# Paycom Software, Inc. (PAYC)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/PAYC · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, Paycom Software, Inc. (PAYC), nexqual.com/PAYC" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 272.61 (+4.44% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 261.01 · day 262.1–273.31 · 52w 104.9–273.37 · market cap $12.3B · NYQ

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $2.14B, net income $488M (22.8% margin), free cash flow $575M (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 25.2x (avg 26.0x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 16.3x, net debt $702M.
- 3 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold PAYC (13F, Q2 2026): 0 new, 1 added, 1 reduced, 1 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 2 Form 4 filings, $1.0M; 2 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($1.0M); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Hold (mean 2.90 on a 1–5 scale) (21 analysts), mean target USD 222.59 (range 160–286).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +37.4% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y -47.7% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-11-04, EPS estimate USD 2.8, revenue estimate $535M.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.06B | $1.38B | $1.69B | $1.88B | $2.05B | $2.14B |
| Gross profit | $894M | $1.16B | $1.42B | $1.55B | $1.71B | — |
| Operating income | $254M | $379M | $451M | $634M | $567M | $648M |
| Net income | $196M | $281M | $341M | $502M | $453M | $488M |
| EPS (diluted) | $3.37 | $4.84 | $5.88 | $8.92 | $8.08 | — |
| Free cash flow | $199M | $232M | $292M | $341M | $408M | $575M |
| Gross margin | 84.7% | 84.5% | 83.7% | 82.2% | 83.2% | — |
| Operating margin | 24.0% | 27.5% | 26.6% | 33.7% | 27.6% | 30.3% |
| Net margin | 18.6% | 20.5% | 20.1% | 26.7% | 22.1% | 22.8% |
| Revenue growth | +25.4% | +30.3% | +23.2% | +11.2% | +8.9% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $278M | $401M | $294M | $402M | $370M | — |
| Total debt | $29.2M | $29.0M | — | — | — | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 25.2x · P/S 5.7x · EV/EBITDA 16.3x · EV/Sales 6.1x · P/FCF 21.4x · P/B 21.5x · FCF yield 4.68% · Earnings yield 3.97% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 0.63% · Net debt $702M · EV $13.0B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 19.7x, Dec 2024 23.0x, Dec 2023 35.2x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
3 of 80 tracked investors hold PAYC. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Vinall | RV Capital GmbH | 0.70% | $2.7M | Unchanged |
| Bill Nygren | Oakmark Funds | 0.57% | $427M | Added +4.3% |
| Terry Smith | Fundsmith | 0.09% | $12.7M | Reduced -54.1% |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 2 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-27…2026-08-28 | Hadlock Terrell Shane | President/Chief Client Officer | 2,818 | $670K | 3.9% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023–2025) |
| 2026-05-18 | Peck Randall | Chief Operating Officer | 2,500 | $351K | 4.3% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Hold (mean 2.90 on a 1–5 scale), 21 analysts; mean target USD 222.59 (low 160, high 286).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 | Barclays | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $210 → $250 |
| 2026-10-02 | TD Cowen | Target raised | Buy | $244 → $286 |
| 2026-09-21 | Keybanc | Target raised | Overweight | $270 → $280 |
| 2026-09-01 | UBS | Target raised | Buy | $205 → $285 |
| 2026-08-25 | JP Morgan | Target raised | Neutral | $140 → $264 |
| 2026-08-07 | Citigroup | Target raised | Neutral | $136 → $194 |
| 2026-08-06 | TD Cowen | Target raised | Buy | $149 → $244 |
| 2026-08-06 | UBS | Target raised | Buy | $195 → $205 |
| 2026-08-06 | Barclays | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $154 → $210 |
| 2026-08-06 | Keybanc | Target raised | Overweight | $195 → $270 |
| 2026-08-06 | Stifel | Target raised | Hold | $120 → $200 |
| 2026-08-06 | Guggenheim | Target raised | Buy | $180 → $225 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +37.4% | -47.7% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +37.6% | -12.1% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 46.9% | 47.2% |
| Max drawdown | -43.0% (Oct 2025→Apr 2026) | -78.8% (Oct 2021→Apr 2026) |

## Peers (Software - Application)
BSY (Bentley Systems, Incorporated) USD 39.41 +2.74% · FROG (JFrog Ltd.) USD 93.89 -2.50% · FIG (Figma, Inc.) USD 24.1 +4.87% · GRAB (Grab Holdings Limited) USD 2.85 +1.06% · CHYM (Chime Financial, Inc.) USD 30.16 -0.69% · HUBS (HubSpot, Inc.) USD 267.19 +6.92%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/PAYC · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in PAYC's own 10-K filed 2026-02-19 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1590955/000119312526059372/payc-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Visa (V) | "We rely on third-party couriers to deliver payroll checks and tax forms and on financial and accounting processing systems and various financial institutions to perform financial services in connection with our applicati…" |
| Competitor | Oracle (ORCL) | "We compete with companies such as Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Dayforce, Inc., Intuit, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Paychex, Inc., Paylocity Holding Corporation, SAP SE, ServiceNow, Inc., Ultimate Kronos Group, Workday,…" |
| Competitor | SAP (SAP) | "We compete with companies such as Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Dayforce, Inc., Intuit, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Paychex, Inc., Paylocity Holding Corporation, SAP SE, ServiceNow, Inc., Ultimate Kronos Group, Workday,…" |
| Competitor | ServiceNow (NOW) | "We compete with companies such as Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Dayforce, Inc., Intuit, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Paychex, Inc., Paylocity Holding Corporation, SAP SE, ServiceNow, Inc., Ultimate Kronos Group, Workday,…" |

## Revenue by product line (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring & Other | $505.2M | 95.1% | +11.0% |
| — Recurring (part of Recurring & Other) | $497.9M | 93.7% | +10.9% |
| — Implementation & Other (part of Recurring & Other) | $7.3M | 1.4% | +21.7% |
| Interest On Funds Held For Clients | $26.0M | 4.9% | -8.8% |
| Total revenue | $531.2M | 100% | — |

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-08-05)

- "Paycom provides the following expected financial guidance for the year ending December 31, 2026."

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $2.80 | $2.39 | +16.9% | $534.9M | 20 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $3.32 | $2.94 | +12.8% | $571.2M | 20 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $12.10 | $10.91 | +10.8% | $2.21B | 21 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $13.96 | $12.28 | +13.8% | $2.37B | 21 |

## Options: expected move (Cboe, 15-min delayed)

Expected move by 2026-11-20 (includes earnings 2026-11-04): ±13.1%; last 8 reports averaged ±10.7%.

| Expiration | Days | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-20 | 28 | 58.5% | ±13.1% |
| 2026-12-18 | 56 | 49.1% | ±15.4% |
| 2027-01-15 | 84 | 45.9% | ±17.6% |
| 2027-02-19 | 119 | 48.8% | ±22.1% |
| 2027-05-21 | 210 | 47.4% | ±28.3% |