Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Announces Earnings Results

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The software maker reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $451.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.12 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%. Paylocity’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Paylocity’s conference call:

• Paylocity reported Q1 recurring and other revenue of $424.5 million, up 12%, and total revenue of $451.7 million, up nearly 11%, beating its guidance. Adjusted EBITDA was $159.5 million, a 35.3% margin, also above expectations.
• The company raised fiscal 2027 guidance, increasing its total revenue outlook by $30 million at the midpoint to $1.910 billion–$1.925 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $711.5 million–$721.5 million. The outlook assumes no further interest-rate changes this fiscal year and includes an estimated $118 million in interest income on client funds.
• Management highlighted growing AI adoption and monetization opportunities: Ignite AI has answered nearly 30 million questions and surfaced more than 3 billion recommendations, while Recruiting Optimizer is offered as a premium solution. The company cited early customer results including 35% higher recruiting productivity and roles filled 25% faster.
• Management described demand as stable and Q1 growth as balanced across new customers, ARPU, product sales into the existing base, and client retention; referral partners generated more than 25% of new business. It also repurchased 1.1 million shares for $152.5 million and said it expects to remain active under its buyback program.
• Gross margin declined year over year, which management attributed to timing and staffing for newer offerings, rather than AI-related costs. It expects margins to improve through the year, while total R&D investment rose nearly 15% year over year to support product development.

Paylocity Stock Performance

PCTY traded up $3.58 on Friday, hitting $173.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,225,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,017. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.44. The firm has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.43. Paylocity has a 12 month low of $92.99 and a 12 month high of $180.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Insider Activity at Paylocity

In other Paylocity news, Chairman Steven R. Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $2,478,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares in the company, valued at $205,432,730.58. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Steven Sarowitz sold 19,459 shares of Paylocity stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total value of $3,070,241.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,453,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,672,441.10. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,704 shares of company stock worth $25,137,741. 19.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paylocity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: For Q1 fiscal 2027, Paylocity reported adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share, versus the $1.93 consensus, and revenue of $451.7 million, above the $443.1 million estimate. Revenue increased 10.7% year over year, while recurring and other revenue rose 12%. The company’s full-year outlook slightly exceeded expectations. Paylocity Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases added to the upbeat tone: Citizens JMP raised its target to $200 and kept a market outperform rating; Truist raised its target to $200 and maintained Buy; and BTIG lifted its target to $210 and reiterated Buy. Citizens JMP recommendations Truist target change BTIG Research recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Paylocity repurchased $152.5 million of shares during the quarter, continuing a buyback program that may support per-share results. It also completed the acquisition of Aidora to expand AI-powered leave-management capabilities. Quarterly results release
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $176 but maintained an Equal Weight rating, signaling a more cautious view than the other target revisions. Barclays recommendations

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Paylocity from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Paylocity from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Paylocity from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.47.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll software for organizations. Its platform is designed to help employers manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce administration through an integrated system.

The company also offers tools for time and labor management, scheduling, employee communications, engagement, surveys, expense management, and other workplace activities.