CTAS vs. PAYX: Cintas vs. Paychex Stock Comparison

June 13, 2026

This page compares Cintas (CTAS) with Paychex (PAYX) using performance and risk, profitability, financial strength, growth, dividends, and valuation metrics.

Performance

Cumulative Growth

CTAS

PAYX

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

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Performance at a Glance

Performance metrics for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
1-Year Return	-20.40%	-31.74%

Risk

Drawdown

CTAS

PAYX

Cintas (CTAS) 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 Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
1-Year Volatility	20.42%	26.83%
Beta	0.93	0.83
3-Month Avg. Volume	2.27M	3.57M

Company Profile

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

Company profile comparison for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Profile Item	CTAS	PAYX
Name	Cintas Corporation	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	70.54 billion USD	36.05 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	August 19, 1983	August 26, 1983
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Valuation

Price-to-Earnings Ratio (TTM)

Both Cintas (CTAS) at 37.19 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.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

37.19

Max: 67.87
Q3: 37.72
CTAS: 37.19
Median: 21.61
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

Cintas (CTAS) 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: Cintas (CTAS) at 6.40 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Paychex (PAYX) at 9.09 prices even higher, above its industry range.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

6.40

CTAS: 6.40
Max: 6.40
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

Cintas (CTAS) 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 Cintas (CTAS) at 14.73 prices even higher, above its industry range.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

14.73

CTAS: 14.73
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

Cintas (CTAS) 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 Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
Price-to-Earnings Ratio (TTM)	37.19	22.21
Price-to-Sales Ratio (TTM)	6.40	9.09
Price-to-Book Ratio (MRQ)	14.73	8.98
Free Cash Flow Yield	2.14%	--

Profitability

Return on Equity (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Cintas (CTAS) earns 41.30% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Paychex (PAYX) has no ROE this period.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

41.30%

Max: 53.04%
CTAS: 41.30%
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: --

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

Net Profit Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Cintas (CTAS) at 17.57% and Paychex (PAYX) at 26.63% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

17.57%

Max: 26.63%
CTAS: 17.57%
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%

Cintas (CTAS) 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 Cintas (CTAS) at 23.22% also operates in the top quartile.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

23.22%

Max: 37.53%
CTAS: 23.22%
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%

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

Profitability at a Glance

Profitability metrics for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
Return on Equity (TTM)	41.30%	--
Return on Assets (TTM)	15.94%	--
Net Profit Margin (TTM)	17.57%	26.63%
Operating Profit Margin (TTM)	23.22%	44.38%
Gross Profit Margin (TTM)	50.36%	67.20%

Growth

Revenue Growth

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

Revenue Growth at a Glance

Revenue growth metrics for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
1-Year Revenue Growth	7.75%	5.56%
3-Year Revenue CAGR	9.60%	6.51%

EPS Growth

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

EPS Growth at a Glance

EPS growth metrics for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
1-Year EPS Growth	16.17%	-1.93%
3-Year EPS CAGR	14.74%	6.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cintas (CTAS) at 1.98 and Paychex (PAYX) at 1.15 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.98

Max: 3.17
Q3: 2.01
CTAS: 1.98
Median: 1.51
Q1: 1.13
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

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

Debt-to-Equity Ratio (MRQ)

Both Cintas (CTAS) at 0.61 and Paychex (PAYX) at 1.25 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

0.61

Max: 2.61
Q3: 1.39
Median: 0.94
CTAS: 0.61
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

Cintas (CTAS) 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 Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.98	1.15
Debt-to-Equity Ratio (MRQ)	0.61	1.25
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.94	2.01

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Paychex (PAYX) at 4.73% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Cintas (CTAS) at 1.02% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, PAYX the richer one.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

1.02%

Max: 5.49%
Q3: 2.30%
CTAS: 1.02%
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%

Cintas (CTAS) 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: Cintas (CTAS) at 36.71% sits above the band, while Paychex (PAYX) at 95.36% exceeds every peer in its group.

CTAS

Commercial & Professional Services industry group

36.71%

Max: 79.70%
CTAS: 36.71%
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%

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

Dividends at a Glance

Dividend metrics for Cintas (CTAS) and Paychex (PAYX)
Metric	CTAS	PAYX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.02%	4.73%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	36.71%	95.36%