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Paychex, Inc.

PAYX · Consumer Discretionary · $40.4B mkt cap · FY2026 filings · · not refreshed in 35 days · Wide moat ·

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Wide moat
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The five investor questions

89

2022–2026 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $4.6B to $6.3B, increasing; diluted EPS 3.84 to 4.89, increasing.

100

Median gross margin 70.2% over 9y, very stable.

100

Median ROIC 40.4%, above the 12% hurdle in 100% of years.

57

Net debt/EBITDA 1.2x, interest coverage 9x.

68

Owner earnings changed +7.9%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
117% above value if growth stopped today
$1.7B
$52.34
$84.79
$113.55
117% above value if growth stopped today

What today’s price assumes: owner earnings growing ~17%/yr over 5 years. The zero-growth estimate assumes owner earnings stay flat (0% growth).

How to read this

We solve for the constant annual change in owner earnings that would make the five-year zero-growth estimate equal today’s price. This keeps the existing model inputs and calculation unchanged; it is an expectations lens, not a forecast.

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. The recent FY revenue series does not trigger the three-consecutive-declines flag.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 239% above the zero-growth estimate across 48 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Jul 26, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOGL, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, GRMN, SSD, MNST, DOCS, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, LRCX, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, RMD, ROL, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, CTAS, LOPE, MRK, CMG, FAST, BKNG, ORLY

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF, BKNG.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 4% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

20 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Paychex, Inc. booked $6.3B of revenue in FY2026 in the Consumer Discretionary sector and kept 73.4% of it as gross profit — a high-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, 27.9% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $2.1B (FY2008) to $6.3B (FY2026) — about 6.4% a year compounded over 18 years.

It earned 26.5% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2026. Across the full 19-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 40.5%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 40.4%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 100/100.

The balance sheet carried $4.6B of total debt in FY2026 against $2.0B of owner earnings — roughly 2.3 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 57/100.

Put together: Pricing Power is the strongest of the five filters (100/100) and Balance-Sheet Safety the weakest (57/100), which is how PAYX lands at 83/100 — a Wide moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2007–FY2026 · 20 fiscal years, normalized from PAYX’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$6.3B FY2026
$0$2.5B$5B2007201420212026
Revenue kept after cost of goods73.4% FY2026
0%50%2007201420212026
Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICROIC 26.5% FY2026
0%25%50%2007201420212026
Cash an owner could take out$2.0B FY2026
$0$1B$2B2007201420212026

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in PAYX’s filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How Paychex, Inc. makes its money

Start with a dollar of revenue and follow what the filing says remains.

revenueBranching filed flows with values and percentages directly labeled. Missing filing concepts are omitted rather than estimated.Revenue$6.3B · 100%Cost of revenue$1.7B · 27%Gross profit$4.6B · 73%Operating income$2.5B · 40%Income before tax$2.3B · 37%Income tax$551M · 9%Net income$1.8B · 28%As of 2026-05-31 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com

Honest partial: the filing did not provide a normalized tag for Research and development, Selling, general and administrative; those components are omitted, not plugged.

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$6.3B100%
Cost of revenue$1.7B27%
$4.6B73%
$2.5B40%
Income before tax$2.3B37%
Income tax$551M9%
$1.8B28%
Source: · event May 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

What Paychex, Inc. owns — and owes

Paychex, Inc.'s filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$16.2B100%
Cash and equivalents$1.1B7%
$4.6B28%
Stockholders’ equity$3.7B23%
Source: · event May 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives Paychex, Inc.’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity45%Tax burden76%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden92%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin40%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover0.38×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier4.16×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2026-05-31 · 1 SEC filing sourceBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$1.8BFY2026
Income before tax$2.3BFY2026
Operating income$2.5BFY2026
$6.3BFY2026
Ending assets$16.2BFY2026
Beginning assets$16.6BFY2025
$3.7BFY2026
$4.1BFY2025
Source:
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001193125-26-307785
· event May 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where Paychex, Inc.'s cash went

Paychex, Inc.’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$2.6B100%
Depreciation and amortization$443M17%
Source: · event May 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding Paychex, Inc.

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q2—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

1 holding0 exited0 not holding1/19 resolved18 not retrieved

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Markel / Markel-Gayner150,000 shares$14.7M · 0% of eligible reported 13FUnchanged · 0 shares (0%)
Abrams CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Akre CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Baupost GroupNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Berkshire HathawayNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Brave Warrior AdvisorsNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Dodge & CoxNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
First EagleNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
FundsmithNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gardner Russo & QuinnNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Gates Foundation TrustNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Mairs & PowerNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Pershing SquareNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Polen CapitalNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Southeastern Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Tweedy, BrowneNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved
Yacktman Asset ManagementNot retrievedComparison not retrievedFiling not retrieved

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: · event Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026

Flagship explainer

What Paychex, Inc. insiders reported

We could not retrieve insider activity for this rendering; no zero-activity claim is shown.

Unavailable: Form 4 activity could not be retrieved for this rendering.

Moat Score history

16 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale82.8 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026Jul 26, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

The insider-filing service is temporarily unavailable, so no partial or guessed answer is shown for PAYX.

Track record

How Paychex, Inc.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

Point-in-time scores 2011–2025, one methodology version · reconstructed from filings on file each Dec 31 — never with hindsight

Point-in-time Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored PAYX on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatPoint-in-time Moat Score100200500Indexed price · log scale (2012 = 100)201120142017202020232026

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the 9 years PAYX rated Wide-moat (2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), the median forward total return that followed — measured only after each year’s filings were public — was:

  • 1 year 12% vs the S&P 500’s 15% (price basis) · median over 8 years
  • 3 years 40% vs the S&P 500’s 26% (price basis) · median over 6 years
  • 5 years 97% vs the S&P 500’s 82% (price basis) · median over 4 years

These are medians computed from the data, not a claim about any one year. The company figures are total returns (dividends reinvested); the S&P 500 is the price-only ^GSPC index, which excludes dividends and so understates the index — the gap flatters the company. A quality rating is not a return forecast, and past returns don’t predict future ones. Educational only, not investment advice.

Consumer Discretionary context

#31 of 487 scored Consumer Discretionary companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #29OLLI Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc.83.0Wide moat
  2. #30ARHS Arhaus, Inc.82.9Wide moat
  3. #32FCN FTI CONSULTING, INC82.4Wide moat
  4. #33CAKE THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY INCORPORATED82.2Wide moat

Compare PAYX with its nearest peers →All Consumer Discretionary companies on the Index →

Common questions about PAYX

Does Paychex, Inc. have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2026 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) 82.8 out of 100 — a Wide moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 89, pricing power 100, returns on capital 100, balance-sheet safety 57, capital allocation 68.
Is PAYX trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?
The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $52.34 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $113.55, that is 117% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.
How has PAYX's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 16 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 82.8 out of 100 (wide moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell PAYX. See the disclaimer.