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Forensic Analysis · Consulting & Engineering Services · as of Nov 9, 2026

Paychex Inc (PAYX)

A forensic read on Paychex Inc built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Grey Zone
Financial health
2.4
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
1
Forensic signals
44.8%
ROE
16.9%
Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Paychex Inc earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 2.4, placing it in the Grey zone. 1 forensic signal was flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

95% of FCF
FY2026
Shareholder returns. Returned $2.2B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2026 — 95% of free cash flow. Right at the limit of what free cash flow covers — little room before it's funded by debt or the balance sheet. Counting the $96M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 99%.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$6.51B
Revenue Growth YoY+16.9%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+11.1%
Net Margin27.0%
Free Cash Flow$2.32B
Return on Equity44.8%
Debt / Equity1.22x

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

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