Company file · PAYX
Paychex
Paychex's revenue rose 16.9% in FY2026, to $6.5B, and net income rose 6.2% to $1.8B
Revenue rose 16.9% to $6.5B in FY2026, from $5.6B in FY2025. Net income rose 6.2% to $1.8B. Management Solutions was the largest product or service, at 75% of revenue.
Key facts
In fiscal 2026, which ended May 31, 2026, Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX) took in $6.5B of revenue (up 16.9% on fiscal 2025); net income was $1.8B (up 6.2%). The most recent quarter, ended Aug 31, 2026, brought revenue of $1.6B, up 5.9% year over year, with net income of $430M. Sources: 10-K for fiscal 2026 (filed Jul 17, 2026) and 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026 (filed Sep 24, 2026).
Source: 10-K FY2026, filed Jul 17, 2026
Source: 10-Q filed Sep 24, 2026
How it makes money
By product or service in FY2026: Management Solutions (75%) and Peo and Insurance Solutions (22%), as shares of total revenue; the rest of revenue isn't part of this breakdown. Total revenue was $6.5B.
By product or service, FY2026
Share is of FY2026 revenue; the items listed don't cover all of it. The last column is the change from FY2025.
Learn more: Revenue vs. net income · Gross, operating and net margin
What changed last quarter
Comparing Q1 FY2027 (Jun to Aug 2026) compared with Q1 FY2026 (Jun to Aug 2025)
Each pair of bars shows the dollar amount for both quarters. Longer bar, more money. Bars in a group share one scale.
Q1 FY2027Q1 FY2026
Company
Source: Paychex 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026, filed Sep 24, 2026
The bull case and the bear case
The bull case
- Revenue rose 16.9% in FY2026 to $6.5B, from $5.6B a year earlier. 10-K, FY2026
- Net income rose 6.2% in FY2026 to $1.8B, from $1.7B. 10-K, FY2026
- Operating cash flow rose 34.5% in FY2026 to $2.6B. 10-K, FY2026
- Total debt fell 8.3% in FY2026 to $4.6B. 10-K, FY2026
The bear case
- The company's own risk factors are in Item 1A of its 10-K. Risks common in this industry include economic cycles; costs and supply; trade and tariffs. 10-K, Item 1A
What optimists and skeptics tend to point to, each tied to a filing. Ticker Sage doesn't pick a side, and neither list is a reason to buy or sell.
What the company does
Paychex is in the human resource & employment services industry, part of the industrials sector. The SEC files it under Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management.
The full description of Paychex's business is in Item 1 of its 10-K, linked below. This page shows its revenue by product or service.
Its fiscal year ends in May; the latest, FY2026, ended May 31, 2026.
Source: 10-K, Item 1 Business
Risks common in this industry
These are general risks for companies in the human resource & employment services industry. They are not a summary of Paychex’s own risk factors; for those, read Item 1A of its latest 10-K, linked below.
- Economic cyclesDemand for equipment and services rises and falls with business investment.
- Costs and supplyMaterial, labor and supplier problems can raise costs or delay delivery.
- Trade and tariffsTariffs and trade policy affect costs and sales.
- Contracts and backlogLarge projects and government contracts can be delayed, cut or repriced.
- Regulation and liabilitySafety, environmental and product-liability rules can raise costs.
Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors (the company's own list, in the company's words)
Three years of key numbers
Every number links to its filing; hover for the XBRL tag. A dash means the number isn't cleanly available, and we don't estimate it.
| US$ | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.3B | $5.6B | $6.5B |
| Net income | $1.7B | $1.7B | $1.8B |
| Operating cash flow | $1.9B | $1.9B | $2.6B |
| Cash & equivalents (year end) | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.1B |
| Total debt (year end) | $817M | $5.0B | $4.6B |
| Diluted shares | 362M | 362M | 360M |
- Revenue: Total revenue for the fiscal year, as the company reports it on its income statement.
- Net income: Net income attributable to the company's shareholders, after all costs, interest and taxes.
- Operating cash flow: Cash the business brought in from its day-to-day operations during the year (cash flow statement).
- Cash & equivalents: Cash and short-term investments that count as cash equivalents on the balance sheet. Excludes longer-dated marketable securities.
- Total debt: Short-term borrowings and the current part of long-term debt plus long-term debt, at carrying value.
- Diluted shares: Weighted average shares outstanding for the year, including the effect of options and stock awards.
Learn more: How to read an income statement · Earnings per share, basic and diluted · Free cash flow · How to read a balance sheet · Growth rate calculator · P/E calculator · Market cap calculator · Free cash flow calculator · Return on equity and assets calculator
Explainers for this page
- Net debt and net cash
- Debt-to-equity ratio
- Risk factors (Item 1A)
- The cash flow statement
- Remaining performance obligations (RPO)
- Property, plant and equipment
- Maintenance vs. growth capex
Plain-English guides to terms this file uses, with real numbers from filings.
About these numbers
- Paychex names its fiscal year by the calendar year in which it ends, so FY2026 is the year that ended May 31, 2026.
- The product or service chart covers only part of revenue: the company reports other lines that aren't part of this breakdown.
