PAYX Paychex margins

Relative Growth: Rel. Growth: 71

Relative Strength: Rel. Strength: 39

Relative Valuation: Rel. Valuation: 53

Relative Profitability: Rel. Profitability: 96

Gross margin

74.4%

Operating margin

39.2%

EBITDA margin

46.8%

Net margin

27.4%

The Paychex reports a gross margin of 74.4%, an operating margin of 39.2%, an EBITDA margin of 46.8%, and a net margin of 27.4%. Among the available margins, EBITDA margin improved the most and net margin declined the most, by 2.6 and 0.5 percentage points respectively.

PAYX margin history

Gross, operating, EBITDA and net margin trends

Over the last 3 years, Paychex's margins averaged 72.67% gross, 39.72% operating, 45.64% EBITDA, and 29.64% net. For Paychex, gross and EBITDA margins are above their three-year averages, while operating and net margins are below their three-year averages.

PAYX margin expansion

Year-over-year margin changes in percentage points

The strongest improvement was in EBITDA margin, which increased by 2.6 percentage points, and gross margin also expanded by 1.6 percentage points and operating margin also expanded by 1.2 percentage points, whereas net margin contracted by 0.5 percentage points.

Gross margin expansion

1.6pp

Operating margin expansion

1.2pp

EBITDA margin expansion

2.6pp

Net margin expansion

-0.5pp

PAYX Gross margin

Over the last 3 years, the average gross margin for Paychex was 72.67%. The latest gross margin for Paychex is 74.4%, 1.7 percentage points above its three-year average. Paychex's gross margin ranged from a low of 71.5% in Nov 2023 to a high of 74.4% in Aug 2026.

PAYX Operating margin

Across the last 3 years, Paychex had an average operating margin of 39.72%. Paychex's current operating margin is 39.2% and is 0.5 percentage points below its three-year average. Looking back over the last 3 years, Paychex's operating margin reached 41.5% at its highest point in Feb 2025 and 36.9% at its lowest in Feb 2026.

PAYX EBITDA margin

The average EBITDA margin for Paychex was 45.64% during the last 3 years. Right now, the current EBITDA margin for Paychex is 46.8%, 1.2 percentage points above its three-year average. The EBITDA margin for Paychex moved between 44.1% in Nov 2025 and 46.8% in Aug 2026.

PAYX Net margin

Paychex recorded an average net margin of 29.64% across the last 3 years. Paychex currently reports a net margin of 27.4%, 2.2 percentage points below its three-year average. The net margin for Paychex moved between 25.8% in Feb 2026 and 32% in Feb 2025.

PAYX margin group comparison

Margins compared with peer-group, industry and sector averages

With a gross margin of 74.4%, PAYX stands higher than the Industrials sector and the industry average. Looking at the Industrials sector average of 32.7%, Paychex's gross margin is 128% higher.

PAYX margin peer comparison

Compare margins with selected peers

Frequently asked questions

What is Paychex's gross margin?

For the period ending Aug 31, 2026, PAYX recorded a gross margin of 74.4%.

What is Paychex's operating margin?

The current operating margin for PAYX is 39.2% as of Aug 31, 2026.

What is Paychex's EBITDA margin?

The current EBITDA margin for PAYX is 46.8% as of Aug 31, 2026.

What is Paychex's net margin?

The current net margin for PAYX is 27.4% as of Aug 31, 2026.

What are the average margins of PAYX?

Paychex's average margins over the last 3 years were 72.7% gross, 39.7% operating, 45.6% EBITDA, and 29.6% net.

What are the highest historical margins of PAYX?

Over the last 5 years, Paychex's highest margins were 74.4% gross in Aug 2026, 41.5% operating in Feb 2025, 46.8% EBITDA in Aug 2026, and 32% net in Feb 2025.

What are the lowest historical margins of PAYX?

Over this 5-year history, Paychex's margins fell as low as 70.3% gross in Nov 2021, 36.9% operating in Feb 2026, 43.4% EBITDA in Nov 2021, and 25.8% net in Feb 2026.