Golf Clap for Paychex

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Paychex (NAS: PAYX) reported earnings on June 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended May 31 (Q4), Paychex met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased and GAAP earnings per share increased.


Gross margins expanded, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Paychex reported revenue of $551.5 million. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $558.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.5% higher than the prior-year quarter's $522.7 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.34. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.34 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.34 for Q4 were 3.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.33 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 68.9%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 35.5%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.4%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $594.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.38 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.63.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,482 members out of 1,555 rating the stock outperform, and 73 members rating it underperform. Among 530 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 516 give Paychex a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Paychex is hold, with an average price target of $32.39.

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The article Golf Clap for Paychex originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jaysonowned shares of the following at the time of publication: Paychex. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Paychex. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a write covered straddle position in Paychex. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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