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Paychex, Inc. (PAYX), headquartered in Rochester, New York, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses. With a market cap of $33.6 billion, the company's services range from calculating payroll and filing tax payments to administering retirement plans and workers' compensation. The industry-leading HCM company is expected to announce its fiscal third-quarter earnings for 2026 before the market opens on Wednesday, Mar. 25.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect PAYX to report a profit of $1.68 per share on a diluted basis, up 12.8% from $1.48 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports.
For the full year, analysts expect PAYX to report EPS of $5.49, up 10.2% from $4.98 in fiscal 2025. Its EPS is expected to rise 7.7% year over year to $5.91 in fiscal 2027.
PAYX stock has notably underperformed the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 16.1% gains over the past 52 weeks, with shares down 34.6% during this period. Similarly, it considerably underperformed the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLK) 28% gains over the same time frame.
On Dec. 19, 2025, PAYX shares closed down by 1.7% after reporting its Q2 results. Its adjusted EPS of $1.26 beat Wall Street expectations of $1.24. The company’s revenue was $1.56 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts of $1.55 billion.
Analysts’ consensus opinion on PAYX stock is cautious, with a “Hold” rating overall. Out of 19 analysts covering the stock, 15 give a “Hold,” and four recommend a “Strong Sell.” PAYX’s average analyst price target is $114.93, indicating a potential upside of 22.9% from the current levels.
