Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY)

Price$146.59Cached quoteAs of 2026-10-05 16:41 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look roughly fair, with strong cash generation offset by slower expected growth.

At the observed quote, Paylocity trades at about 32 times fiscal 2026 diluted earnings. Using company-defined free cash flow—cash left after operating, property spending, and capitalized software—the equity yield is about 5%; excluding interest earned on client payroll funds, it is about 3.6%. Management guides recurring and other revenue to roughly 8% growth in fiscal 2027, down from 12.2%. That is not a clear value bargain, but the cash profile and balance sheet support a premium, so the evidence is balanced.

Big pictureGrowth remains healthy, but next year’s outlook asks investors to accept a slower pace.

The supplied history shows recurring and other revenue rose 12.2% in fiscal 2026, while operating income increased about 27%, net income about 19%, and operating cash flow about 28%. Paylocity served roughly 44,400 clients, up around 7% annually from fiscal 2024, with average client size above 150 employees. The cycle still matters: weaker employment can reduce payroll activity and demand, while lower rates already pushed client-funds interest income down 3% to about $120 million despite higher client balances.

Business strengthCash generation, net cash, and buybacks give the business meaningful financial resilience.

Year-end cash was about $272 million against roughly $81 million of debt, leaving about $191 million of net cash. Operating cash flow reached about $533 million, while company-defined free cash flow rose to about $428 million from $343 million; excluding client-funds interest, it increased to about $308 million from $219 million. Paylocity spent about $398 million on buybacks, shrinking shares outstanding nearly 4% year over year. Stock compensation remained sizable at about $139 million, and earlier buybacks were sometimes made at materially higher prices.

What could change the storyThe bull case needs durable double-digit profit growth; weaker hiring or lower rates would hurt.

The strongest bull case is continued client growth, higher spending per client, and successful cross-selling from newer finance, recruiting, and artificial-intelligence products. The bear case is slower growth plus accounting help: fiscal 2027 recurring revenue is guided near 8%, while a longer amortization period for contract costs lifts adjusted profit margins by about 1.2 to 1.4 percentage points without changing cash. At roughly 32 times earnings, a 10% annual return over five years would require about 12% earnings growth if the future multiple is 30, or about 16% if it falls to 25.

AI: News

Strong fiscal 2026 finishFourth-quarter results beat expectations and fiscal 2027 guidance eased fears about slowing growth.

On August 4, Paylocity reported quarterly revenue of $444.7 million, up 11%, and adjusted earnings of $1.84 per share versus roughly $1.62 expected. Fiscal 2027 recurring and other revenue guidance calls for about 8% growth. The shares rose about 3.1% in the next session. That timing is consistent with a favorable earnings reaction, but it does not prove the report was the only cause of the move.

Buybacks backed stronger quarterThird-quarter results and a larger buyback authorization reinforced confidence in cash generation and capital returns.

On May 7, Paylocity reported quarterly revenue of $502.3 million, up 10.5%, and increased its fiscal-year revenue and profitability outlook. The board had also expanded the share-repurchase authorization by $1.0 billion, leaving about $1.35 billion available at that point. Shares gained about 1.7% in the next session. The move was modest, so the attribution to earnings and buybacks should be treated as plausible rather than certain.

