CPRT vs. PAYX: Copart vs. Paychex Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX) both fall under the Commercial & Professional Services industry group, but CPRT is classified in Commercial Services & Supplies while PAYX is classified in Professional Services.

Company profile comparison for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Profile Item	CPRT	PAYX
Name	Copart, Inc.	Paychex Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Commercial & Professional Services	Commercial & Professional Services
GICS Industry	Commercial Services & Supplies	Professional Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Diversified Support Services	Human Resource & Employment Services
Market Capitalization	29.60 billion USD	41.67 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	March 17, 1994	August 26, 1983
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CPRT

PAYX

GSPC

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: 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 Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Total Return (1Y)	-20.18%	7.76%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-11.53%	4.26%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-3.48%	1.96%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CPRT

PAYX

GSPC

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	32.98%	30.84%
Beta (5Y)	0.97	0.79
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-58.85%	-44.95%
Avg. Volume (3M)	10.87M	2.88M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CPRT and PAYX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.74	0.11
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-1.08	0.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Paychex (PAYX) at 47.06% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Copart (CPRT) at 16.16% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for PAYX.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

16.16%

Max: 47.06%
Q3: 25.43%
CPRT: 16.16%
Median: 14.11%
Q1: 3.92%
Min: -20.15%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

47.06%

PAYX: 47.06%
Max: 47.06%
Q3: 25.43%
Median: 14.11%
Q1: 3.92%
Min: -20.15%

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their ROE against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Copart (CPRT) at 31.81% and Paychex (PAYX) at 27.35% keep an unusually large share of revenue as bottom-line profit — each net margin clears its industry’s benchmark range.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

31.81%

CPRT: 31.81%
Max: 23.28%
Q3: 11.35%
Median: 5.65%
Q1: 0.87%
Min: -8.60%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

27.35%

PAYX: 27.35%
Max: 23.28%
Q3: 11.35%
Median: 5.65%
Q1: 0.87%
Min: -8.60%

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their net margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Copart (CPRT) at 32.01% and Paychex (PAYX) at 38.50% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

32.01%

Max: 38.50%
CPRT: 32.01%
Q3: 18.84%
Median: 10.40%
Q1: 5.59%
Min: -12.00%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

38.50%

PAYX: 38.50%
Max: 38.50%
Q3: 18.84%
Median: 10.40%
Q1: 5.59%
Min: -12.00%

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
ROE (TTM)	16.16%	47.06%
ROA (TTM)	10.27%	10.19%
Net Margin (TTM)	31.81%	27.35%
Operating Margin (TTM)	32.01%	38.50%
Gross Margin (TTM)	45.29%	74.39%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Paychex (PAYX) at 16.88% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Copart (CPRT) at 0.41% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Copart (CPRT) at -2.52% and Paychex (PAYX) at 6.77% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	0.41%	16.88%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.44%	9.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-2.52%	6.77%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.59%	4.38%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Paychex (PAYX) at 1.28 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Copart (CPRT) at 7.91 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

7.91

CPRT: 7.91
Max: 3.63
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.55
Q1: 1.09
Min: 0.45

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.28

Max: 3.63
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.55
PAYX: 1.28
Q1: 1.09
Min: 0.45

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Copart (CPRT) at 0.01 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Paychex (PAYX) at 1.25 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.01

Max: 2.37
Q3: 1.25
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.35
CPRT: 0.01
Min: 0.00

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.25

Max: 2.37
Q3: 1.25
PAYX: 1.25
Median: 0.88
Q1: 0.35
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	7.91	1.28
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.01	1.25
Net Debt / EBITDA	-2.36	1.20

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Copart (CPRT) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Paychex (PAYX) reports a yield of 3.80%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.33%
Q3: 1.80%
Median: 0.60%
CPRT: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

3.80%

Max: 4.33%
PAYX: 3.80%
Q3: 1.80%
Median: 0.60%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Copart (CPRT) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Paychex (PAYX) reports a payout of 90.08%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 99.58%
Q3: 41.99%
Median: 17.27%
CPRT: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -17.94%

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

90.08%

Max: 99.58%
PAYX: 90.08%
Q3: 41.99%
Median: 17.27%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -17.94%

Copart (CPRT) vs. Paychex (PAYX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Commercial & Professional Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	3.80%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	90.08%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Copart (CPRT) at 20.61 and Paychex (PAYX) at 23.23 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

20.61

Max: 49.47
Q3: 33.76
Median: 24.16
CPRT: 20.61
Q1: 16.01
Min: 1.89

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

23.23

Max: 49.47
Q3: 33.76
Median: 24.16
PAYX: 23.23
Q1: 16.01
Min: 1.89

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Copart (CPRT) at 6.34 and Paychex (PAYX) at 6.31 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

6.34

Max: 7.17
CPRT: 6.34
Q3: 3.35
Median: 1.33
Q1: 0.69
Min: 0.11

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

6.31

Max: 7.17
PAYX: 6.31
Q3: 3.35
Median: 1.33
Q1: 0.69
Min: 0.11

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Copart (CPRT) at 3.25 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Paychex (PAYX) at 11.25 carries an above-peer premium to book — PAYX is pricier on assets.

CPRT

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

3.25

Max: 11.25
Q3: 6.08
CPRT: 3.25
Median: 2.92
Q1: 1.55
Min: -2.78

PAYX

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

11.25

PAYX: 11.25
Max: 11.25
Q3: 6.08
Median: 2.92
Q1: 1.55
Min: -2.78

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Copart (CPRT) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CPRT	PAYX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	20.61	23.23
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.34	6.31
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.25	11.25
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.99%	4.53%