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Side-by-side financial comparison of Dayforce (DAY) and Paychex (PAYX), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Paychex is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.5B vs $481.6M, roughly 3.1× Dayforce). Paychex runs the higher net margin — -40.9% vs 26.3%, a 67.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Paychex posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (17.4% vs 9.5%). Over the past eight quarters, Dayforce's revenue compounded faster (9.8% CAGR vs 3.8%).
Dayforce, Inc., formerly Ceridian, is an American human resources software and services company.
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.
DAY vs PAYX — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q3 2025 vs Q2 2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $481.6M | $1.5B |
| Net Profit | $-196.8M | $395.4M |
| Gross Margin | — | 72.6% |
| Operating Margin | 6.3% | 38.0% |
| Net Margin | -40.9% | 26.3% |
| Revenue YoY | 9.5% | 17.4% |
| Net Profit YoY | -9940.0% | -4.4% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-1.23 | $1.10 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $481.6M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | $464.7M | $1.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $481.8M | $1.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $465.2M | $1.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $440.0M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $423.3M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $431.5M | $1.4B |
| Q4 25 | — | $395.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-196.8M | $383.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $21.3M | $297.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $14.9M | $519.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $10.8M | $413.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.0M | $427.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-1.8M | $379.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $7.1M | $498.6M |
| Q4 25 | — | 72.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 72.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 71.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 73.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 47.0% | 70.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 45.8% | 70.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 44.1% | 70.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 47.6% | 72.8% |
| Q4 25 | — | 38.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.3% | 36.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 9.1% | 31.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 6.4% | 47.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 6.1% | 42.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.7% | 42.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.3% | 38.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 9.4% | 46.6% |
| Q4 25 | — | 26.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | -40.9% | 25.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.6% | 21.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.1% | 35.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.3% | 32.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.5% | 33.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | -0.4% | 30.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.6% | 35.7% |
| Q4 25 | — | $1.10 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-1.23 | $1.06 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.13 | $0.83 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.09 | $1.43 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.07 | $1.14 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.01 | $1.18 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-0.01 | $1.05 | ||
| Q1 24 | $0.04 | $1.38 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $627.6M | $1.5B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $631.1M | $5.0B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $2.7B | $3.9B |
| Total Assets | $8.7B | $16.5B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.23× | 1.28× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $627.6M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $625.2M | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $557.3M | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $579.7M | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $494.1M | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $465.4M | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $392.5M | $1.7B |
| Q4 25 | — | $5.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $631.1M | $5.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $631.8M | $4.9B | ||
| Q1 25 | $632.4M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.2B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.2B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.2B | $798.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.2B | — |
| Q4 25 | — | $3.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.7B | $4.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.7B | $4.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.6B | $4.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.5B | $3.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.6B | $3.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.5B | $3.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.4B | $3.7B |
| Q4 25 | — | $16.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $8.7B | $16.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $8.5B | $16.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $9.5B | $11.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $9.1B | $10.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $8.1B | $10.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $9.0B | $10.4B | ||
| Q1 24 | $10.8B | $13.0B |
| Q4 25 | — | 1.28× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.23× | 1.25× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.23× | 1.20× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.24× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.47× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.47× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.49× | 0.21× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.50× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $31.2M | $444.9M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $382.8M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 25.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | — | 4.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | — | 1.13× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $2.0B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | — | $444.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $31.2M | $718.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $112.7M | $343.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $49.6M | $716.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $81.0M | $295.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $91.8M | $546.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $99.2M | $221.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $9.1M | $671.7M |
| Q4 25 | — | $382.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $662.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $283.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $667.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $248.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $510.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $180.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $631.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | 25.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 44.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 20.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 45.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 19.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 39.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 14.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 45.2% |
| Q4 25 | — | 4.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 3.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 4.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 3.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 3.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 2.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 3.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 2.9% |
| Q4 25 | — | 1.13× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.87× | ||
| Q2 25 | 5.29× | 1.16× | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.33× | 1.38× | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.50× | 0.71× | ||
| Q3 24 | 45.90× | 1.28× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.58× | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.28× | 1.35× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
DAY
| Dayforce Recurring | $333.0M | 69% |
| Cloud And Bureau Professional Services And Other | $78.5M | 16% |
| Float | $42.2M | 9% |
| Powerpay Recurring | $19.7M | 4% |
| Other Recurring | $8.2M | 2% |
PAYX
| Management Solutions | $1.2B | 78% |
| Peo And Insurance Solutions | $336.9M | 22% |
