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Paychex Flags Slower Growth in Profit, Revenue for Fiscal 2027; Shares Fall

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Paychex Flags Slower Growth in Profit, Revenue for Fiscal 2027; Shares Fall

Paychex (PAYX) on Wednesday issued a fiscal 2027 outlook that implies slower growth in both profit and revenue, and the company's shares fell intraday despite its fourth-quarter results topping analysts' estimates.

The human resources software provider anticipates full-year adjusted adjusted per-share earnings to grow by 7% to 9%, and revenue to increase by 5% to 6%. For the just-ended fiscal year, the company reported an 11% growth in adjusted EPS to $5.51 and a 17% jump in revenue to $6.51 billion.

For the current fiscal year, analysts in a FactSet poll are looking for adjusted EPS of $5.92 and sales of $6.87 billion. Those estimates imply full-year growth rates of 7.4% and 5.5%, respectively, based on' calculations.

Shares of Paychex were down 2.6% in Wednesday morning trade. The stock has tumbled about 15% since the start of the year.

"Our outlook reflects the current macro environment as well as the assumptions that employment levels will continue to remain flat for fiscal (2027)," Chief Financial Officer Bob Schrader said at an earnings conference call, according to a FactSet transcript.

For the quarter ended May 31, Paychex reported adjusted EPS of $1.32, up from $1.19 a year earlier, while Wall Street expected non-GAAP EPS of $1.31. Revenue grew 12% to $1.61 billion, while analysts projected sales of $1.60 billion.

Management solutions revenue surged 14% to $1.18 billion, with Paycor -- which the company acquired earlier in 2025 contributing about 8% to the segment's topline growth. Sales in the professional employer organization and insurance solutions division rose 9% to $369.7 million.

"These results reflect solid execution against two of our strategic priorities, the successful integration of Paycor to advance our upmarket expansion and (artificial intelligence) innovation that further differentiates our (human capital management) and advisory solutions," Chief Executive John Gibson said in a statement.

Price: $95.35, Change: $-2.65, Percent Change: -2.70%

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