PCTY vs GPN vs SAP Stock Comparison

Paylocity Holding, Global Payments and Sap Se Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PCTY Paylocity Holding Corp
$174.09 +20.5% 1M +23.2% 1Y
Market cap
$9.27B
P/E
34.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.77B
Div. yield
–
HR Software Technology
1 win
GPN Global Payments Inc
$99.62 +27.1% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$26.48B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$10.23B
Div. yield
1.00%
Payment Processing Technology
3 wins
SAP Sap Se
$233.68 +12.0% 1M -10.1% 1Y
Market cap
$287.08B
P/E
28.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.76B
Div. yield
1.26%
ERP Software Technology
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Sap Se leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Sap Se 8, Global Payments 3, Paylocity Holding 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPCTYGPNSAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.27B $26.48B $287.08B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.9x -28.8x 28.6x SAP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.1x 7.8x 27.4x GPN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.0% +32.5% +13.5% GPN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.2% -9.1% 20.8% SAP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.0% 2.3% 35.6% SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 4.8x -0.4x SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.00% 1.26% SAP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +23.2% +28.1% -10.1% GPN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.3%/yr -5.9%/yr +9.4%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.0% 41.9% 39.2% SAP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 48/100 63/100 PCTY

Percentile Scorecard

PCTYGPNSAP

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

AxisPCTYGPNSAP
Valuation 52 #49 of 100 66 #34 of 99 50 #51 of 100
Growth 68 #32 of 97 26 #70 of 94 69 #31 of 97
Profitability 85 #15 of 94 64 #33 of 90 91 #9 of 94
Financial Health 57 #48 of 111 24 #80 of 105 78 #25 of 111
Shareholder Returns 56 #29 of 64 58 #26 of 61 27 #47 of 64
Overall 63 48 63
  • PCTY ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • GPN ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • 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

PeriodPCTYGPNSAPSPY
1 month +20.5%+27.1%+12.0% -2.3%
3 months +24.6%+15.6%+23.2% -0.7%
6 months +59.7%+38.7%+36.3% +4.8%
Year to date +14.2%+28.7%-3.8% +10.3%
1 year +23.2%+28.1%-10.1% +10.3%
3 years +19.8%-12.4%+68.1% +73.0%
3 years, per year +6.2%-4.3%+18.9% +20.1%
5 years -41.8%-26.1%+56.4% +61.9%
5 years, per year -10.3%-5.9%+9.4% +10.1%
10 years +325.2%+41.0%+171.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +15.6%+3.5%+10.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasurePCTYGPNSAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.0%41.9%39.2% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.2%35.9%40.3% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.170.840.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.550.67-0.26 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.2%-58.8%-53.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.0%0.0%-11.5% -3.5%
52-week high $177.67$99.62$263.96 $779.14
52-week low $95.10$62.47$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.

MultiplePCTYGPNSAP
P/E now vs peer median 34.9xmedian 28.5x -28.8xmedian 20.4x 28.6xmedian 28.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 2.8x 2.6xmedian 2.2x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 16.8x 11.8xmedian 13.7x 11.8xmedian 16.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.7xmedian 16.2x 32.2xmedian 16.4x 27.1xmedian 16.2x
P/B now vs peer median 7.6xmedian 2.9x 1.1xmedian 1.9x 5.4xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.37median 0.90 0.62median 1.02 1.78median 0.90

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 monthsPCTYGPNSAP
Revenue $1.77B $10.23B $45.76B
Gross profit $1.23B $6.54B $33.40B
Operating income $385.99M $1.27B $22.06B
Net income $269.74M -$873.78M $9.47B
Free cash flow $497.10M $822.72M $10.59B
R&D $221.39M – $8.26B
EPS (diluted) $4.92 $-3.46 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $271.92M $5.41B $10.62B
Total debt $81.25M $23.56B $9.68B
Shares (diluted) 54.77M 270.12M 1.18B
Enterprise value $8.37B $4.92B $215.06B

