Paychex Q1 Earnings & Revenues Surpass Estimates, Increase Y/Y

Paychex, Inc. PAYX has reported impressive first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.PAYX’s fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin and increased 5.2% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.5 billion surpassed the consensus estimate marginally and rose 16.8% from the year-ago quarter.The company’s shares have declined 8.7% in a year compared with the 35.4% and 18.9% respective rallies of the industry and the Zacks S&P 500 composite.Paychex, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Paychex, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Paychex, Inc. QuotePAYX’s Quarterly PerformanceRevenues from the Management Solutions segment improved 21% year over year to $1.2 billion, meeting our estimate. An increase in the number of clients served, fueled by the Paycor buyout and the addition of client worksite employees for Human Resources Solutions, benefited this segment. The segment received an additional boost from higher revenues per client on the acquired company’s upmarket client base, price realization and product penetration.Professional employer organization (“PEO”) and Insurance Solutions’ revenues were $329.1 million, up 3% from the year-ago quarter. The figure beat our estimate of $339 million. The rising number of average PEO worksite employees and PEO insurance revenues fueled this segment.Service revenues gained 17% year over year to $1.5 billion, meeting our projected $1.5 billion. Interest on funds held for clients rose 27% from the year-ago quarter to $47.6 million, missing our estimation of $41.2 million.EBITDA of $656.3 million increased 12% from the year-ago quarter, surpassing our estimate of $631.4 million. Operating income dipped 1% year over year to $541.9 million, missing our projection of $589.9 million. The operating margin was 35.2%, down 630 basis points from the year-ago quarter. The reported figure missed our estimate of 38.4%.Balance Sheet & Cash Flow of PaychexThe company exited the first quarter of fiscal 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $809 million compared with $1.6 billion in the preceding quarter. The long-term debt totaled $4.6 billion compared with $4.5 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.Cash generated from operating activities amounted to $718.4 million, while the capital expenditure totaled $55.9 million.PAYX’S FY26 GuidancePaychex expects revenues to grow 16.5-18.5%. Management expects $190-$200 million in interest on funds held for clients.The company carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Earnings SnapshotsAccenture plc ACN reported impressive fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results.ACN’s earnings were $3.03 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.7%. The metric increased 8.6% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $17.6 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.6% and rose 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.FactSet FDS posted mixed results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.FDS’s earnings per share of $4.05 missed the consensus mark by 2.4% but increased 8.3% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $596.9 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin and 6.2% from the year-ago quarter.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Accenture PLC (ACN): Free Stock Analysis Report Paychex, Inc. (PAYX): Free Stock Analysis Report FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks