PAYC vs PCTY vs SAP Stock Comparison

Paycom Software, Paylocity Holding and Sap Se 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
PCTY Paylocity Holding Corp
$168.50 +18.1% 1M +12.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.98B
P/E
33.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.77B
Div. yield
–
HR Software Technology
2 wins
SAP Sap Se
$237.06 +13.3% 1M -12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$291.23B
P/E
29.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.76B
Div. yield
1.24%
ERP Software Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Sap Se leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sap Se 7, Paycom Software 3, Paylocity Holding 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPAYCPCTYSAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.63B $8.98B $291.23B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.7x 33.8x 29.0x PAYC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.4x 20.4x 27.8x PCTY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.2% +11.0% +13.5% SAP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.8% 15.2% 20.8% PAYC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 31.3% 21.0% 35.6% SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.4x -0.4x SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.58% — 1.24% SAP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.3% +12.9% -12.2% PAYC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.7%/yr -11.2%/yr +10.4%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.3% 42.2% 39.3% SAP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 65/100 64/100 PCTY

Percentile Scorecard

PAYCPCTYSAP

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

AxisPAYCPCTYSAP
Valuation 54 #47 of 101 55 #46 of 101 53 #48 of 101
Growth 58 #41 of 97 68 #32 of 97 67 #33 of 97
Profitability 98 #3 of 94 87 #13 of 94 91 #9 of 94
Financial Health 39 #66 of 108 56 #48 of 108 79 #24 of 108
Shareholder Returns 65 #23 of 64 59 #27 of 64 29 #46 of 64
Overall 63 65 64
  • PAYC ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • PCTY ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • SAP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPAYCPCTYSAPSPY
1 month +19.0%+18.1%+13.3% +0.9%
3 months +55.3%+16.4%+27.4% +5.9%
6 months +105.2%+56.1%+39.4% +8.5%
Year to date +64.8%+10.5%-2.4% +13.3%
1 year +32.3%+12.9%-12.2% +12.4%
3 years +9.2%-3.4%+80.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +3.0%-1.1%+21.8% +23.5%
5 years -52.1%-44.8%+63.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -13.7%-11.2%+10.4% +11.0%
10 years +408.4%+286.6%+169.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +17.7%+14.5%+10.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePAYCPCTYSAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.3%42.2%39.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.1%41.6%40.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.07-0.150.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.680.30-0.31 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -79.5%-68.9%-53.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.4%-5.2%-12.2% -0.9%
52-week high $274.60$177.67$270.06 $779.14
52-week low $113.59$95.10$146.09 $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.

MultiplePAYCPCTYSAP
P/E now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 27.6x 33.8xmedian 27.6x 29.0xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.7x 5.1xmedian 2.7x 6.4xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 17.4x 17.6xmedian 17.4x 11.9xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 15.8x 18.1xmedian 15.8x 28.0xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 20.4xmedian 3.2x 7.3xmedian 3.2x 5.5xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.99median 0.84 1.32median 0.84 1.81median 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 monthsPAYCPCTYSAP
Revenue $2.14B $1.77B $45.76B
Gross profit $1.79B $1.23B $33.40B
Operating income $648.40M $385.99M $22.06B
Net income $487.60M $269.74M $9.47B
Free cash flow $575.10M $497.10M $10.40B
R&D $258.90M $221.39M $8.26B
EPS (diluted) $10.62 $4.92 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $198.00M $271.92M $10.62B
Total debt $900.00M $81.25M $9.68B
Shares (diluted) 45.91M 54.77M 1.18B
Enterprise value $10.53B $8.08B $219.21B

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
MetricPAYCPCTYSAP
P/E 24.7x 33.8x 29.0x
P/FCF 20.2x 18.1x 28.0x
P/Operating cash flow 14.5x 16.8x 25.3x
P/S 5.4x 5.1x 6.4x
P/B 20.4x 7.3x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 21.5x 7.9x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA 14.6x 17.6x 11.9x
EV/EBIT 19.0x 22.8x 12.7x
EV/Revenue 5.8x 5.0x 6.1x
EV/FCF 21.4x 17.7x 27.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.4x 16.5x 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.99 1.32 1.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAYCPCTYSAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.2% 11.0% 13.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 14.7% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.9% 11.7% 12.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 14.9% 12.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.7% 27.0% 30.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 35.5% 52.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.3% 18.8% 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.6% 24.2% 16.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 44.3% 22.6% 22.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.0% 25.6% 16.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 43.6% 27.5% 43.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.4% 23.6% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 60.1% 22.7% 43.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.3% 24.0% 20.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAYCPCTYSAP
Gross margin 83.7% 69.2% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 39.5% 28.1% 51.5%
Operating margin 30.3% 21.8% 48.2%
Pretax margin 32.0% 21.9% 29.2%
Net margin 22.8% 15.2% 20.8%
FCF margin 26.9% 28.1% 22.7%
Operating cash flow margin 37.4% 30.1% 25.1%
Return on equity 70.5% 22.5% 18.5%
Return on assets 9.7% 5.2% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 31.3% 21.0% 35.6%
Return on capital employed 36.7% 22.1% 34.0%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 2.0x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 4.2% 7.8% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAYCPCTYSAP
Debt / assets 17.3% 1.7% 11.2%
Debt / equity 1.6x 0.1x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -0.4x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 0.2x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 89.0% 75.0% 39.1%
Equity / assets 11.0% 25.0% 60.9%
Interest coverage 39.8x – 8.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.05 2.50 7.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAYCPCTYSAP
Dividend yield 0.6% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 12.8% 4.3% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 13.4% 4.3% 1.1%
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.

ConsensusPAYCPCTYSAP
Forward P/E 22.4xFY2026 20.4xFY2027 27.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.74FY2026 $8.25FY2027 $8.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +27.1%FY2026 -0.7%FY2027 +16.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.6% +13.7% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.08BFY2026 $1.94BFY2027 $42.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.5%FY2026 +9.6%FY2027 -2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.2% -1.6% +14.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAYCPCTYSAP
Held by institutions 90.3% 85.3% 7.2%
Institutions holding 594 466 820
Change in shares held, QoQ -8.5% +2.3% -3.0%
Institutions buying 294 273 459
Institutions selling 222 154 245
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.77 1.87

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.

PAYCPCTYSAP
PAYC 1.00 0.74 0.48
PCTY 0.74 1.00 0.58
SAP 0.48 0.58 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAYC, PCTY and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paycom Software (PAYC) $11.63B, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) $8.98B, Sap Se (SAP) $291.23B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAYC, PCTY and SAP?

Paycom Software (PAYC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paycom Software (PAYC) 24.7x, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 33.8x, Sap Se (SAP) 29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) is cheapest (Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.4x, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 20.4x, Sap Se (SAP) 27.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sap Se (SAP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paycom Software (PAYC) +9.2%, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +11.0%, Sap Se (SAP) +13.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Paycom Software (PAYC) has the highest net margin (Paycom Software (PAYC) 22.8%, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 15.2%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Paycom Software (PAYC) 31.3%, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 21.0%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Paycom Software (PAYC) returned the most: Paycom Software (PAYC) +32.3%, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +12.9%, Sap Se (SAP) -12.2%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Paycom Software (PAYC) -13.7%/yr, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) -11.2%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sap Se (SAP) has the highest dividend yield: Paycom Software (PAYC) 0.58%, Sap Se (SAP) 1.24%. Paylocity Holding (PCTY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sap Se (SAP) has been the steadiest (Paycom Software (PAYC) 47.3%, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 42.2%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PAYC, PCTY and SAP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sap Se (SAP) 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.