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
MetricPCTYGPNSAP
P/E 34.9x -28.8x 28.6x
P/FCF 18.7x 32.2x 27.1x
P/Operating cash flow 17.4x 16.0x 25.0x
P/S 5.2x 2.6x 6.3x
P/B 7.6x 1.1x 5.4x
P/Tangible book 8.2x 6.1x 5.8x
EV/EBITDA 18.2x 11.8x 11.8x
EV/EBIT 23.5x 35.2x 12.5x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 4.4x 6.0x
EV/FCF 18.3x 54.2x 26.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.0x 26.9x 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.37 0.62 1.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPCTYGPNSAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.0% 32.5% 13.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 3.3% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 14.8% 12.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 5.7% 12.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 27.0% -33.4% 30.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 35.5% -4.4% 52.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.8% -158.6% 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.2% -44.6% 16.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.6% -158.9% 22.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.6% -46.2% 16.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 27.5% -46.4% 43.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% -9.1% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 22.7% -66.6% 46.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.0% -19.7% 21.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPCTYGPNSAP
Gross margin 69.2% 63.9% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 28.1% 36.8% 51.5%
Operating margin 21.8% 12.4% 48.2%
Pretax margin 21.9% 5.5% 29.2%
Net margin 15.2% -9.1% 20.8%
FCF margin 28.1% 8.0% 23.1%
Operating cash flow margin 30.1% 16.2% 25.1%
Return on equity 22.5% -3.5% 18.5%
Return on assets 5.2% -1.3% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 21.0% 2.3% 35.6%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 2.5% 34.0%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x -1.9x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 7.8% 1.3% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPCTYGPNSAP
Debt / assets 1.7% 37.1% 11.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.0x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 4.8x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 28.6x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 75.0% 62.6% 39.1%
Equity / assets 25.0% 37.4% 60.9%
Interest coverage – 1.5x 8.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 2.55 0.67 7.43

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPCTYGPNSAP
Dividend yield – 1.0% 1.3%
Net buyback yield 4.2% 5.9% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 4.2% 6.9% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -28.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 30.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -1.7% –

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.

ConsensusPCTYGPNSAP
Forward P/E 21.1xFY2027 7.8xFY2026 27.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.25FY2027 $12.82FY2026 $8.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.7%FY2027 +4.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.7% +18.0% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.94BFY2027 $12.66BFY2026 $42.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.6%FY2027 +35.9%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.6% +8.4% +14.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPCTYGPNSAP
Held by institutions 85.4% 100.0% 7.2%
Institutions holding 468 794 816
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +7.4% -3.0%
Institutions buying 274 375 458
Institutions selling 155 308 243
Buyers to sellers 1.77 1.22 1.88

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.

PCTYGPNSAP
PCTY 1.00 0.43 0.58
GPN 0.43 1.00 0.37
SAP 0.58 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PCTY, GPN and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) $9.27B, Global Payments (GPN) $26.48B, Sap Se (SAP) $287.08B.

Which stock is cheaper, PCTY, GPN and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 34.9x, Global Payments (GPN) -28.8x, Sap Se (SAP) 28.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Global Payments (GPN) is cheapest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 21.1x, Global Payments (GPN) 7.8x, Sap Se (SAP) 27.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Global Payments (GPN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +11.0%, Global Payments (GPN) +32.5%, Sap Se (SAP) +13.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sap Se (SAP) has the highest net margin (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 15.2%, Global Payments (GPN) -9.1%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 21.0%, Global Payments (GPN) 2.3%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Global Payments (GPN) returned the most: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +23.2%, Global Payments (GPN) +28.1%, Sap Se (SAP) -10.1%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) -10.3%/yr, Global Payments (GPN) -5.9%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +9.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sap Se (SAP) has the highest dividend yield: Global Payments (GPN) 1.00%, Sap Se (SAP) 1.26%. Paylocity Holding (PCTY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sap Se (SAP) has been the steadiest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 42.0%, Global Payments (GPN) 41.9%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PCTY, GPN 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 8. 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.