Paychex, Inc. PAYX

Technology · Software - Application · valued as of 2026-11-03 · statements 2026-05-31

Average Intrinsic Value
$16.19B
Market Cap
$42.06B
Margin of Safety
-159.8%
Intrinsic / Market Ratio
0.38

How Each Value Is Built

The screener's three formulas on the reported figures. Each card reads the same way: the value as a sum of numbered terms, each term's calculation opened under it, from the reported figures to the value. The list ranks companies by their plain average over the market cap.

EPV + Growth

18.18B USD

what the normal year's earnings are worth for ever, plus growth that pays

Profit

14.18B USD

15 years of cash the shareholders can take out, and the equity left at year 15

FCFF

16.21B USD

15 years of cash for shareholders and lenders, less what is owed

Intrinsic Value

16.19B USD

the plain average of the three, uncapped, as the screener averages them

Intrinsic Value

16.19B USD

from the sum above

Market Cap

42.06B USD

today's price times the shares

Intrinsic Value ÷ Market Cap

0.38×

the ratio the screener ranks by; Margin of Safety -159.8% (1 − Market Cap ÷ Intrinsic Value)

Each card below builds one of the three values from the reported years.

Earnings power value plus growth: 18.18B USD
What the normal year's operating profit after tax is worth if it lasts for ever, plus what the new investment adds beyond its cost, less the net debt that comes before the shareholders (or plus the net cash).
①EPV (earnings power value)21.87B USD
−②Net Debt Today3.69B USD
+③Growth Value0 USD
=Value18.18B USD

EPV of the Operations (NOPAT over WACC)

21.87B USD

Net debt today

-3.69B USD

Growth Value

0 USD

Value

18.18B USD

①EPV (earnings power value)

21.87B USD

②Net Debt Today

3.69B USD

③Growth Value

0 USD

Market value

Market Cap42.06B USD

Today's price times the shares.

Value vs market

Margin of Safety-131.4%

1 minus the market cap as a share of the value.

Profit value: today's value of the shareholders' equity, from the cash it can pay them (FCFE): 14.18B USD
Fifteen years of free cash flow to equity (FCFE), each brought to today at the cost of equity, plus the equity at year 15 brought to today.
①Present Value of the 15 Years of FCFE12.57B USD
+②Equity at Year 15, Today1.60B USD
=Value14.18B USD
FCFE: the net income left for the shareholders once the business keeps what next year's growth needsEquity reinvestment: the part of the year's net income kept in the business to grow the next year; below zero, capital the business releases to the shareholdersPresent value of the FCFEColoured bars show the FCFE, grey bars the equity reinvestment. With a positive equity reinvestment the two stacked are the year's normalized income; with a negative one the grey is below zero, capital the business releases, and the normalized income is the FCFE plus that negative amount. Shaded, years 6 to 10: the growth rising to its long-run rate and the ROE on new investment falling to the cost of equity. Axes linear.

①Present Value of the 15 Years of FCFE

12.57B USD

②Equity at Year 15, Today

1.60B USD

Market value

Market Cap42.06B USD

Today's price times the shares.

Value vs market

Margin of Safety-196.7%

1 minus the market cap as a share of the value.

FCFF value: today's value of the shareholders' equity, from the cash the firm can pay its shareholders and lenders (FCFF): 16.21B USD
Fifteen years of free cash flow to the firm (FCFF), each brought to today at the WACC, plus the invested capital at year 15 brought to today, less the net debt today (or plus the net cash).
①Present Value of the 15 Years of FCFF16.21B USD
+②Invested Capital at Year 15, Today3.69B USD
−③Net Debt Today3.69B USD
=Value16.21B USD
FCFF: the NOPAT left for the shareholders and the lenders once the business reinvests what next year's growth needsReinvestment: the part of the year's NOPAT put back into the business to grow the next year; below zero, capital the business releasesPresent value of the FCFFColoured bars show the FCFF, grey bars the reinvestment. With a positive reinvestment the two stacked are the year's NOPAT; with a negative one the grey is below zero, capital the business releases, and the NOPAT is the FCFF plus that negative amount. Shaded, years 6 to 10: the growth falling to its long-run rate and the ROIC on new investment falling to the WACC. Axes linear.

①Present Value of the 15 Years of FCFF

16.21B USD

②Invested Capital at Year 15, Today

3.69B USD

③Net Debt Today

3.69B USD

Market value

Market Cap42.06B USD

Today's price times the shares.

Value vs market

Margin of Safety-159.5%

1 minus the market cap as a share of the value.

The Rates and the Capital the Values Read

The WACC and the cost of equity each value is discounted at, the book value and the net debt each starts from, and the seven quality metrics, from the same run.

WACC: 9.08%
weighted average cost of capital: the yearly return the shareholders and the lenders together require, weighted by what each puts in; the rate that brings the firm's future cash to today.
Cost of Equity =Risk-Free Rate 4.50%+Beta 0.85×Market Risk Premium 6.00%= 9.59%

The yearly return the shareholders require for the risk they carry; it is the rate that brings their future cash to today.

