ADP vs MCO Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing and Moodys Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MCO Moodys Corp /De/
$483.45 +2.0% 1M +0.9% 1Y
Market cap
$83.73B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.18B
Div. yield
0.01%
Financial Data and Analytics Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 7, Moodys 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADPMCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $121.17B $83.73B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.5x 29.0x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.6x 26.8x ADP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.7% +9.0% MCO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.1% 35.3% MCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -46.5% 27.9% MCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 1.3x ADP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +8.0% +0.9% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +4.8%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.3% 28.5% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 60/100 MCO

Percentile Scorecard

ADPMCO

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

AxisADPMCO
Valuation 36 #65 of 101 18 #771 of 945
Growth 26 #72 of 97 73 #219 of 822
Profitability 53 #45 of 94 97 #26 of 835
Financial Health 35 #71 of 109 53 #424 of 905
Shareholder Returns 41 #38 of 64 58 #304 of 726
Overall 38 60
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • MCO ranked among 1,011 companies in Financial Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADPMCOSPY
1 month +15.4%+2.0% -1.0%
3 months +21.6%+2.5% +2.9%
6 months +54.8%+6.0% +6.4%
Year to date +18.2%-5.4% +11.4%
1 year +8.0%+0.9% +13.1%
3 years +26.5%+58.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +8.2%+16.5% +21.5%
5 years +39.7%+26.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +6.9%+4.8% +10.9%
10 years +250.7%+372.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.4%+16.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureADPMCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.3%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 26.9%30.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.080.51 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.280.03 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.2%-10.4% -2.5%
52-week high $307.94$539.61 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$412.23 $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.

MultipleADPMCO
P/E now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 29.9x 29.0xmedian 13.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 2.8x 10.2xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -26.2xmedian 17.4x 21.4xmedian 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.1xmedian 16.9x 28.0xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 3.1x 24.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.76median 0.86 1.09median 0.89

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 monthsADPMCO
Revenue $21.95B $8.18B
Gross profit $10.19B $6.10B
Operating income -$6.44B $3.64B
Net income $4.41B $2.89B
Free cash flow $5.24B $2.98B
R&D $1.03B –
EPS (diluted) $10.94 $16.64
Cash & equivalents $4.23B $1.51B
Total debt $22.10B $6.91B
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 173.30M
Enterprise value $103.29B $76.65B

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
MetricADPMCO
P/E 27.7x 29.0x
P/FCF 23.1x 28.0x
P/Operating cash flow 22.2x 25.0x
P/S 5.5x 10.2x
P/B 20.1x 24.4x
P/Tangible book 27.6x 48.5x
EV/EBITDA -26.2x 21.4x
EV/EBIT -18.9x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 10.8x
EV/FCF 23.2x 29.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.4x 26.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.76 1.09

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPMCO
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.7% 9.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.6% 10.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 14.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% 16.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 23.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.2% 28.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 24.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 9.6% 33.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 26.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.2% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 17.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.9% 24.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 18.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPMCO
Gross margin 46.4% 74.6%
EBITDA margin -21.2% 50.6%
Operating margin -29.3% 44.6%
Pretax margin 26.1% 45.2%
Net margin 20.1% 35.3%
FCF margin 23.9% 36.4%
Operating cash flow margin 24.8% 40.7%
Return on equity 71.3% 87.8%
Return on assets 6.9% 19.6%
Return on invested capital -46.5% 27.9%
Return on capital employed -46.6% 31.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 2.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPMCO
Debt / assets 7.9% 46.6%
Debt / equity 0.8x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 90.5% 77.0%
Equity / assets 9.5% 23.0%
Interest coverage -14.0x –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.93 7.67

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPMCO
Dividend yield 2.2% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 3.5%
Shareholder yield 4.0% 4.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 24.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 23.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.8%

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.

ConsensusADPMCO
Forward P/E 23.6xFY2027 26.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $18.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +21.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% -1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $8.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +13.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% -1.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPMCO
Held by institutions 88.1% 90.8%
Institutions holding 2,290 1,404
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -1.6%
Institutions buying 1,084 644
Institutions selling 874 522
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.23

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.

ADPMCO
ADP 1.00 0.57
MCO 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP and MCO?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $121.17B, Moodys (MCO) $83.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP and MCO?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.5x, Moodys (MCO) 29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.6x, Moodys (MCO) 26.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Moodys (MCO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.7%, Moodys (MCO) +9.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Moodys (MCO) has the highest net margin (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.1%, Moodys (MCO) 35.3%). On return on invested capital, Moodys (MCO) leads (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -46.5%, Moodys (MCO) 27.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +8.0%, Moodys (MCO) +0.9%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.9%/yr, Moodys (MCO) +4.8%/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%, Moodys (MCO) 0.01%. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 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) 28.3%, Moodys (MCO) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ADP and MCO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.57, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ADP and MCO?

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 7. 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.