ADP vs GPN vs WDAY Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing, Global Payments and Workday Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GPN Global Payments Inc
$98.00 +25.1% 1M +27.1% 1Y
Market cap
$25.96B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$10.23B
Div. yield
0.01%
Payment Processing Technology
3 wins
WDAY Workday, Inc.
$197.94 +6.3% 1M -16.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.75B
P/E
39.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.16B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 6, Global Payments 3, Workday 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADPGPNWDAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $122.46B $25.96B $49.75B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.1x -27.8x 39.8x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.0x 7.6x 17.3x GPN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +32.5% +13.3% GPN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.3% -9.1% 12.3% ADP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -47.2% 2.3% 11.0% WDAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 4.8x -0.2x ADP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.1% +27.1% -16.7% GPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.5%/yr -6.3%/yr -7.4%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.9% 41.8% 53.5% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 37/100 48/100 74/100 WDAY

Percentile Scorecard

ADPGPNWDAY

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisADPGPNWDAY
Valuation 29 #71 of 100 68 #32 of 99 55 #46 of 100
Growth 27 #73 of 99 26 #70 of 94 87 #14 of 99
Profitability 53 #46 of 96 64 #33 of 90 82 #18 of 96
Financial Health 32 #76 of 112 23 #81 of 105 59 #47 of 112
Shareholder Returns 42 #39 of 67 57 #27 of 62 89 #8 of 67
Overall 37 48 74
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • GPN ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • WDAY ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodADPGPNWDAYSPY
1 month +14.9%+25.1%+6.3% -2.0%
3 months +9.4%+11.0%+15.6% -2.2%
6 months +40.6%+41.1%+53.6% +4.2%
Year to date +15.1%+26.6%-7.8% +10.6%
1 year +15.1%+27.1%-16.7% +10.4%
3 years +35.0%-13.9%-9.4% +73.6%
3 years, per year +10.5%-4.9%-3.2% +20.2%
5 years +30.9%-27.7%-31.9% +61.6%
5 years, per year +5.5%-6.3%-7.4% +10.1%
10 years +231.4%+39.0%+138.5% +261.3%
10 years, per year +12.7%+3.4%+9.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureADPGPNWDAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.9%41.8%53.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.9%35.8%50.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.130.840.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.540.65-0.31 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-58.8%-63.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.9%-1.6%-16.7% -3.2%
52-week high $307.94$99.62$237.68 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$62.47$112.50 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleADPGPNWDAY
P/E now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 27.1x -28.3xmedian 19.2x 38.8xmedian 27.1x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.8x 2.5xmedian 2.2x 4.7xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -25.5xmedian 16.6x 11.7xmedian 13.4x 26.8xmedian 16.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 15.7x 31.7xmedian 16.3x 16.8xmedian 15.7x
P/B now vs peer median 23.0xmedian 2.8x 1.1xmedian 1.9x 7.4xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 2.65median 0.87 0.61median 0.89 0.29median 0.87

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsADPGPNWDAY
Revenue $22.26B $10.23B $10.16B
Gross profit $10.37B $6.54B $7.70B
Operating income -$6.45B $1.27B $1.08B
Net income $4.53B -$873.78M $1.25B
Free cash flow $5.25B $822.72M $2.84B
R&D $1.03B – $2.81B
EPS (diluted) $11.22 $-3.46 $5.08
Cash & equivalents $3.28B $5.41B $661.00M
Total debt $4.97B $23.56B $2.99B
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 270.12M 246.31M
Enterprise value $109.26B $3.75B $29.71B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricADPGPNWDAY
P/E 26.3x -28.3x 38.8x
P/FCF 22.3x 31.7x 16.8x
P/Operating cash flow 21.5x 15.7x 15.5x
P/S 5.3x 2.5x 4.7x
P/B 23.0x 1.1x 7.4x
P/Tangible book 34.1x 6.0x 8.2x
EV/EBITDA -25.5x 11.7x 26.8x
EV/EBIT -18.4x 34.8x 43.7x
EV/Revenue 5.3x 4.3x 4.7x
EV/FCF 22.6x 53.7x 16.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.8x 26.7x 15.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.65 0.61 0.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPGPNWDAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 32.5% 13.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 3.3% 14.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.0% 14.8% 13.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 5.7% 15.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.7% -33.4% 105.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.8% -4.4% 134.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.4% -158.6% 114.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -44.6% 130.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.3% -158.9% 135.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -46.2% 135.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.6% -46.4% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -9.1% 19.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.0% -66.6% 18.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% -19.7% 22.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPGPNWDAY
Gross margin 46.6% 63.9% 75.8%
EBITDA margin -20.9% 36.8% 17.4%
Operating margin -29.0% 12.4% 10.7%
Pretax margin 26.4% 5.5% 12.6%
Net margin 20.3% -9.1% 12.3%
FCF margin 23.6% 8.0% 28.0%
Operating cash flow margin 24.5% 16.2% 30.3%
Return on equity 81.4% -3.5% 19.0%
Return on assets 7.1% -1.3% 7.8%
Return on invested capital -47.2% 2.3% 11.0%
Return on capital employed -54.0% 2.5% 11.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.2x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x -1.9x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.3% 16.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPGPNWDAY
Debt / assets 7.8% 37.1% 18.8%
Debt / equity 1.0x 1.0x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 4.8x -0.2x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 28.6x 1.1x
Liabilities / assets 92.0% 62.6% 59.3%
Equity / assets 8.0% 37.4% 40.7%
Interest coverage -13.7x 1.5x –
Current ratio 1.0x 0.8x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.85 0.66 3.90

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPGPNWDAY
Dividend yield 2.3% 1.0% –
Net buyback yield 2.1% 6.0% 10.8%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 7.1% 10.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -28.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 30.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -1.7% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusADPGPNWDAY
Forward P/E 23.0xFY2027 7.6xFY2026 17.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $12.82FY2026 $11.45FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +4.9%FY2026 +24.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +18.0% +22.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $12.66BFY2026 $11.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +35.9%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +8.4% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPGPNWDAY
Held by institutions 88.1% 100.0% 78.5%
Institutions holding 2,294 794 912
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% +7.4% +5.3%
Institutions buying 1,088 375 488
Institutions selling 874 308 324
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.22 1.51

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ADPGPNWDAY
ADP 1.00 0.48 0.64
GPN 0.48 1.00 0.37
WDAY 0.64 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP, GPN and WDAY?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $122.46B, Global Payments (GPN) $25.96B, Workday (WDAY) $49.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP, GPN and WDAY?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.1x, Global Payments (GPN) -27.8x, Workday (WDAY) 39.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Payments (GPN) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.0x, Global Payments (GPN) 7.6x, Workday (WDAY) 17.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Global Payments (GPN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.5%, Global Payments (GPN) +32.5%, Workday (WDAY) +13.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has the highest net margin (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.3%, Global Payments (GPN) -9.1%, Workday (WDAY) 12.3%). On return on invested capital, Workday (WDAY) leads (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -47.2%, Global Payments (GPN) 2.3%, Workday (WDAY) 11.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Global Payments (GPN) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +15.1%, Global Payments (GPN) +27.1%, Workday (WDAY) -16.7%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +5.5%/yr, Global Payments (GPN) -6.3%/yr, Workday (WDAY) -7.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 0.00%, Global Payments (GPN) 0.01%, Workday (WDAY) 0.00%. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Workday (WDAY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.9%, Global Payments (GPN) 41.8%, Workday (WDAY) 53.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ADP, GPN and WDAY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.