Paychex, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Results: Sustained Growth in Revenue and Earnings

Paychex, Inc. today announced the following results for the fiscal quarter ended February 29, 2024 (the “third quarter”), as compared to the corresponding prior-year period:

President and Chief Executive Officer, John Gibson said, “Total revenue growth in the third fiscal quarter reflected a lower contribution from our Employee Retention Tax Credit (“ERTC”) Service as compared with the prior year period. Excluding this impact, total revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter. We also delivered 7% growth in diluted earnings per share and continued operating margin expansion in the quarter due to ongoing expense discipline during a period of moderating small business employment and wage growth. Small- and medium-sized businesses are dealing with a tight job market for qualified workers, reduced access to affordable growth capital, and inflationary pressures.”

Mr. Gibson also noted, “We remain committed to helping our clients succeed by providing them with the innovative technology solutions and HR expertise they need to navigate a complex and dynamic environment. We are continuing to prioritize investments in data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline our internal processes and offer greater value and actionable insights to our clients, as evidenced by our recent creation of a new role of senior vice president of data, analytics, and AI. We’re proud to announce the successful implementation of several additional innovative AI models that significantly improve results for Paychex and our clients. These span a wide range and include machine learning and large language models that are bolstering our client retention and upsell efforts, while also optimizing pricing strategies.”

Third Quarter Business Highlights

Total revenue increased to $1.4 billion for the third quarter, growth of 4% over the prior year period. Highlights as compared with the corresponding prior year period are as follows:

Management Solutions revenue increased 2% to $1.0 billion for the third quarter primarily impacted by the following factors:

• Growth in the number of clients served across our suite of human capital management (“HCM”) solutions;
• Higher product penetration, including HR Solutions and Retirement; and
• A decline in revenue from ancillary services, primarily due to the winding down of our ERTC Service, which impacted growth by approximately 300 basis points.

Professional Employer Organization (“PEO”) and Insurance Solutions revenue increased 8% to $345.5 million for the third quarter primarily due to the following:

• Growth in the number of average PEO worksite employees; and
• Increase in PEO insurance revenues.

Interest on funds held for clients increased 25% to $43.9 million for the third quarter primarily due to higher average interest rates.

Total expenses increased 3% to $789.5 million for the third quarter primarily due to the following:

• Higher compensation costs driven by increases in average headcount and wage rates; and
• Increase in PEO direct insurance costs related to growth in average worksite employees and PEO insurance revenues.

Operating income grew 6% to $649.8 million for the third quarter. Operating margin (operating income as a percentage of total revenue) expanded by approximately 80 basis points to 45.1% for the third quarter compared to 44.3% for the prior year period.

Other income, net increased $3.9 million to $9.4 million for the third quarter primarily as a result of higher average interest rates earned on our corporate investments.

Diluted earnings per share and adjusted diluted earnings per share⁽¹⁾ increased 7% to $1.38 per share for the third quarter.

Fiscal Year-To-Date Business Highlights

Highlights for the nine months ended February 29, 2024 (the “nine months”) as compared with the corresponding prior year period are as follows:

• Total revenue increased 5% to $4.0 billion.
• Operating income increased 7% to $1.7 billion.
• Diluted earnings per share increased 9% to $3.62 per share. Adjusted diluted earnings per share⁽¹⁾ increased 9% to $3.60 per share.

Financial Position and Liquidity

Our financial position and cash flow generation remained strong during the first nine months of the fiscal year. As of February 29, 2024, we had:

• Cash, restricted cash, and total corporate investments of $1.8 billion.
• Short-term and long-term borrowings, net of debt issuance costs, of $817.3 million.
• Cash flow from operations was $1.7 billion for the nine months.

Return to Stockholders During the Nine Months

• Paid cumulative dividends of $2.67 per share totaling $962.5 million.
• Repurchased 1.5 million shares of our common stock for $169.2 million.

• In addition to reporting net income and diluted earnings per share, which are U.S. GAAP measures, we present adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”), which are non-GAAP measures. We believe these additional measures are indicators of our core business operations’ performance period over period. Adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, and EBITDA are not calculated through the application of U.S. GAAP and are not required forms of disclosure by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). As such, they should not be considered a substitute for the U.S. GAAP measures of net income, and diluted earnings per share, and, therefore, they should not be used in isolation but in conjunction with the U.S. GAAP measures. The use of any non-GAAP measure may produce results that vary from the U.S. GAAP measure and may not be comparable to a similarly defined non-GAAP measure used by other companies.

  Business Outlook

  Our business outlook for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2024 (“fiscal 2024”) incorporates current assumptions and market conditions. Changes in the macroeconomic environment could alter our guidance. With consideration of these impacts, we have updated our business outlook as follows:

  • Management Solutions revenue is now anticipated to grow in the range of 3.5% to 4.0%.
  • Total revenue is now anticipated to grow in the range of 5% to 6%.
  • Other income, net is now anticipated to be in the range of $40 million to $45 million.
  • Other aspects of our guidance for fiscal 2024 remain unchanged from what we provided previously.

  Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG“)

  As part of what it means to be Paychex, we are focusing our ESG efforts on actions we can take to create positive impact. To learn more about our latest initiatives, please visit our Corporate Social Responsibility webpage. The information available on our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this press release.

  Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“Form 10-Q”)

  We anticipate filing our Form 10-Q for the third quarter within the next day, and it will be available at https://investor.paychex.com. This press release should be read in conjunction with the Form 10-Q and the related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained in that Form 10-Q.