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Side-by-side financial comparison of Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Paylocity Holding Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($387.0M vs $305.9M, roughly 1.3× Strategic Education, Inc.). Paylocity Holding Corp runs the higher net margin — 13.0% vs 10.7%, a 2.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Paylocity Holding Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.3% vs 0.8%). Paylocity Holding Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($113.6M vs $77.3M). Over the past eight quarters, Paylocity Holding Corp's revenue compounded faster (2.7% CAGR vs -1.0%).
Paylocity Holding Corporation is an American provider of cloud-based payroll, , spend management, and human capital management (HCM) software.
Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.
PCTY vs STRA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $387.0M | $305.9M |
| Net Profit | $50.2M | $32.8M |
| Gross Margin | 72.9% | — |
| Operating Margin | 18.2% | 13.4% |
| Net Margin | 13.0% | 10.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 11.3% | 0.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | 34.0% | 10.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.92 | $1.48 |
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.
| Q1 26 | — | $305.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $387.0M | $323.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $378.9M | $319.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $369.9M | $321.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $421.1M | $303.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $347.7M | $311.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $333.1M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $324.7M | $312.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $32.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $50.2M | $37.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $48.0M | $26.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $48.6M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $91.5M | $29.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $37.5M | $25.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $49.6M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $48.8M | $29.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 72.9% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 73.9% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 73.5% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 77.1% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 72.6% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 74.4% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 74.0% | — |
| Q1 26 | — | 13.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 18.2% | 16.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 19.6% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 17.9% | 14.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 30.2% | 13.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 13.4% | 11.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.3% | 11.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 19.4% | 13.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 10.7% | ||
| Q4 25 | 13.0% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.7% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.1% | 10.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 21.7% | 9.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 10.8% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 14.9% | 9.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 15.0% | 9.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.48 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.92 | $1.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.86 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.87 | $1.37 | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.61 | $1.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.66 | $1.05 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.88 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.85 | $1.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $162.5M | $150.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $81.3M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.1B | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | $7.0B | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.07× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $150.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $162.5M | $148.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $165.2M | $172.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $398.1M | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $477.8M | $182.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $482.4M | $184.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $778.5M | $222.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $401.8M | $256.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $81.3M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $81.3M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $162.5M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $243.8M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $325.0M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $325.0M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $0 | — |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.2B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.2B | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.2B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.0B | $1.7B |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $7.0B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.2B | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.4B | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $5.2B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.3B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $4.0B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $4.2B | $2.2B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.07× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.07× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.13× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.20× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.28× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.29× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.00× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $117.0M | $87.4M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $113.6M | $77.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 29.4% | 25.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 0.9% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.33× | 2.66× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $461.1M | $173.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $87.4M | ||
| Q4 25 | $117.0M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $86.5M | $60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $86.6M | $31.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $186.0M | $67.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $54.2M | $15.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $91.5M | $51.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $79.9M | $24.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $77.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $113.6M | $27.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $82.7M | $49.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $81.1M | $20.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $183.7M | $57.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $51.2M | $4.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $89.1M | $42.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $73.6M | $13.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | 25.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 29.4% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 21.8% | 15.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 21.9% | 6.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 43.6% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.7% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 26.8% | 13.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 22.7% | 4.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.9% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.0% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.9% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.7% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.9% | 3.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.66× | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.33× | 1.03× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.80× | 2.26× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.78× | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.03× | 2.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.45× | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.84× | 1.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.64× | 0.81× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
PCTY
| Recurring Fees | $370.1M | 96% |
| Implementation Services And Other | $16.9M | 4% |
STRA
| U.S. Higher Education | $212.6M | 69% |
| Australia/New Zealand | $51.8M | 17% |
| Education Technology Services | $41.5M | 14% |
