First Advantage vs Paylocity
Paylocity reported revenue of $1.8 billion in fiscal 2026, about the same as First Advantage's $1.6 billion in fiscal 2025. First Advantage's revenue grew 83.0% in its latest year, and Paylocity's grew 11.0%. First Advantage had an operating margin of 8.4%, against 21.8% at Paylocity. Free cash flow was $188 million at First Advantage and $497 million at Paylocity. Their fiscal years end in different months (December 31 and June 30), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| First Advantage | Paylocity | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2026, Jun 30, 2026 |
| Revenue | $1.6B | $1.8B |
| Revenue growth | 83.0% | 11.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 27.2% | 22.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 69.2% |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | 21.8% |
| Net margin | −2.2% | 15.2% |
| Free cash flow | $188M | $497M |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.0% | 28.1% |
| Return on capital | 3.2% | 26.5% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 7.7x | −0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0M | $398M |
| Change in diluted share count | 16.6% | −3.1% |
| Last close | $23.53 | $173.15 |
| P/E at the last close | 94.1× | 33.6× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $106,740, sold $276.1 million | sold $46.0 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 8 | 8 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
First AdvantagePaylocity
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
First AdvantagePaylocity
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
First AdvantagePaylocity
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the First Advantage and Paylocity pages.