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Side-by-side financial comparison of INGLES MARKETS INC (IMKTA) 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 $1.4B, roughly 1.1× INGLES MARKETS INC). Paychex runs the higher net margin — 26.3% vs 2.0%, a 24.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Paychex posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.4% vs 6.6%). Paychex produced more free cash flow last quarter ($382.8M vs $2.1M). Over the past eight quarters, Paychex's revenue compounded faster (3.8% CAGR vs 0.2%).

Ingles Markets, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. As of September 2021, the company operates 198 supermarkets in the Appalachian region of the Southeastern United States. The company is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IMKTA and is part of the Global Select Market tier of trading.

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.

IMKTA vs PAYX — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PAYX
PAYX
1.1× larger
PAYX
$1.5B
$1.4B
IMKTA
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PAYX
PAYX
+10.8% gap
PAYX
17.4%
6.6%
IMKTA
Higher net margin
PAYX
PAYX
24.3% more per $
PAYX
26.3%
2.0%
IMKTA
More free cash flow
PAYX
PAYX
$380.7M more FCF
PAYX
$382.8M
$2.1M
IMKTA
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PAYX
PAYX
Annualised
PAYX
3.8%
0.2%
IMKTA

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Revenue
$1.4B
$1.5B
Net Profit
$28.1M
$395.4M
Gross Margin
24.4%
72.6%
Operating Margin
2.9%
38.0%
Net Margin
2.0%
26.3%
Revenue YoY
6.6%
17.4%
Net Profit YoY
69.6%
-4.4%
EPS (diluted)
$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
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$1.4B
$1.5B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$1.3B
$1.5B
Q4 24
$1.3B
$1.3B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$1.3B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$1.3B
Q1 24
$1.4B
$1.4B
Net Profit
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$28.1M
$395.4M
Q3 25
$25.7M
$383.8M
Q2 25
$26.2M
$297.2M
Q1 25
$15.1M
$519.3M
Q4 24
$16.6M
$413.4M
Q3 24
$-1.5M
$427.4M
Q2 24
$31.7M
$379.9M
Q1 24
$31.9M
$498.6M
Gross Margin
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
24.4%
72.6%
Q3 25
24.5%
72.3%
Q2 25
24.3%
71.5%
Q1 25
23.4%
73.6%
Q4 24
23.4%
70.4%
Q3 24
21.4%
70.3%
Q2 24
23.7%
70.1%
Q1 24
23.5%
72.8%
Operating Margin
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
2.9%
38.0%
Q3 25
2.6%
36.3%
Q2 25
2.8%
31.2%
Q1 25
1.6%
47.2%
Q4 24
1.8%
42.0%
Q3 24
-0.1%
42.7%
Q2 24
3.2%
38.3%
Q1 24
3.3%
46.6%
Net Margin
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
2.0%
26.3%
Q3 25
1.9%
25.7%
Q2 25
1.9%
21.5%
Q1 25
1.1%
35.4%
Q4 24
1.3%
32.3%
Q3 24
-0.1%
33.4%
Q2 24
2.3%
30.2%
Q1 24
2.3%
35.7%
EPS (diluted)
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$1.10
Q3 25
$1.06
Q2 25
$0.83
Q1 25
$1.43
Q4 24
$1.14
Q3 24
$1.18
Q2 24
$1.05
Q1 24
$1.38

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.5B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$5.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.6B
$3.9B
Total Assets
$2.6B
$16.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.28×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$1.5B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.7B
Q1 25
$1.6B
Q4 24
$1.2B
Q3 24
$1.5B
Q2 24
$1.5B
Q1 24
$1.7B
Total Debt
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$5.0B
Q3 25
$514.8M
$5.0B
Q2 25
$4.9B
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
$532.6M
Q2 24
$798.6M
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$1.6B
$3.9B
Q3 25
$1.6B
$4.0B
Q2 25
$1.6B
$4.1B
Q1 25
$1.6B
$4.1B
Q4 24
$1.6B
$3.9B
Q3 24
$1.5B
$3.9B
Q2 24
$1.6B
$3.8B
Q1 24
$1.5B
$3.7B
Total Assets
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$2.6B
$16.5B
Q3 25
$2.6B
$16.7B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$16.6B
Q1 25
$2.5B
$11.2B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$10.6B
Q3 24
$2.5B
$10.5B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$10.4B
Q1 24
$2.5B
$13.0B
Debt / Equity
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
1.28×
Q3 25
0.32×
1.25×
Q2 25
1.20×
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
0.34×
Q2 24
0.21×
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$38.4M
$444.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$2.1M
$382.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.1%
25.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
4.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.37×
1.13×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$123.1M
$2.0B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$38.4M
$444.9M
Q3 25
$59.9M
$718.4M
Q2 25
$74.8M
$343.8M
Q1 25
$63.1M
$716.0M
Q4 24
$-43.6M
$295.0M
Q3 24
$73.3M
$546.1M
Q2 24
$103.3M
$221.7M
Q1 24
$70.4M
$671.7M
Free Cash Flow
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
$2.1M
$382.8M
Q3 25
$36.8M
$662.5M
Q2 25
$45.4M
$283.3M
Q1 25
$38.9M
$667.3M
Q4 24
$-81.4M
$248.0M
Q3 24
$5.4M
$510.5M
Q2 24
$58.6M
$180.4M
Q1 24
$35.3M
$631.0M
FCF Margin
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
0.1%
25.5%
Q3 25
2.7%
44.4%
Q2 25
3.4%
20.5%
Q1 25
2.9%
45.5%
Q4 24
-6.3%
19.4%
Q3 24
0.4%
39.9%
Q2 24
4.2%
14.4%
Q1 24
2.6%
45.2%
Capex Intensity
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
2.6%
4.1%
Q3 25
1.7%
3.7%
Q2 25
2.2%
4.4%
Q1 25
1.8%
3.3%
Q4 24
2.9%
3.7%
Q3 24
4.9%
2.8%
Q2 24
3.2%
3.3%
Q1 24
2.6%
2.9%
Cash Conversion
IMKTA
IMKTA
PAYX
PAYX
Q4 25
1.37×
1.13×
Q3 25
2.33×
1.87×
Q2 25
2.85×
1.16×
Q1 25
4.17×
1.38×
Q4 24
-2.63×
0.71×
Q3 24
1.28×
Q2 24
3.26×
0.58×
Q1 24
2.21×
1.35×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

IMKTA
IMKTA

Grocery$502.1M37%
Perishables$359.7M26%
Non Foods$305.5M22%
Gasoline$152.1M11%
Other$53.6M4%

PAYX
PAYX

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

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