Paychex, Inc. (PAYX)

Over the past six months, Paychex's stock price has experienced a decline of 10.51%. Paychex reported impressive first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on September 30, 2025, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20, and total revenues reached $1.54 billion, matching analysts' expectations. On October 9, 2025, the company declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.08 per share, payable on November 26, 2025. Citigroup adjusted its price target for Paychex to $139 from $135 while maintaining a Neutral rating on October 23, 2025, and Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $128 price target on October 22, 2025. In Q2 CY2025, Paychex missed Wall Street's revenue expectations but still saw sales rise 10.2% year-on-year to $1.43 billion.

While Paychex provides services to seasonal businesses and offers solutions for managing seasonal payroll, there is some indication of seasonality in Paychex's own revenue. A similar revenue decline has been observed in the second fiscal quarter for Paychex in consecutive years, suggesting that the company's business may have seasonal elements. However, Paychex's business model aims to mitigate the direct impact of its clients' seasonal fluctuations on its own operations.

Paychex, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated human capital management (HCM) solutions, offering services for human resources, payroll, and employee benefits outsourcing, primarily catering to small to medium-sized businesses. Paychex operates within the Industrials sector, specifically in the Professional Services industry, encompassing Payroll & Bookkeeping Services, Professional Employer Organizations (PEO), Human Resources & Benefits Administration, and Human Capital Management. The company's major products and services include payroll processing, payroll tax administration, human resources (HR) services, employee benefits, insurance services, professional employer organization (PEO) services, and technology platforms. Recent innovations include partnerships with BILL Holdings for Bill Pay integration and SoFi for personal finance tools, and the acquisition of SixFifty.

Paychex is headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S., and serves approximately 800,000 payroll clients through more than 100 offices across the U.S. and Europe. The company also has a presence in Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

Paychex has maintained a strong brand reputation over the past year, earning several notable recognitions. Newsweek named Paychex one of America's Greatest Companies 2025 and America's Most Admired Workplaces in September 2025. Ethisphere recognized Paychex as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 16th time in 2024. Fortune included Paychex on its list of World's Most Admired Companies in 2023 and America's Most Innovative Companies in 2025. TIME named Paychex to its inaugural list of America's Best Midsize Companies in 2024. Paychex was inducted into the Training Hall of Fame for its 23rd consecutive appearance on Training magazine's list. Paychex Flex was ranked as a "Top Five" solution by HR buyers in six HR system Voice of the Customer categories in the 2023-2024 HR System Survey.

Institutional investors hold a significant portion of Paychex, Inc. stock, ranging from approximately 73% to 82.07%. Individual investors hold around 10.48% to 16% of the company's shares, while insider ownership stands at approximately 10.55% to 11%. Key institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock, Inc., Capital International Investors, State Street Corp, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, Geode Capital Management, Llc, SCHD - Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, and Wells Fargo & Company/mn. B. Thomas Golisano, the company's founder, is the largest individual shareholder, holding 10% of shares outstanding.