Tax Rate for WACC =Tax Provision 551.35M USDPretax Income 2.31B USD= 23.83%

The tax the interest saves.

Interest Expense =EBIT 2.58B USD−Pretax Income 2.31B USD= 269.77M USD

The interest the company paid: EBIT is the profit before tax plus the interest.

Cost of Debt =Interest Expense 269.77M USDTotal Debt 4.63B USD×(1 − Tax Rate for WACC 23.83%)= 4.44%

What the lenders are paid a year after the tax the interest saves.

Debt Weight =Total Debt 4.63B USDMarket Cap + Total Debt 42.06B USD + 4.63B USD= 9.91%

The part of the capital the lenders put in, at market value.

WACC =Equity Weight 90.09%×Cost of Equity 9.59%+Debt Weight 9.91%×Cost of Debt 4.44%= 9.08%

Weighted average cost of capital: the yearly return the shareholders and the lenders together require, weighted by what each puts in; the rate that brings the firm's future cash to today.

Book value and net debt today
Both from the balance sheet of the newest quarter, 2026-08-31.

Total Assets 15.68B USD − Total Liabilities 11.97B USD = Book Value Today 3.71B USD

Total Debt 4.63B USD − Cash and Short-Term Investments 935.13M USD = Net Debt Today 3.69B USD

The book value is what Profit starts from and what stands when a projection is not made; the book value plus the net debt is what FCFF starts from; the net debt comes off Greenwald's and FCFF's values before the shareholders.

Quality metrics
Read beside the value, never a condition for it: every company is valued, and a filter in the list is the reader's choice.
MetricFrom
Share dilutionShares Today ÷ Shares Two Years Back − 1-1.1%at most 5%passes355,980,473 / 360,100,000
Accrual quality(Operating Cash Flow − Net Income) ÷ Total Assets5.1%at least -10.0%passes(2.56B USD − 1.76B USD) ÷ 15.68B USD
Price to bookMarket Cap ÷ Book Value Today11.34×at most 3×does not pass42.06B USD ÷ 3.71B USD
Operating marginOperating Income ÷ Revenue38.6%above 10.0%passes2.51B USD ÷ 6.52B USD
Revenue growthRevenue ÷ Revenue a Year Before − 116.9%above 10.0%passes6.52B USD / 5.58B USD
Net cash(Cash − Total Debt) ÷ Market Cap-9.6%above -30%passes(601.50M USD − 4.63B USD) ÷ 42.06B USD
Operating efficiencyOperating Income ÷ Gross Profit51.9%above 25.0%passes2.51B USD ÷ 4.84B USD

Market Data

The provider's ratios and the analysts' consensus beside the argument; none of them enters a value.

Market data
The data provider's own ratios and the analysts' consensus, read beside the valuation, never in it.

Share price

118 USD

Enterprise value

45.75B USD

market cap plus net debt

EV / EBITDA

14.85×

Price / book

11.34×

the provider's book

Price / earnings

23.42×

Return on equity

47.1%

the provider's, not the engine's

Profit margin

27.4%

Revenue growth

5.9%

Analyst target, mean

115 USD

Analysts

14

opinions in the consensus

Financial Statements

The income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow the screener holds, year by year, in USD.

Financial statements, year by year
The annual lines the screener holds today, in USD at each period's rate; the figures this valuation read are in its calculation above.
USD2023202420252026
Income statement

Revenue

5.01B5.28B5.58B6.52B

Gross profit

3.56B3.80B4.04B4.84B

Operating income

2.04B2.18B2.21B2.51B

EBITDA

operating income before depreciation and amortisation

2.26B2.43B2.49B3.03B

Pretax income

2.05B2.22B2.18B2.31B

Net income

1.56B1.69B1.66B1.76B

Normalized income

net income without one-off items, as the data provider prints it; Profit's line when printed

1.56B1.69B1.66B1.76B

R&D

————
Balance sheet, year end

Total assets

10.56B10.39B16.58B16.19B

Total liabilities

7.06B6.59B12.45B12.45B

Shareholders' equity

the equity the parent's shareholders own, as printed, without minority interest; the book value the values read is total assets less total liabilities, in Book Value and Net Debt above

3.50B3.80B4.13B3.74B

Total debt

866.57M867.17M5.03B4.61B

Cash and equivalents

1.22B1.47B1.63B1.09B

Net PP&E

fixed assets after depreciation

458.26M459.06M575.88M653.45M

Working capital

current assets less current liabilities

1.72B1.94B1.96B1.77B
Cash flow

Operating cash flow

1.71B1.90B1.90B2.56B

Capital expenditure

paid out, so below zero

-143.14M-161.56M-191.99M-235.13M

Depreciation and amortisation

176.78M176.68M209.71M443.04M

Free cash flow

operating cash flow plus capital expenditure

1.56B1.74B1.71B2.32B