Paychex (PAYX) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Paychex's (PAYX) quarterly Operating Margin came in at 37.66% in Q2 2026, up 746.0% year-over-year from 4.45% in Q2 2025, and down 13.98% quarter-over-quarter from 43.78% in Q1 2026.
Powered by 
Analysis
Paychex (PAYX) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Paychex has disclosed Operating Margin across 18 years of filings, most recently posting 37.66% for Q2 2026.
- In Q2 2026, Operating Margin rose 746.0% year-over-year to 37.66%; the TTM figure through May 2026 stood at 38.55% (down 107.0% YoY), while the FY2026 annual figure was 38.55%, down 107.0% from the prior year.
- Operating Margin came in at 37.66% for Q2 2026 at Paychex, down from 43.78% in the prior quarter.
- In the past five years, Operating Margin ranged from a high of 45.84% in Q1 2025 to a low of 30.2% in Q2 2025.
- Average Operating Margin over 5 years is 39.81%, with a median of 40.55% recorded in 2023.
- Year-over-year, Operating Margin plunged 700 bps in 2025 and surged 746 bps in 2026.
- Over 5 years, Operating Margin stood at 39.68% in 2022, then advanced by 1 bps to 40.24% in 2023, then rose by 2 bps to 40.86% in 2024, then fell by 10 bps to 36.72% in 2025, then grew by 3 bps to 37.66% in 2026.
- Per Business Quant data, the three most recent Operating Margin figures were 37.66% in Q2 2026, 43.78% in Q1 2026, and 36.72% in Q4 2025.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palantir Technologies | 460.85 Bn | 451.55 Bn | 1.64 Bn | 47.12% |
| 2 | Oracle | 437.09 Bn | 400.44 Bn | - | 34.78% |
| 3 | Sap Se | 258.74 Bn | 237.66 Bn | 8.40 Bn | 26.76% |
| 4 | Salesforce | 195.52 Bn | 184.12 Bn | 8.70 Bn | 20.55% |
| 5 | ServiceNow | 145.61 Bn | 140.94 Bn | 2.82 Bn | 4.06% |
| 6 | Automatic Data Processing | 104.89 Bn | 100.66 Bn | 2.51 Bn | -33.33% |
| 7 | Intuit | 76.97 Bn | 69.77 Bn | 3.46 Bn | 10.91% |
| 8 | Relx | 60.41 Bn | 60.04 Bn | - | - |
| 9 | Strategy | 57.09 Bn | 54.64 Bn | 81.55 Mn | -6,808.11% |
| 10 | Paychex | 37.16 Bn | 36.02 Bn | 1.19 Bn | 37.66% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2026 | 37.98% |
| May 31, 2026 | 37.66% |
| Feb 28, 2026 | 43.78% |
| Nov 30, 2025 | 36.72% |
| Aug 31, 2025 | 35.19% |
| May 31, 2025 | 30.20% |
| Feb 28, 2025 | 45.84% |
| Nov 30, 2024 | 40.86% |
| Aug 31, 2024 | 41.46% |
| May 31, 2024 | 37.20% |
| Feb 29, 2024 | 45.15% |
| Nov 30, 2023 | 40.24% |
| Aug 31, 2023 | 41.70% |
| May 31, 2023 | 36.87% |
| Feb 28, 2023 | 44.31% |
| Nov 30, 2022 | 39.68% |
| Aug 31, 2022 | 41.09% |
| May 31, 2022 | 34.43% |
| Feb 28, 2022 | 44.11% |
| Nov 30, 2021 | 39.72% |
API Access
Paychex Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=PAYX&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "PAYX", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=PAYX&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();