PAYX vs SAP vs ADP Stock Comparison

Paychex, Sap Se and Automatic Data Processing Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PAYX Paychex Inc
$109.26 +7.8% 1M -12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$38.43B
P/E
21.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.60B
Div. yield
0.04%
HR Software Technology
4 wins
SAP Sap Se
$235.80 +11.9% 1M -13.4% 1Y
Market cap
$275.90B
P/E
28.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.76B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sap Se leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Sap Se 5, Paychex 4, Automatic Data Processing 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPAYXSAPADPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $38.43B $275.90B $114.60B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.3x 28.9x 26.0x PAYX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.4x 27.7x 22.8x PAYX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.0% +13.5% +6.7% PAYX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 27.4% 20.8% 20.1% PAYX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.7% 35.6% -46.5% SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x -0.4x -0.2x SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.6% -13.4% +4.5% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.4%/yr +9.8%/yr +5.6%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.4% 39.3% 28.5% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 63/100 39/100 SAP

Percentile Scorecard

PAYXSAPADP

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

AxisPAYXSAPADP
Valuation 48 #53 of 101 52 #49 of 101 32 #69 of 101
Growth 34 #64 of 97 68 #32 of 97 27 #71 of 97
Profitability 97 #4 of 94 91 #9 of 94 54 #44 of 94
Financial Health 40 #65 of 108 77 #26 of 108 36 #70 of 108
Shareholder Returns 68 #21 of 64 29 #46 of 64 48 #34 of 64
Overall 58 63 39
  • PAYX ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • SAP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • ADP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPAYXSAPADPSPY
1 month +7.8%+11.9%+11.2% -0.2%
3 months -8.1%+31.6%+11.0% +3.9%
6 months +20.1%+35.9%+47.2% +8.2%
Year to date -2.6%-2.9%+13.9% +12.9%
1 year -12.6%-13.4%+4.5% +12.3%
3 years -0.3%+79.5%+36.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -0.1%+21.5%+10.9% +23.3%
5 years -11.4%+59.9%+31.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -2.4%+9.8%+5.6% +10.9%
10 years +97.8%+169.0%+238.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +7.1%+10.4%+13.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePAYXSAPADPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.4%39.3%28.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.0%40.5%27.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.040.63-0.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.40-0.340.16 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.4%-53.2%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.2%-13.4%-4.8% -1.2%
52-week high $127.34$272.16$307.94 $779.14
52-week low $85.57$146.09$188.79 $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.

MultiplePAYXSAPADP
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 28.3x 28.8xmedian 28.3x 26.7xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x 5.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 17.3x 11.9xmedian 17.3x -25.2xmedian 17.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 15.8x 27.9xmedian 15.8x 22.2xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 10.5xmedian 3.2x 5.5xmedian 3.2x 19.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 4.50median 0.85 1.80median 0.85 2.65median 0.85

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 monthsPAYXSAPADP
Revenue $6.60B $45.76B $21.95B
Gross profit $4.91B $33.40B $10.19B
Operating income $2.59B $22.06B -$6.44B
Net income $1.81B $9.47B $4.41B
Free cash flow $1.98B $10.40B $5.24B
R&D – $8.26B $1.03B
EPS (diluted) $5.06 $8.11 $10.94
Cash & equivalents $600.90M $10.62B $4.23B
Total debt $4.56B $9.68B $4.96B
Shares (diluted) 356.60M 1.18B 403.30M
Enterprise value $33.52B $203.30B $96.72B

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
MetricPAYXSAPADP
P/E 21.5x 28.8x 26.7x
P/FCF 19.6x 27.9x 22.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.3x 25.2x 21.4x
P/S 5.9x 6.3x 5.3x
P/B 10.5x 5.5x 19.3x
P/Tangible book 18.7x 5.8x 26.6x
EV/EBITDA 13.0x 11.9x -25.2x
EV/EBIT 16.6x 12.7x -18.2x
EV/Revenue 6.5x 6.1x 5.3x
EV/FCF 21.6x 26.9x 22.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.0x 24.3x 21.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.50 1.80 2.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPADP
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.0% 13.5% 6.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 11.7% 6.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.4% 12.6% 7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 12.1% 8.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.5% 30.9% -4.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 52.1% -4.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.9% 18.5% 8.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 16.4% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.6% 22.0% 9.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 16.0% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.6% 43.3% 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 19.0% 8.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 43.7% 9.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 20.9% 9.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPADP
Gross margin 74.4% 73.0% 46.4%
EBITDA margin 49.8% 51.5% -21.2%
Operating margin 39.2% 48.2% -29.3%
Pretax margin 36.0% 29.2% 26.1%
Net margin 27.4% 20.8% 20.1%
FCF margin 30.0% 22.7% 23.9%
Operating cash flow margin 34.1% 25.1% 24.8%
Return on equity 48.5% 18.5% 71.3%
Return on assets 11.3% 11.2% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 23.7% 35.6% -46.5%
Return on capital employed 27.0% 34.0% -46.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 3.9% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPADP
Debt / assets 29.1% 11.2% 7.9%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.2x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x -0.4x -0.2x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.9x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 76.3% 39.1% 90.5%
Equity / assets 23.7% 60.9% 9.5%
Interest coverage 9.7x 8.3x -14.0x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.9x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.21 7.48 1.88

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPADP
Dividend yield 5.2% 1.2% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 1.2% -0.1% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 6.4% 1.1% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 90.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 82.0% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 9.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.3% – –

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.

ConsensusPAYXSAPADP
Forward P/E 17.4xFY2026 27.7xFY2026 22.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $6.28FY2026 $8.52FY2026 $12.87FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +14.0%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +15.7%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -1.6% +4.9% +6.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.60BFY2026 $42.86BFY2026 $22.14BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +1.4%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026 +0.9%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +12.2% +14.3% +18.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAYXSAPADP
Held by institutions 82.5% 7.2% 88.1%
Institutions holding 1,528 820 2,290
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.4% -3.0% +4.4%
Institutions buying 785 459 1,084
Institutions selling 531 245 874
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.87 1.24

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.

PAYXSAPADP
PAYX 1.00 0.50 0.87
SAP 0.50 1.00 0.54
ADP 0.87 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAYX, SAP and ADP?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paychex (PAYX) $38.43B, Sap Se (SAP) $275.90B, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $114.60B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAYX, SAP and ADP?

Paychex (PAYX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paychex (PAYX) 21.3x, Sap Se (SAP) 28.9x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 26.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Paychex (PAYX) is cheapest (Paychex (PAYX) 17.4x, Sap Se (SAP) 27.7x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 22.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Paychex (PAYX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paychex (PAYX) +14.0%, Sap Se (SAP) +13.5%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Paychex (PAYX) has the highest net margin (Paychex (PAYX) 27.4%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.1%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Paychex (PAYX) 23.7%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.6%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) -46.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Paychex (PAYX) -12.6%, Sap Se (SAP) -13.4%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +4.5%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Paychex (PAYX) -2.4%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +9.8%/yr, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +5.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Paychex (PAYX) 0.04%, Sap Se (SAP) 0.00%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 0.00%. Sap Se (SAP) and 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 (Paychex (PAYX) 31.4%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.3%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 28.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PAYX, SAP and ADP?

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 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.