PAYX vs SAP vs ZM Stock Comparison

Paychex, Sap Se and Zoom Communications Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PAYX Paychex Inc
$109.37 +10.1% 1M -6.8% 1Y
Market cap
$39.88B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.60B
Div. yield
0.04%
HR Software Technology
2 wins
SAP Sap Se
$233.99 +11.0% 1M -9.9% 1Y
Market cap
$275.55B
P/E
28.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.76B
Div. yield
–
ERP Software Technology
4 wins
ZM Zoom Communications, Inc.
$97.66 +10.5% 1M +17.2% 1Y
Market cap
$28.09B
P/E
8.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
–
Communications Platforms Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionPAYXSAPZMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $39.88B $275.55B $28.09B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.1x 28.9x 8.8x ZM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.4x 27.5x 15.1x ZM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.0% +13.5% +4.6% PAYX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 27.4% 20.8% 64.1% ZM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.7% 35.6% — SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x -0.4x — SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.8% -9.9% +17.2% ZM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.4%/yr +10.1%/yr -18.7%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.9% 39.1% 44.8% PAYX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 63/100 80/100 ZM

Percentile Scorecard

PAYXSAPZM

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

AxisPAYXSAPZM
Valuation 48 #53 of 101 52 #49 of 101 71 #9 of 29
Growth 33 #65 of 97 68 #32 of 97 69 #9 of 27
Profitability 97 #4 of 93 90 #10 of 93 84 #5 of 26
Financial Health 40 #65 of 108 78 #25 of 108 97 #2 of 31
Shareholder Returns 66 #22 of 63 27 #46 of 63 –
Overall 57 63 80
  • PAYX ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • SAP ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • ZM ranked among 32 companies in Workplace Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPAYXSAPZMSPY
1 month +10.1%+11.0%+10.5% +0.7%
3 months -6.0%+29.3%+5.8% +3.7%
6 months +18.1%+38.1%+0.5% +7.1%
Year to date -2.5%-3.7%+13.2% +12.8%
1 year -6.8%-9.9%+17.2% +11.9%
3 years -1.1%+75.1%+62.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year -0.4%+20.5%+17.6% +22.8%
5 years -11.3%+61.6%-64.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year -2.4%+10.1%-18.7% +10.9%
10 years +98.7%+166.2%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +7.1%+10.3%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePAYXSAPZMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.9%39.1%44.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.2%40.3%42.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.050.631.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.22-0.250.38 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.4%-53.2%-80.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.1%-11.4%-12.7% -1.2%
52-week high $127.34$263.96$111.88 $779.14
52-week low $85.57$146.09$72.72 $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.

MultiplePAYXSAPZM
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 28.0x 28.6xmedian 28.0x 9.0xmedian 33.1x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x 5.7xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 16.9x 11.8xmedian 16.9x 13.9xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 15.9x 27.6xmedian 15.9x —median 15.2x
P/B now vs peer median 10.5xmedian 3.2x 5.5xmedian 3.2x 2.5xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 4.51median 0.89 1.79median 0.89 0.05median 0.74

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 monthsPAYXSAPZM
Revenue $6.60B $45.76B $4.97B
Gross profit $4.91B $33.40B $3.84B
Operating income $2.59B $22.06B $1.20B
Net income $1.81B $9.47B $3.19B
Free cash flow $1.98B $10.40B –
R&D – $8.26B $881.96M
EPS (diluted) $5.06 $8.11 $10.64
Cash & equivalents $600.90M $10.62B $931.99M
Total debt $4.56B $9.68B –
Shares (diluted) 356.60M 1.18B 299.75M
Enterprise value $34.96B $202.95B -$2.70B

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
MetricPAYXSAPZM
P/E 21.5x 28.6x 9.0x
P/FCF 19.6x 27.6x –
P/Operating cash flow 17.3x 25.0x –
P/S 5.9x 6.3x 5.7x
P/B 10.5x 5.5x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 18.7x 5.8x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 13.1x 11.8x 13.9x
EV/EBIT 16.6x 12.6x 17.8x
EV/Revenue 6.5x 6.1x 4.3x
EV/FCF 21.6x 26.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 19.0x 24.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.51 1.79 0.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPZM
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.0% 13.5% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 11.7% 3.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.4% 12.6% 5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 12.1% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.5% 30.9% 23.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 52.1% 112.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 11.9% 18.5% 168.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 16.4% 182.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.6% 22.0% 175.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 16.0% 184.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.6% 43.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 19.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 43.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 20.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPZM
Gross margin 74.4% 73.0% 77.2%
EBITDA margin 49.8% 51.5% 30.9%
Operating margin 39.2% 48.2% 24.1%
Pretax margin 36.0% 29.2% 82.5%
Net margin 27.4% 20.8% 64.1%
FCF margin 30.0% 22.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 34.1% 25.1% –
Return on equity 48.5% 18.5% 30.2%
Return on assets 11.3% 11.2% 25.0%
Return on invested capital 23.7% 35.6% –
Return on capital employed 27.0% 34.0% 11.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 3.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPZM
Debt / assets 29.1% 11.2% –
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x -0.4x –
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.9x –
Liabilities / assets 76.3% 39.1% 16.8%
Equity / assets 23.7% 60.9% 83.2%
Interest coverage 9.7x 8.3x –
Current ratio 1.3x 1.2x 3.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.9x 3.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x 3.4x
Altman Z-score 3.22 7.44 9.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPAYXSAPZM
Dividend yield 5.2% 1.3% –
Net buyback yield 1.2% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 6.4% 1.2% –
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.

ConsensusPAYXSAPZM
Forward P/E 17.4xFY2026 27.5xFY2026 15.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.28FY2026 $8.52FY2026 $6.45FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.0%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.6% +4.9% +2.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.60BFY2026 $42.86BFY2026 $4.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.4%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.2% +14.3% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAYXSAPZM
Held by institutions 82.5% 7.2% 67.2%
Institutions holding 1,530 821 863
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.4% -3.0% +2.9%
Institutions buying 787 460 478
Institutions selling 531 245 279
Buyers to sellers 1.48 1.88 1.71

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.

PAYXSAPZM
PAYX 1.00 0.50 0.32
SAP 0.50 1.00 0.46
ZM 0.32 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAYX, SAP and ZM?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paychex (PAYX) $39.88B, Sap Se (SAP) $275.55B, Zoom Communications (ZM) $28.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAYX, SAP and ZM?

Zoom Communications (ZM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paychex (PAYX) 22.1x, Sap Se (SAP) 28.9x, Zoom Communications (ZM) 8.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Zoom Communications (ZM) is cheapest (Paychex (PAYX) 17.4x, Sap Se (SAP) 27.5x, Zoom Communications (ZM) 15.1x). 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%, Zoom Communications (ZM) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Zoom Communications (ZM) has the highest net margin (Paychex (PAYX) 27.4%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%, Zoom Communications (ZM) 64.1%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Paychex (PAYX) 23.7%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Zoom Communications (ZM) returned the most: Paychex (PAYX) -6.8%, Sap Se (SAP) -9.9%, Zoom Communications (ZM) +17.2%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Paychex (PAYX) -2.4%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +10.1%/yr, Zoom Communications (ZM) -18.7%/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%, Zoom Communications (ZM) 0.00%. Sap Se (SAP) and Zoom Communications (ZM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Paychex (PAYX) has been the steadiest (Paychex (PAYX) 30.9%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.1%, Zoom Communications (ZM) 44.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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