PCTY vs NOW vs SAP Stock Comparison

Paylocity Holding, ServiceNow and Sap Se Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PCTY Paylocity Holding Corp
$170.07 +18.6% 1M +12.3% 1Y
Market cap
$9.06B
P/E
34.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.77B
Div. yield
–
HR Software Technology
3 wins
NOW ServiceNow, Inc.
$154.83 +14.2% 1M -18.2% 1Y
Market cap
$160.09B
P/E
95.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.73B
Div. yield
–
Business Process Automation Technology
1 win
SAP Sap Se
$235.80 +11.9% 1M -13.4% 1Y
Market cap
$289.68B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$45.76B
Div. yield
1.25%
ERP Software Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Sap Se leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sap Se 7, Paylocity Holding 3, ServiceNow 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPCTYNOWSAPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.06B $160.09B $289.68B SAP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.1x 95.6x 28.8x SAP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.6x 40.2x 27.7x PCTY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.0% +22.2% +13.5% NOW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.2% 11.3% 20.8% SAP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.0% — 35.6% SAP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.8x -0.4x SAP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 1.25% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.3% -18.2% -13.4% PCTY
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.8%/yr +2.4%/yr +9.8%/yr SAP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.2% 58.7% 39.3% SAP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 52/100 63/100 PCTY

Percentile Scorecard

PCTYNOWSAP

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

AxisPCTYNOWSAP
Valuation 54 #47 of 101 27 #74 of 101 52 #49 of 101
Growth 65 #35 of 97 58 #41 of 97 68 #32 of 97
Profitability 87 #13 of 94 82 #18 of 94 91 #9 of 94
Financial Health 56 #48 of 108 50 #55 of 108 77 #26 of 108
Shareholder Returns 60 #26 of 64 41 #38 of 64 29 #46 of 64
Overall 64 52 63
  • PCTY ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • NOW 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

PeriodPCTYNOWSAPSPY
1 month +18.6%+14.2%+11.9% -0.2%
3 months +22.6%+40.0%+31.6% +3.9%
6 months +66.3%+71.1%+35.9% +8.2%
Year to date +11.5%+1.1%-2.9% +12.9%
1 year +12.3%-18.2%-13.4% +12.3%
3 years -2.5%+39.7%+79.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year -0.8%+11.8%+21.5% +23.3%
5 years -43.6%+12.6%+59.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -10.8%+2.4%+9.8% +10.9%
10 years +295.4%+811.3%+169.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.7%+24.7%+10.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePCTYNOWSAPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.2%58.7%39.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.6%61.3%40.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.150.610.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.29-0.31-0.34 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.9%-64.5%-53.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.3%-18.2%-13.4% -1.2%
52-week high $177.67$189.26$272.16 $779.14
52-week low $95.10$83.00$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.

MultiplePCTYNOWSAP
P/E now vs peer median 34.1xmedian 28.3x 95.6xmedian 28.3x 28.8xmedian 28.3x
P/S now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 2.8x 10.9xmedian 2.8x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 17.3x 47.7xmedian 17.3x 11.9xmedian 17.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 15.8x 35.0xmedian 15.8x 27.9xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 7.4xmedian 3.2x 12.8xmedian 3.2x 5.5xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 0.85 18.40median 0.85 1.80median 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 monthsPCTYNOWSAP
Revenue $1.77B $14.73B $45.76B
Gross profit $1.23B $11.02B $33.40B
Operating income $385.99M $1.68B $22.06B
Net income $269.74M $1.67B $9.47B
Free cash flow $497.10M $4.58B $10.40B
R&D $221.39M $3.26B $8.26B
EPS (diluted) $4.92 $1.61 $8.11
Cash & equivalents $271.92M $2.50B $10.62B
Total debt $81.25M $7.52B $9.68B
Shares (diluted) 54.77M 1.03B 1.18B
Enterprise value $8.16B $138.55B $217.66B

