ADP vs PAYC Stock Comparison

Automatic Data Processing and Paycom Software Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PAYC Paycom Software, Inc.
$262.56 +19.0% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$11.63B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.14B
Div. yield
0.58%
HR Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionADPPAYCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $113.52B $11.63B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.9x 24.7x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 22.4x ADP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +9.2% –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 22.8% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 31.3% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.38% 0.58% ADP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.1% +32.3% PAYC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.9%/yr -13.7%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.6% 47.3% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 63/100 PAYC

Percentile Scorecard

ADPPAYC

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

AxisADPPAYC
Valuation 38 #63 of 101 54 #47 of 101
Growth 30 #68 of 97 58 #41 of 97
Profitability 75 #24 of 94 98 #3 of 94
Financial Health 20 #87 of 108 39 #66 of 108
Shareholder Returns 52 #31 of 64 65 #23 of 64
Overall 43 63
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • PAYC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADPPAYCSPY
1 month +9.0%+19.0% +0.9%
3 months +4.4%+55.3% +5.9%
6 months +32.7%+105.2% +8.5%
Year to date +10.9%+64.8% +13.3%
1 year +2.1%+32.3% +12.4%
3 years +32.8%+9.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +9.9%+3.0% +23.5%
5 years +27.1%-52.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +4.9%-13.7% +11.0%
10 years +227.4%+408.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +12.6%+17.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureADPPAYCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.6%47.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.5%43.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.090.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.070.68 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.2%-79.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.3%-4.4% -0.9%
52-week high $307.94$274.60 $779.14
52-week low $188.79$113.59 $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.

MultipleADPPAYC
P/E now vs peer median 23.9xmedian 27.6x 24.7xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 2.7x 5.4xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 14.6xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 15.8x 20.2xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 3.2x 20.4xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.84 0.99median 0.84

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 monthsADPPAYC
Revenue – $2.14B
Gross profit – $1.79B
Operating income – $648.40M
Net income $4.53B $487.60M
Free cash flow – $575.10M
R&D $1.03B $258.90M
EPS (diluted) – $10.62
Cash & equivalents $3.28B $198.00M
Total debt – $900.00M
Shares (diluted) 403.30M 45.91M
Enterprise value $113.52B $10.53B

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
MetricADPPAYC
P/E 23.9x 24.7x
P/FCF 19.9x 20.2x
P/Operating cash flow 20.8x 14.5x
P/S 4.7x 5.4x
P/B 22.3x 20.4x
P/Tangible book 33.0x 21.5x
EV/EBITDA – 14.6x
EV/EBIT – 19.0x
EV/Revenue – 5.8x
EV/FCF – 21.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x 15.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.99

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADPPAYC
Revenue growth (1Y) – 9.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 11.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 11.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 17.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 14.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.4% 17.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 15.6%
EPS growth (1Y) – 44.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.6% 43.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 21.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 60.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 24.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADPPAYC
Gross margin – 83.7%
EBITDA margin – 39.5%
Operating margin – 30.3%
Pretax margin – 32.0%
Net margin – 22.8%
FCF margin – 26.9%
Operating cash flow margin – 37.4%
Return on equity 81.4% 70.5%
Return on assets 7.1% 9.7%
Return on invested capital – 31.3%
Return on capital employed – 36.7%
Asset turnover – 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 4.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADPPAYC
Debt / assets – 17.3%
Debt / equity – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 92.0% 89.0%
Equity / assets 8.0% 11.0%
Interest coverage – 39.8x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio – 0.1x
Cash ratio – 0.1x
Altman Z-score – 3.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADPPAYC
Dividend yield 2.4% 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 12.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 13.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusADPPAYC
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2027 22.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.87FY2027 $11.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.7%FY2027 +27.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.8% +14.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.14BFY2027 $2.08BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.9%FY2027 +1.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.1% +11.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADPPAYC
Held by institutions 88.1% 90.3%
Institutions holding 2,291 594
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -8.5%
Institutions buying 1,085 294
Institutions selling 874 222
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.32

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.

ADPPAYC
ADP 1.00 0.67
PAYC 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADP and PAYC?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $113.52B, Paycom Software (PAYC) $11.63B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADP and PAYC?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.9x, Paycom Software (PAYC) 24.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is cheapest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 22.2x, Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Paycom Software (PAYC) returned the most: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +2.1%, Paycom Software (PAYC) +32.3%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +4.9%/yr, Paycom Software (PAYC) -13.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has the highest dividend yield: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 2.38%, Paycom Software (PAYC) 0.58%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 28.6%, Paycom Software (PAYC) 47.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ADP and PAYC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.67, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ADP and PAYC?

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.