Paylocity
Paylocity's revenue rose 11.0% to $1.8 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 21.8%, up from 19.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $497 million, up 22.7%. It paid out $398 million in dividends and buybacks, 80% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 3.1%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share grew 51.1% a year and net income 50.8% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 1% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Paylocity yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Paylocity's 10-K and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Paylocity's fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $497M, net cash of $191M at June 30, 2026 and 55 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Paylocity: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 14.7% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Human Resource & Employment Services), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $9.7B; the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $176.46
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
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- Everything after year 10, valued today
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- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Paylocity's earnings per share of $4.92 (in fiscal 2026). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 26.7×, the middle of Paylocity's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Industrials median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $176.46
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Paylocity's P/E at the last close
- 35.9×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert HalfRHI | $44.98 | $1.15 | 39.1× |
| PaylocityPCTY | $176.46 | $4.92 | 35.9× |
| PaychexPAYX | $115.70 | $5.05 | 22.9× |
| Korn FerryKFY | $78.85 | $5.29 | 14.9× |
| UpworkUPWK | $9.51 | $0.77 | 12.4× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 140 | 289 | 402 | 398 | 272 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 81 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | −140 | −289 | −402 | −236 | −191 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −1.0x | −1.3x | −1.2x | −0.6x | −0.4x |
| Debt to equity | 0.0x | 0.0x | 0.0x | 0.1x | 0.1x |
| Interest coverage | 272.0x | 383.7x | 526.5x | 23.8x | 69.3x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.1x |
| Quick ratio | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.1x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Paylocity shares on the open market, and 9 insiders sold $41.0 million, $40.3 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 12,846 | $176.87 | $2.3 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 22, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 8,080 | $176.57 | $1.4 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 21, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 5,744 | $170.28 | $978,108 | Form 4 |
| Oct 20, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 10,617 | $169.76 | $1.8 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 19, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 10,445 | $166.26 | $1.7 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 5,500 | $166.05 | $913,279 | Form 4 |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 17,694 | $165.80 | $2.9 million | Form 4 |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Steven R BeauchampExecutive Chairman, Director | Sold plan | 15,000 | $165.22 | $2.5 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Steven R BeauchampExecutive Chairman, Director | Sold plan | 15,000 | $147.18 | $2.2 million | Form 4 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | Andrew CappotelliSr Vice President Operations | Sold plan | 69 | $152.37 | $10,514 | Form 4 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 5,100 | $158.56 | $808,633 | Form 4 |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Steven I SarowitzDirector, 10% owner | Sold plan | 19,459 | $157.78 | $3.1 million | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| F-score | 6 of 9 | 6 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −4.5% | −4.4% | −5.7% |
Compare
Put Paylocity side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paylocity | FY26 | 11.0% | 21.8% | 28.1% | 26.5% | −0.4x | 8 | |
| Korn Ferry | FY26 | 6.4% | 12.8% | 11.0% | 21.9% | −1.5x | 8 | Compare |
| Upwork | FY25 | 2.4% | 16.4% | 30.8% | 31.0% | −2.0x | 6 | Compare |
| Robert Half | FY25 | −7.2% | 1.4% | 5.0% | 6.3% | −3.6x | 4 | Compare |
| Paychex | FY26 | 16.9% | 38.5% | 35.6% | 26.2% | 1.2x | 6 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 300 | 378 | 468 | 561 | 636 | 853 | 1,175 | 1,402 | 1,595 | 1,771 |
| Revenue growth | 30.0% | 25.8% | 23.9% | 20.0% | 13.2% | 34.1% | 37.8% | 19.4% | 13.7% | 11.0% |
| Gross profit | 176 | 228 | 314 | 379 | 416 | 566 | 808 | 961 | 1,097 | 1,226 |
| Research and development | 29 | 38 | 50 | 63 | 77 | 103 | 164 | 178 | 206 | 221 |
| Operating income | 7 | 16 | 56 | 66 | 58 | 85 | 155 | 260 | 304 | 386 |
| Net income | 7 | 39 | 54 | 64 | 71 | 91 | 141 | 207 | 227 | 270 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 0.12 | 0.70 | 0.97 | 1.15 | 1.26 | 1.61 | 2.49 | 3.63 | 4.02 | 4.92 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 54 | 55 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 57 | 57 | 56 | 55 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 62 | 98 | 115 | 113 | 125 | 155 | 283 | 385 | 418 | 533 |
| Capital expenditure | 21 | 22 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 36 |
| Free cash flow | 41 | 76 | 104 | 96 | 115 | 137 | 261 | 367 | 405 | 497 |
| Dividends paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Share buybacks | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 150 | 398 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 108 | 0 | 12 | 278 | 49 |
| Stock-based compensation | 27 | 30 | 39 | 48 | 63 | 96 | 147 | 146 | 143 | 139 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 104 | 138 | 162 | 285 | 207 | 140 | 289 | 402 | 398 | 272 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 81 |
| Total assets | 1,137 | 1,508 | 1,804 | 1,986 | 2,415 | 4,809 | 3,696 | 4,246 | 4,389 | 4,884 |
| Total liabilities | 990 | 1,295 | 1,496 | 1,593 | 1,938 | 4,196 | 2,853 | 3,212 | 3,156 | 3,663 |
| Shareholders' equity | 148 | 213 | 308 | 393 | 477 | 614 | 843 | 1,033 | 1,234 | 1,221 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 58.7% | 60.5% | 67.1% | 67.6% | 65.5% | 66.3% | 68.8% | 68.5% | 68.8% | 69.2% |
| Operating margin | 2.4% | 4.2% | 12.0% | 11.8% | 9.1% | 9.9% | 13.2% | 18.5% | 19.1% | 21.8% |
| Net margin | 2.2% | 10.2% | 11.5% | 11.5% | 11.1% | 10.7% | 12.0% | 14.7% | 14.2% | 15.2% |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.6% | 20.2% | 22.2% | 17.1% | 18.1% | 16.1% | 22.2% | 26.1% | 25.4% | 28.1% |
| Return on capital | — | — | — | — | 24.3% | 22.7% | 26.8% | 32.8% | 27.4% | 26.5% |
| Return on equity | 5.0% | 21.4% | 20.7% | 18.4% | 16.3% | 16.6% | 19.3% | 22.0% | 20.0% | 22.0% |
| Return on assets | 0.5% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 5.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −3.6x | −3.0x | −1.8x | −1.8x | −2.0x | −1.0x | −1.3x | −1.2x | −0.6x | −0.4x |