Recent filings
| Form | Filed | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Q | Sep 24, 2026 | Aug 31, 2026 |
| DEF 14A | Sep 4, 2026 | Oct 15, 2026 |
| 10-K | Jul 17, 2026 | May 31, 2026 |
Learn more: 10-K vs. 10-Q vs. 8-K · Form 4 insider filings · Fiscal years and quarters
Common questions about Paychex
How does Paychex make money?
In fiscal 2026, revenue totaled $6.5B. By product or service in FY2026: Management Solutions (75%) and Peo and Insurance Solutions (22%), as shares of total revenue; the rest of revenue isn't part of this breakdown. Total revenue was $6.5B. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Jul 17, 2026.
What was Paychex's revenue in fiscal 2026?
Revenue came to $6.5B in the year ended May 31, 2026. Going back two years, it was $5.3B in fiscal 2024 and $5.6B in fiscal 2025, so the latest year was up 16.9%. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Jul 17, 2026.
Is Paychex profitable?
Yes, by US accounting rules (GAAP): net income was $1.8B in fiscal 2026, up 6.2% from $1.7B a year earlier. For the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026, net income was $430M. The page's About these numbers section explains what is included. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Jul 17, 2026.
What did Paychex report in its latest quarterly filing?
The 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026 shows revenue of $1.6B, against $1.5B in the same quarter a year before (up 5.9%), and net income of $430M, against $384M (up 12.0%). Source: 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026, filed Sep 24, 2026.
How much cash and debt does Paychex have?
On Aug 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at $601M and total debt at $4.6B. Total debt here is short-term borrowings and the current part of long-term debt plus long-term debt, at carrying value. Source: 10-Q filed Sep 24, 2026.
What are the main risks Paychex faces?
Paychex's own risk factors are in Item 1A of its 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Jul 17, 2026. Risks that are common among companies in the human resource & employment services industry include Economic cycles; costs and supply; trade and tariffs; contracts and backlog; regulation and liability. The first: Demand for equipment and services rises and falls with business investment. Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors.
Where do these Paychex numbers come from?
Two filings Paychex made with the SEC: its fiscal 2026 10-K, filed Jul 17, 2026, and its 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug 31, 2026, filed Sep 24, 2026. The figures are taken from the XBRL data the SEC publishes, and every one links back to its source. Methodology explains how fiscal years and missing numbers are handled.
Tracked funds that report owning Paychex
- Millennium Management: 2,329,624 shares, reported value $229.1M at Jun 30, 2026 (+105.3% in shares since the filing for Mar 31, 2026). Form 13F filed Aug 14, 2026.
- Baillie Gifford: 525,509 shares, reported value $51.8M at Sep 30, 2026 (+50.6% in shares since the filing for Jun 30, 2026). Form 13F filed Nov 9, 2026.
- Citadel Advisors: 432,434 shares, reported value $42.5M at Jun 30, 2026 (+242.0% in shares since the filing for Mar 31, 2026). Form 13F filed Sep 2, 2026.
- Renaissance Technologies: 218,501 shares, reported value $21.5M at Jun 30, 2026 (−81.3% in shares since the filing for Mar 31, 2026). Form 13F filed Aug 13, 2026.
- Markel Group: 150,000 shares, reported value $14.8M at Sep 30, 2026 (same number of shares as in the filing for Jun 30, 2026). Form 13F filed Oct 30, 2026.
- Two Sigma Investments: 66,401 shares, reported value $6.5M at Jun 30, 2026 (+33.4% in shares since the filing for Mar 31, 2026). Form 13F filed Aug 14, 2026.
- Point72 Asset Management: 5,200 shares, reported value $0.5M at Jun 30, 2026 (−51.9% in shares since the filing for Mar 31, 2026). Form 13F filed Aug 14, 2026.
From each fund’s latest Form 13F, which is filed up to 45 days after quarter end and lists long positions in US-listed stocks only. A listing here is a fact about a filing, not a view on the stock. What a 13F does and doesn’t show.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings in PAYX
- The editor holds no position in Paychex (PAYX). As of Nov 11, 2026.
- Trading rule
- The editor does not buy or sell PAYX from 3 days before to 3 days after this page is published or substantively updated.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- The company's SEC filings, linked next to each number or, for charts, in the source line under them.
- Last updated
- Nov 9, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold PAYX, and it doesn't consider your situation.
Compare with peers
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Revenue growth | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PaychexPAYX | FY2026 | $6.5B | +16.9% | $1.8B |
| Automatic Data ProcessingADP | FY2026 | $21.9B | +6.7% | $4.4B |
| CaterpillarCAT | FY2025 | $67.6B | +4.3% | $8.9B |
| GE AerospaceGE | FY2025 | $45.9B | +18.5% | $8.7B |
Each row is that company’s latest fiscal year from its own 10-K, using its own revenue and net income lines. Fiscal years end in different months, and line definitions differ (banks, insurers and oil companies count revenue differently), so this is a rough side-by-side, not a like-for-like comparison.
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New to filings? Learn has plain-English explainers and Tools has calculators. Methodology & Disclosures covers where every number comes from.