counting contracts treats a hundred cheap lottery tickets as more meaningful than one large position, which is backwards. Methodology
0.35× -0.36 over the week
Open interest added The change over five sessions in option positions left open overnight, calls and puts. A rise means positions were added. It cannot say whether they were bought or sold, so more calls is not a vote for a rise: a call is as often sold against shares already held. Methodology
calls +2.32k · puts +2.88k past week

For options traders: ATM IV 35.0% (+4.4% 1w) · 1m ÷ 3m IV 1.00 · 25Δ skew 1.7 pts · Net GEX $2.0M

Most traded contracts

No contract passed the liquidity filters this week.

Filings

SEC EDGAR
FiledReportPeriod to Lag
Sep 24, 2026 Quarterly ↗ Aug 31, 2026 24d
Jul 17, 2026 Annual ↗ May 31, 2026 47d
Mar 26, 2026 Quarterly ↗ Feb 28, 2026 26d
Dec 22, 2025 Quarterly ↗ Nov 30, 2025 22d
Sep 30, 2025 Quarterly ↗ Aug 31, 2025 30d
Jul 11, 2025 Annual ↗ May 31, 2025 41d
Mar 26, 2025 Quarterly ↗ Feb 28, 2025 26d
Dec 19, 2024 Quarterly ↗ Nov 30, 2024 19d
Oct 1, 2024 Quarterly ↗ Aug 31, 2024 31d
Jul 11, 2024 Annual ↗ May 31, 2024 41d
Apr 2, 2024 Quarterly ↗ Feb 29, 2024 33d
Dec 21, 2023 Quarterly ↗ Nov 30, 2023 21d

Current reports

FiledDisclosed
Oct 16, 2026 Shareholder vote ↗
Sep 23, 2026 Results ↗
Jul 21, 2026 Director or officer change ↗
Jun 24, 2026 Results ↗
Mar 25, 2026 Results ↗
Jan 26, 2026 Material agreement · Agreement ended · New obligation ↗
Jan 20, 2026 Director or officer change · Other events ↗
Dec 19, 2025 Results ↗
Oct 14, 2025 Shareholder vote ↗
Sep 30, 2025 Results ↗
Jul 14, 2025 Director or officer change · Regulation FD ↗
Jun 25, 2025 Results ↗