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
MetricPCTYNOWSAP
P/E 34.1x 95.6x 28.8x
P/FCF 18.2x 35.0x 27.9x
P/Operating cash flow 17.0x 30.2x 25.2x
P/S 5.1x 10.9x 6.3x
P/B 7.4x 12.8x 5.5x
P/Tangible book 8.0x 18.3x 5.8x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 47.7x 11.9x
EV/EBIT 23.0x 97.0x 12.7x
EV/Revenue 5.0x 11.1x 6.1x
EV/FCF 17.8x 35.6x 26.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.6x 30.7x 24.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 18.40 1.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPCTYNOWSAP
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.0% 22.2% 13.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 22.5% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 16.4% 12.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 20.5% 12.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 27.0% 4.9% 30.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 35.5% 49.1% 52.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.8% 0.5% 18.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 5.5% 16.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 22.6% 1.7% 22.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 25.6% 5.2% 16.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 27.5% 13.0% 43.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.6% 22.2% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 22.7% 19.0% 43.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.0% 25.7% 20.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPCTYNOWSAP
Gross margin 69.2% 74.8% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 28.1% 23.2% 51.5%
Operating margin 21.8% 11.4% 48.2%
Pretax margin 21.9% 15.9% 29.2%
Net margin 15.2% 11.3% 20.8%
FCF margin 28.1% 31.1% 22.7%
Operating cash flow margin 30.1% 36.0% 25.1%
Return on equity 22.5% 13.8% 18.5%
Return on assets 5.2% 6.0% 11.2%
Return on invested capital 21.0% – 35.6%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 10.6% 34.0%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 3.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 7.8% 12.3% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPCTYNOWSAP
Debt / assets 1.7% 23.7% 11.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.6x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.8x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 1.6x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 75.0% 60.5% 39.1%
Equity / assets 25.0% 39.5% 60.9%
Interest coverage – – 8.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.7x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.4x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 2.52 5.78 7.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPCTYNOWSAP
Dividend yield – – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 4.3% 2.0% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 2.0% 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.

ConsensusPCTYNOWSAP
Forward P/E 20.6xFY2027 40.2xFY2026 27.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.25FY2027 $3.85FY2026 $8.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.7%FY2027 +9.7%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.7% +27.0% +4.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.94BFY2027 $15.25BFY2026 $42.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.6%FY2027 +14.8%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.6% +17.7% +14.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPCTYNOWSAP
Held by institutions 85.3% 81.6% 7.2%
Institutions holding 466 2,224 820
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% -2.1% -3.0%
Institutions buying 273 1,285 459
Institutions selling 154 779 245
Buyers to sellers 1.77 1.65 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.

PCTYNOWSAP
PCTY 1.00 0.64 0.58
NOW 0.64 1.00 0.72
SAP 0.58 0.72 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PCTY, NOW and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) $9.06B, ServiceNow (NOW) $160.09B, Sap Se (SAP) $289.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, PCTY, NOW and SAP?

Sap Se (SAP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 34.1x, ServiceNow (NOW) 95.6x, Sap Se (SAP) 28.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) is cheapest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 20.6x, ServiceNow (NOW) 40.2x, Sap Se (SAP) 27.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ServiceNow (NOW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +11.0%, ServiceNow (NOW) +22.2%, Sap Se (SAP) +13.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sap Se (SAP) has the highest net margin (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 15.2%, ServiceNow (NOW) 11.3%, Sap Se (SAP) 20.8%). On return on invested capital, Sap Se (SAP) leads (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 21.0%, Sap Se (SAP) 35.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Paylocity Holding (PCTY) returned the most: Paylocity Holding (PCTY) +12.3%, ServiceNow (NOW) -18.2%, Sap Se (SAP) -13.4%. Over five years, Sap Se (SAP) compounded fastest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) -10.8%/yr, ServiceNow (NOW) +2.4%/yr, Sap Se (SAP) +9.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Sap Se (SAP) 1.25%. Paylocity Holding (PCTY) and ServiceNow (NOW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sap Se (SAP) has been the steadiest (Paylocity Holding (PCTY) 42.2%, ServiceNow (NOW) 58.7%, Sap Se (SAP) 39.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PCTY, NOW 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.