PAYC vs ADP vs WDAY Stock Comparison

Paycom Software, Automatic Data Processing and Workday 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
3 wins
WDAY Workday, Inc.
$204.36 +8.4% 1M -13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$49.29B
P/E
39.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.96B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 5, Workday 4, Paycom Software 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPAYCADPWDAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.63B $113.52B $49.29B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.7x 23.9x 39.9x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.4x 22.2x 17.8x WDAY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.2% — +11.2% WDAY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.8% — 12.6% PAYC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 31.3% — 9.8% PAYC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x — -0.3x WDAY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.58% 2.38% — ADP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.3% +2.1% -13.7% PAYC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.7%/yr +4.9%/yr -6.8%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.3% 28.6% 53.5% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 43/100 70/100 WDAY

Percentile Scorecard

PAYCADPWDAY

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

AxisPAYCADPWDAY
Valuation 54 #47 of 101 38 #63 of 101 49 #52 of 101
Growth 58 #41 of 97 30 #68 of 97 94 #7 of 97
Profitability 98 #3 of 94 75 #24 of 94 83 #17 of 94
Financial Health 39 #66 of 108 20 #87 of 108 55 #49 of 108
Shareholder Returns 65 #23 of 64 52 #31 of 64 –
Overall 63 43 70
  • PAYC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • 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

PeriodPAYCADPWDAYSPY
1 month +19.0%+9.0%+8.4% +0.9%
3 months +55.3%+4.4%+21.6% +5.9%
6 months +105.2%+32.7%+66.9% +8.5%
Year to date +64.8%+10.9%-4.9% +13.3%
1 year +32.3%+2.1%-13.7% +12.4%
3 years +9.2%+32.8%-0.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +3.0%+9.9%-0.3% +23.5%
5 years -52.1%+27.1%-29.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year -13.7%+4.9%-6.8% +11.0%
10 years +408.4%+227.4%+137.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year +17.7%+12.6%+9.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePAYCADPWDAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.3%28.6%53.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.1%27.5%50.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.07-0.090.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.680.07-0.26 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -79.5%-42.2%-63.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.4%-7.3%-14.8% -0.9%
52-week high $274.60$307.94$239.92 $779.14
52-week low $113.59$188.79$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.

MultiplePAYCADPWDAY
P/E now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 27.6x 23.9xmedian 27.6x 39.9xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.7x 4.7xmedian 2.7x 4.9xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 17.4x —median 17.4x 30.2xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 15.8x 19.9xmedian 15.8x —median 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 20.4xmedian 3.2x 22.3xmedian 3.2x 7.6xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.99median 0.84 —median 0.84 0.29median 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 monthsPAYCADPWDAY
Revenue $2.14B – $9.96B
Gross profit $1.79B – $7.53B
Operating income $648.40M – $994.00M
Net income $487.60M $4.53B $1.26B
Free cash flow $575.10M – –
R&D $258.90M $1.03B $2.76B
EPS (diluted) $10.62 – $5.10
Cash & equivalents $198.00M $3.28B $661.00M
Total debt $900.00M – $2.99B
Shares (diluted) 45.91M 403.30M 246.31M
Enterprise value $10.53B $113.52B $25.41B

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
MetricPAYCADPWDAY
P/E 24.7x 23.9x 39.9x
P/FCF 20.2x 19.9x –
P/Operating cash flow 14.5x 20.8x –
P/S 5.4x 4.7x 4.9x
P/B 20.4x 22.3x 7.6x
P/Tangible book 21.5x 33.0x 8.4x
EV/EBITDA 14.6x – 30.2x
EV/EBIT 19.0x – 49.2x
EV/Revenue 5.8x – 4.9x
EV/FCF 21.4x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.4x 20.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.99 – 0.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAYCADPWDAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.2% – 11.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.2% – 14.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.9% – 11.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.0% – 14.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.7% – 88.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.9% – 129.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 9.4% 115.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.6% 9.0% 131.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 44.3% – 136.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.0% – 135.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.6% 14.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.4% 12.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 60.1% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.3% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAYCADPWDAY
Gross margin 83.7% – 75.5%
EBITDA margin 39.5% – 16.3%
Operating margin 30.3% – 10.0%
Pretax margin 32.0% – 12.4%
Net margin 22.8% – 12.6%
FCF margin 26.9% – –
Operating cash flow margin 37.4% – –
Return on equity 70.5% 81.4% 17.6%
Return on assets 9.7% 7.1% 7.4%
Return on invested capital 31.3% – 9.8%
Return on capital employed 36.7% – 9.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 4.2% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAYCADPWDAY
Debt / assets 17.3% – 18.8%
Debt / equity 1.6x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x – -0.3x
Debt / FCF 1.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 89.0% 92.0% 59.3%
Equity / assets 11.0% 8.0% 40.7%
Interest coverage 39.8x – –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.1x – 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x – 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.05 – 3.97

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAYCADPWDAY
Dividend yield 0.6% 2.4% –
Net buyback yield 12.8% – –
Shareholder yield 13.4% 2.4% –
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.

ConsensusPAYCADPWDAY
Forward P/E 22.4xFY2026 22.2xFY2027 17.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.74FY2026 $12.87FY2027 $11.45FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +27.1%FY2026 +15.7%FY2027 +24.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.6% +6.8% +22.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.08BFY2026 $22.14BFY2027 $11.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.5%FY2026 +0.9%FY2027 +17.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.2% +18.1% +8.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAYCADPWDAY
Held by institutions 90.3% 88.1% 98.1%
Institutions holding 594 2,291 910
Change in shares held, QoQ -8.5% +4.4% +5.3%
Institutions buying 294 1,085 487
Institutions selling 222 874 323
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.24 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.

PAYCADPWDAY
PAYC 1.00 0.67 0.64
ADP 0.67 1.00 0.64
WDAY 0.64 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAYC, ADP and WDAY?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paycom Software (PAYC) $11.63B, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $113.52B, Workday (WDAY) $49.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAYC, ADP and WDAY?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paycom Software (PAYC) 24.7x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.9x, Workday (WDAY) 39.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Workday (WDAY) is cheapest (Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.4x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 22.2x, Workday (WDAY) 17.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Workday (WDAY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paycom Software (PAYC) +9.2%, Workday (WDAY) +11.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Paycom Software (PAYC) has the highest net margin (Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.8%, Workday (WDAY) 12.6%). On return on invested capital, Paycom Software (PAYC) leads (Paycom Software (PAYC) 31.3%, Workday (WDAY) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Paycom Software (PAYC) returned the most: Paycom Software (PAYC) +32.3%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +2.1%, Workday (WDAY) -13.7%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Paycom Software (PAYC) -13.7%/yr, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +4.9%/yr, Workday (WDAY) -6.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has the highest dividend yield: Paycom Software (PAYC) 0.58%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 2.38%. Workday (WDAY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Paycom Software (PAYC) 47.3%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 28.6%, Workday (WDAY) 53.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PAYC, ADP 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 5. 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.