WK vs ADP Stock Comparison

Workiva and Automatic Data Processing Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WK Workiva Inc
$85.42 +21.8% 1M +4.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.37B
P/E
73.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.00B
Div. yield
–
Compliance Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Automatic Data Processing leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Automatic Data Processing 7, Workiva 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWKADPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.37B $121.50B ADP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 73.7x 27.3x ADP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.8x 23.7x ADP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.8% +6.5% WK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.3% 20.3% ADP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -47.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.4x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.21% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.0% +18.3% ADP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.8%/yr +6.0%/yr ADP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.4% 28.0% ADP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 37/100 WK

Percentile Scorecard

WKADP

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

AxisWKADP
Valuation 51 #50 of 100 26 #74 of 100
Growth 98 #3 of 99 29 #71 of 99
Profitability 65 #34 of 96 54 #45 of 96
Financial Health 51 #56 of 112 33 #75 of 112
Shareholder Returns 47 #36 of 67 44 #38 of 67
Overall 62 37
  • WK ranked among 113 companies in Business Applications
  • ADP ranked among 113 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWKADPSPY
1 month +21.8%+17.1% -5.9%
3 months +37.3%+12.3% -4.6%
6 months +63.4%+43.5% +0.2%
Year to date -1.0%+19.4% +7.5%
1 year +4.0%+18.3% +8.2%
3 years -3.7%+39.3% +68.3%
3 years, per year -1.2%+11.7% +19.0%
5 years -46.6%+33.8% +56.5%
5 years, per year -11.8%+6.0% +9.4%
10 years +456.5%+244.8% +251.5%
10 years, per year +18.7%+13.2% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureWKADPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.4%28.0% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%25.9% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.01-0.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.090.65 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -72.5%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.5%-0.3% -5.9%
52-week high $93.31$307.94 $779.14
52-week low $44.31$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.

MultipleWKADP
P/E now vs peer median 73.7xmedian 24.7x 27.3xmedian 24.7x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.8x 5.5xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 54.3xmedian 16.5x -26.5xmedian 16.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.6xmedian 15.3x 23.2xmedian 15.3x
P/B now vs peer median -95.2xmedian 2.7x 23.9xmedian 2.7x
PEG now vs peer median 2.11median 0.77 2.75median 0.77

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 monthsWKADP
Revenue $1.00B $22.26B
Gross profit $810.06M $10.37B
Operating income $52.69M -$6.45B
Net income $63.36M $4.53B
Free cash flow $223.18M $5.25B
R&D $222.56M $1.03B
EPS (diluted) $1.15 $11.22
Cash & equivalents $333.77M $3.28B
Total debt – $4.97B
Shares (diluted) 55.21M 403.30M
Enterprise value $983.64M $108.30B

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
MetricWKADP
P/E 73.7x 27.3x
P/FCF 19.6x 23.2x
P/Operating cash flow 19.4x 22.3x
P/S 4.4x 5.5x
P/B -95.2x 23.9x
P/Tangible book -68.1x 35.4x
EV/EBITDA 54.3x -26.5x
EV/EBIT 67.5x -19.1x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 5.5x
EV/FCF 15.9x 23.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.8x 22.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.11 2.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWKADP
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.8% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 6.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.6% 8.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 21.1% 8.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 182.8% -2.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 36.4% -3.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 235.4% 9.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.0% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 242.7% 10.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 34.9% 9.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 69.3% 14.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 70.7% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 71.1% 14.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.1% 13.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWKADP
Gross margin 80.6% 46.6%
EBITDA margin 6.5% -20.9%
Operating margin 5.2% -29.0%
Pretax margin 7.2% 26.4%
Net margin 6.3% 20.3%
FCF margin 22.2% 23.6%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% 24.5%
Return on equity – 81.4%
Return on assets 4.6% 7.1%
Return on invested capital – -47.2%
Return on capital employed 7.6% -54.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 12.3% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWKADP
Debt / assets – 7.8%
Debt / equity – 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.4x
Debt / FCF – 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 103.3% 92.0%
Equity / assets -3.3% 8.0%
Interest coverage 4.2x -13.7x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.4x 0.1x
Cash ratio 1.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.33 1.90

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWKADP
Dividend yield – 2.2%
Net buyback yield 3.8% 2.0%
Shareholder yield 3.8% 4.3%
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.

ConsensusWKADP
Forward P/E 23.8xFY2026 23.7xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.59FY2026 $12.97FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +101.7%FY2026 +16.6%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +17.8% +7.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.01BFY2026 $22.20BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +14.5%FY2026 +1.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +25.9% +18.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWKADP
Held by institutions 88.9% 88.1%
Institutions holding 305 2,294
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.4% +4.4%
Institutions buying 184 1,087
Institutions selling 86 875
Buyers to sellers 2.14 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.

WKADP
WK 1.00 0.62
ADP 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WK and ADP?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Workiva (WK) $4.37B, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) $121.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, WK and ADP?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Workiva (WK) 73.7x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 27.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is cheapest (Workiva (WK) 23.8x, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 23.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Workiva (WK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Workiva (WK) +18.8%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has the highest net margin (Workiva (WK) 6.3%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 20.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Automatic Data Processing (ADP) returned the most: Workiva (WK) +4.0%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +18.3%. Over five years, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compounded fastest (Workiva (WK) -11.8%/yr, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) +6.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 2.21%. Workiva (WK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) has been the steadiest (Workiva (WK) 45.4%, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 28.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do WK and ADP move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.62, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, WK 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, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 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.