ADP vs. PAYX: Automatic Data Processing vs. Paychex Stock Comparison

June 13, 2026

This page compares Automatic Data Processing (ADP) with Paychex (PAYX) using performance and risk, profitability, financial strength, growth, dividends, and valuation metrics.

Performance

Cumulative Growth

ADP

PAYX

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Performance at a Glance

Performance metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
1-Year Return	-24.57%	-31.74%

Risk

Drawdown

ADP

PAYX

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Risk at a Glance

Risk metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
1-Year Volatility	24.32%	26.83%
Beta	0.82	0.83
3-Month Avg. Volume	3.20M	3.57M

Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX) are both classified in the Human Resource & Employment Services sub-industry within the broader Professional Services industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Profile Item	ADP	PAYX
Name	Automatic Data Processing Inc.	Paychex Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Commercial & Professional Services	Commercial & Professional Services
GICS Industry	Professional Services	Professional Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Human Resource & Employment Services	Human Resource & Employment Services
Market Capitalization	90.42 billion USD	36.05 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	August 26, 1983
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Valuation

Price-to-Earnings Ratio (TTM)

Both Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 21.10 and Paychex (PAYX) at 22.21 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

21.10

Max: 67.87
Q3: 37.72
Median: 21.61
ADP: 21.10
Q1: 14.71
Min: 4.85

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

22.21

Max: 67.87
Q3: 37.72
PAYX: 22.21
Median: 21.61
Q1: 14.71
Min: 4.85

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Price-to-Sales Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 4.19 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Paychex (PAYX) at 9.09 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

4.19

Max: 6.40
ADP: 4.19
Q3: 3.14
Median: 1.30
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.09

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

9.09

PAYX: 9.09
Max: 6.40
Q3: 3.14
Median: 1.30
Q1: 0.66
Min: 0.09

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Price-to-Book Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Paychex (PAYX) at 8.98 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 14.27 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

14.27

ADP: 14.27
Max: 8.98
Q3: 5.88
Median: 2.95
Q1: 1.89
Min: -2.68

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

8.98

PAYX: 8.98
Max: 8.98
Q3: 5.88
Median: 2.95
Q1: 1.89
Min: -2.68

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation at a Glance

Valuation metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
Price-to-Earnings Ratio (TTM)	21.10	22.21
Price-to-Sales Ratio (TTM)	4.19	9.09
Price-to-Book Ratio (MRQ)	14.27	8.98
Free Cash Flow Yield	5.25%	--

Profitability

Return on Equity (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) earns 71.21% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Paychex (PAYX) has no ROE this period.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

71.21%

ADP: 71.21%
Max: 53.04%
Q3: 25.65%
Median: 13.99%
Q1: 2.65%
Min: -26.88%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

Max: 53.04%
Q3: 25.65%
Median: 13.99%
Q1: 2.65%
Min: -26.88%
PAYX: --

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): PAYX does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; ADP is benchmarked against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group.

Net Profit Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 20.12% and Paychex (PAYX) at 26.63% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

20.12%

Max: 26.63%
ADP: 20.12%
Q3: 11.56%
Median: 6.26%
Q1: 1.18%
Min: -13.34%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

26.63%

PAYX: 26.63%
Max: 26.63%
Q3: 11.56%
Median: 6.26%
Q1: 1.18%
Min: -13.34%

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their net margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Profit Margin (TTM)

Paychex (PAYX) at 44.38% shows unusually strong operating efficiency — above its industry’s operating margin range — and Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 30.18% also operates in the top quartile.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

30.18%

Max: 37.53%
ADP: 30.18%
Q3: 17.67%
Median: 9.37%
Q1: 3.13%
Min: -4.52%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

44.38%

PAYX: 44.38%
Max: 37.53%
Q3: 17.67%
Median: 9.37%
Q1: 3.13%
Min: -4.52%

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability at a Glance

Profitability metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
Return on Equity (TTM)	71.21%	--
Return on Assets (TTM)	5.95%	--
Net Profit Margin (TTM)	20.12%	26.63%
Operating Profit Margin (TTM)	30.18%	44.38%
Gross Profit Margin (TTM)	48.50%	67.20%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

Revenue Growth at a Glance

Revenue growth metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
1-Year Revenue Growth	7.07%	5.56%
3-Year Revenue CAGR	7.61%	6.51%

EPS Growth

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth at a Glance

EPS growth metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
1-Year EPS Growth	9.67%	-1.93%
3-Year EPS CAGR	12.55%	6.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Paychex (PAYX) at 1.15 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 1.04 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for ADP.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.04

Max: 3.17
Q3: 2.01
Median: 1.51
Q1: 1.13
ADP: 1.04
Min: 0.45

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.15

Max: 3.17
Q3: 2.01
Median: 1.51
PAYX: 1.15
Q1: 1.13
Min: 0.45

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Debt-to-Equity Ratio (MRQ)

Both Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 0.69 and Paychex (PAYX) at 1.25 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.69

Max: 2.61
Q3: 1.39
Median: 0.94
ADP: 0.69
Q1: 0.45
Min: 0.01

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.25

Max: 2.61
Q3: 1.39
PAYX: 1.25
Median: 0.94
Q1: 0.45
Min: 0.01

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength at a Glance

Financial strength metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.04	1.15
Debt-to-Equity Ratio (MRQ)	0.69	1.25
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.18	2.01

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 3.01% and Paychex (PAYX) at 4.73% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

3.01%

Max: 5.49%
ADP: 3.01%
Q3: 2.30%
Median: 0.97%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

4.73%

Max: 5.49%
PAYX: 4.73%
Q3: 2.30%
Median: 0.97%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both pay out more than their industries’ typical bands, and PAYX more so: Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at 60.45% sits above the band, while Paychex (PAYX) at 95.36% exceeds every peer in its group.

ADP

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

60.45%

Max: 79.70%
ADP: 60.45%
Q3: 36.60%
Median: 16.11%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

95.36%

PAYX: 95.36%
Max: 79.70%
Q3: 36.60%
Median: 16.11%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividends at a Glance

Dividend metrics for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	ADP	PAYX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.01%	4.73%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	60.45%	95.36%