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Side-by-side financial comparison of Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC) and Paychex (PAYX). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Paychex is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.5B vs $829.0M, roughly 1.8× Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc.). Paychex runs the higher net margin — 26.3% vs 0.5%, a 25.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Paychex posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.4% vs 7.5%). Over the past eight quarters, Paychex's revenue compounded faster (3.8% CAGR vs 2.0%).

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. is an American provider of for-profit behavioral healthcare services. It operates a network of over 225 facilities across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Paychex, Inc. is an American company that provides human resources, payroll, and employee benefits outsourcing services for small- to medium-sized businesses. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, the company has more than 100 offices serving approximately 800,000 payroll clients in the U.S. and Europe. Paychex is ranked 681st on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations by revenue.

ACHC vs PAYX — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PAYX
PAYX
1.8× larger
PAYX
$1.5B
$829.0M
ACHC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PAYX
PAYX
+9.8% gap
PAYX
17.4%
7.5%
ACHC
Higher net margin
PAYX
PAYX
25.8% more per $
PAYX
26.3%
0.5%
ACHC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PAYX
PAYX
Annualised
PAYX
3.8%
2.0%
ACHC

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Revenue
$829.0M
$1.5B
Net Profit
$4.5M
$395.4M
Gross Margin
72.6%
Operating Margin
38.0%
Net Margin
0.5%
26.3%
Revenue YoY
7.5%
17.4%
Net Profit YoY
-50.8%
-4.4%
EPS (diluted)
$0.05
$1.10

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$829.0M
Q4 25
$821.5M
$1.5B
Q3 25
$851.6M
$1.5B
Q2 25
$869.2M
$1.4B
Q1 25
$770.5M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$774.2M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$815.6M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$796.0M
$1.3B
Net Profit
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$4.5M
Q4 25
$-1.2B
$395.4M
Q3 25
$36.2M
$383.8M
Q2 25
$30.1M
$297.2M
Q1 25
$8.4M
$519.3M
Q4 24
$32.6M
$413.4M
Q3 24
$68.1M
$427.4M
Q2 24
$78.5M
$379.9M
Gross Margin
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
Q4 25
72.6%
Q3 25
72.3%
Q2 25
71.5%
Q1 25
73.6%
Q4 24
70.4%
Q3 24
70.3%
Q2 24
70.1%
Operating Margin
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
Q4 25
-142.4%
38.0%
Q3 25
4.7%
36.3%
Q2 25
5.8%
31.2%
Q1 25
1.7%
47.2%
Q4 24
4.9%
42.0%
Q3 24
12.1%
42.7%
Q2 24
13.4%
38.3%
Net Margin
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
0.5%
Q4 25
-143.3%
26.3%
Q3 25
4.3%
25.7%
Q2 25
3.5%
21.5%
Q1 25
1.1%
35.4%
Q4 24
4.2%
32.3%
Q3 24
8.4%
33.4%
Q2 24
9.9%
30.2%
EPS (diluted)
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$0.05
Q4 25
$-12.98
$1.10
Q3 25
$0.40
$1.06
Q2 25
$0.33
$0.83
Q1 25
$0.09
$1.43
Q4 24
$0.36
$1.14
Q3 24
$0.74
$1.18
Q2 24
$0.85
$1.05

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$158.5M
$1.5B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.5B
$5.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.0B
$3.9B
Total Assets
$5.5B
$16.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.29×
1.28×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$158.5M
Q4 25
$133.2M
$1.5B
Q3 25
$118.7M
$1.7B
Q2 25
$131.4M
$1.7B
Q1 25
$91.2M
$1.6B
Q4 24
$76.3M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$82.1M
$1.5B
Q2 24
$77.2M
$1.5B
Total Debt
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$2.5B
Q4 25
$2.5B
$5.0B
Q3 25
$2.3B
$5.0B
Q2 25
$2.3B
$4.9B
Q1 25
$2.2B
Q4 24
$2.0B
Q3 24
$1.9B
Q2 24
$1.8B
$798.6M
Stockholders' Equity
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$2.0B
Q4 25
$1.9B
$3.9B
Q3 25
$3.1B
$4.0B
Q2 25
$3.1B
$4.1B
Q1 25
$3.0B
$4.1B
Q4 24
$3.1B
$3.9B
Q3 24
$3.0B
$3.9B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$3.8B
Total Assets
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$5.5B
Q4 25
$5.5B
$16.5B
Q3 25
$6.4B
$16.7B
Q2 25
$6.3B
$16.6B
Q1 25
$6.1B
$11.2B
Q4 24
$6.0B
$10.6B
Q3 24
$5.9B
$10.5B
Q2 24
$5.7B
$10.4B
Debt / Equity
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
1.29×
Q4 25
1.28×
1.28×
Q3 25
0.74×
1.25×
Q2 25
0.74×
1.20×
Q1 25
0.72×
Q4 24
0.64×
Q3 24
0.62×
Q2 24
0.62×
0.21×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$61.5M
$444.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$382.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
25.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
13.78×
1.13×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$2.0B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
$61.5M
Q4 25
$-86.3M
$444.9M
Q3 25
$73.2M
$718.4M
Q2 25
$133.5M
$343.8M
Q1 25
$11.5M
$716.0M
Q4 24
$116.7M
$295.0M
Q3 24
$163.1M
$546.1M
Q2 24
$171.1M
$221.7M
Free Cash Flow
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-179.5M
$382.8M
Q3 25
$-63.0M
$662.5M
Q2 25
$-34.2M
$283.3M
Q1 25
$-163.2M
$667.3M
Q4 24
$-86.8M
$248.0M
Q3 24
$-27.1M
$510.5M
Q2 24
$16.9M
$180.4M
FCF Margin
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
Q4 25
-21.8%
25.5%
Q3 25
-7.4%
44.4%
Q2 25
-3.9%
20.5%
Q1 25
-21.2%
45.5%
Q4 24
-11.2%
19.4%
Q3 24
-3.3%
39.9%
Q2 24
2.1%
14.4%
Capex Intensity
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
Q4 25
11.3%
4.1%
Q3 25
16.0%
3.7%
Q2 25
19.3%
4.4%
Q1 25
22.7%
3.3%
Q4 24
26.3%
3.7%
Q3 24
23.3%
2.8%
Q2 24
19.4%
3.3%
Cash Conversion
ACHC
ACHC
PAYX
PAYX
Q1 26
13.78×
Q4 25
1.13×
Q3 25
2.02×
1.87×
Q2 25
4.43×
1.16×
Q1 25
1.37×
1.38×
Q4 24
3.58×
0.71×
Q3 24
2.39×
1.28×
Q2 24
2.18×
0.58×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ACHC
ACHC

Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities$471.0M57%
Other$140.0M17%
Specialty Treatment Facilities$128.0M15%
Residential Treatment Facilities$90.0M11%

PAYX
PAYX

Management Solutions$1.2B78%
Peo And Insurance Solutions$336.9M22%

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