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Revenue

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Financial statements

	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
Revenue	$1.65B	$1.47B	$1.28B	$1.10B	$847.7M	$631.7M	$546.2M	$447.8M	$368.4M	$300.0M	$230.7M	$152.7M	$108.7M	$77.3M	$55.1M
Gross profit	$1.23B	$1.10B	$960.8M	$807.6M	$565.6M	$416.3M	$379.3M	$313.8M	$228.3M	$176.0M	$132.6M	$81.8M	$53.6M	$37.6M	$26.0M
Gross margin	74.21%	74.53%	74.96%	73.55%	66.73%	65.90%	69.45%	70.08%	61.97%	58.67%	57.48%	53.57%	49.31%	48.68%	47.19%
Research & development	$221.4M	$205.9M	$178.3M	$164.0M	$102.9M	$76.7M	$62.8M	$50.3M	$37.6M	$29.1M	$26.7M	$19.9M	$10.4M	$6.8M	$1.8M
Operating expenses	$839.5M	$793.0M	$700.7M	$652.5M	$481.1M	$358.3M	$313.1M	$257.6M	$212.4M	$168.7M	$136.2M	$95.7M	$60.6M	$37.6M	$23.2M
Operating income	$386.0M	$304.0M	$260.1M	$155.0M	$84.6M	$58.0M	$66.2M	$56.2M	$15.9M	$7.3M	−$3.5M	−$13.9M	−$7.0M	$31,000	$2.8M
Operating margin	23.37%	20.66%	20.29%	14.12%	9.98%	9.19%	12.11%	12.56%	4.33%	2.43%	−1.54%	−9.12%	−6.46%	0.04%	5.02%
EBITDA	$497.8M	$403.7M	$336.5M	$215.9M	$134.8M	$101.0M	$104.1M	$90.8M	$46.2M	$28.3M	$10.3M	−$5.3M	−$682,000	$5.6M	$7.4M
EBITDA margin	30.14%	27.43%	26.26%	19.66%	15.90%	15.99%	19.06%	20.28%	12.53%	9.44%	4.47%	−3.48%	−0.63%	7.25%	13.42%
Net income	$269.7M	$227.1M	$206.8M	$140.8M	$90.8M	$70.8M	$64.5M	$53.8M	$38.6M	$6.7M	−$3.9M	−$14.0M	−$7.1M	$617,000	$1.7M
Net profit margin	16.33%	15.43%	16.13%	12.82%	10.71%	11.21%	11.80%	12.02%	10.48%	2.24%	−1.67%	−9.15%	−6.54%	0.80%	3.06%
Basic EPSper basic share	$4.99	$4.08	$3.68	$2.53	$1.65	$1.30	$1.20	$1.02	$0.74	$0.13	-$0.08	-$0.28	-$0.26	-$0.07	$0.02
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$4.92	$4.02	$3.63	$2.49	$1.61	$1.26	$1.15	$0.97	$0.70	$0.12	-$0.08	-$0.28	-$0.26	-$0.07	$0.02

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

≈15.89%of listed shares

Sarowitz Steven I8.46M shares · Sep 17, 2025

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of PCTY
Holder	% owned
Sarowitz Steven I	≈15.89%8.46M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	7.73%4.12M shares
T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc.	5.83%3.11M shares
AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	4.42%2.35M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	4.10%2.19M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	3.65%1.95M shares
Beauchamp Steven R	≈3.63%1.93M shares
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC	2.81%1.5M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	2.68%1.43M shares
STATE STREET CORP	2.62%1.4M shares
UBS Group AG	2.43%1.3M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	2.40%1.28M shares
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP	2.14%1.14M shares
Quantinno Capital Management LP	1.98%1.06M shares
ARROWSTREET CAPITAL, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP	1.75%930.46K shares
Point72 Asset Management, L.P.	1.70%904.67K shares
BNP PARIBAS FINANCIAL MARKETS	1.58%843.51K shares
Assenagon Asset Management S.A.	1.56%829.26K shares
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/	1.50%798.04K shares
MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC	1.40%743.85K shares

Percentages use 53.27M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 4 ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)839$283.53M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 4, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Cappotelli AndrewSr Vice President Operations	SellCommon Stock, par value $0.001	70	$116.35	$8.1K	17.6K
Jun 1, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Glenn RyanChief Financial Officer	SellCommon Stock, par value $0.001	1.0K	$117.55	$121.5K	67.4K
May 19, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Cappotelli AndrewSr Vice President Operations	SellCommon Stock, par value $0.001	899	$115.05	$103.4K	17.7K
May 19, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Rost NicholasVP CAO & Treasurer	SellCommon Stock, par value $0.001	521	$115.05	$59.9K	6.7K
Mar 4, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Cappotelli AndrewSr Vice President Operations	SellCommon Stock, par value $0.001	70	$112.48	$7.9K	19.3K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY)

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