Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) Stock Price & How to Invest

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is a Roseland, New Jersey-based global technology company providing cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions to businesses of every size, from single-employee firms using ADP RUN to large multinationals using ADP Workforce Now and Lyric. The company operates through two primary segments: Employer Services, which covers payroll processing, tax filing, benefits administration, talent management, time and attendance, and compliance; and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Services, under the ADP TotalSource brand, which co-employs client workers to deliver Fortune 500-level benefits packages to smaller firms. ADP also earns a meaningful stream of interest income by holding and investing the client funds it collects between payroll runs before remitting them to employees and tax authorities. Founded in 1949 by Henry Taub and Frank Lautenberg as a manual payroll processor and taken public in 1961, ADP pioneered computerized payroll in the 1960s and grew through decades of acquisitions and organic expansion into its present position as the market leader in global payroll software with roughly 9.9% market share. The company is led by President and CEO Maria Black, who took the helm in 2023, and employs approximately 67,000 people worldwide. ADP's fiscal year ends June 30, and its shares trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker ADP.

The numbers through fiscal 2026 were steady rather than dramatic. Revenue reached about $21.95 billion for the year ended June 30, 2026, up from $20.56 billion, and net income was about $4.41 billion. Adjusted EPS beat consensus in all four fiscal 2026 quarters, most recently $2.64 against $2.60 for the June quarter. The stock has recovered strongly from a 52-week low of $188.16: it closed at $287.25 on October 16, 2026, up about 13.6% year to date and 16.7% over three months, though only 2.5% above where it was a year earlier. Fiscal first-quarter 2027 results are scheduled for October 28, 2026, with analysts expecting adjusted EPS of about $2.77 on $5.47 billion of revenue.

ADP's growth is materially sensitive to employment levels and interest rates: a recession that raises unemployment reduces the headcount on which per-employee fees are charged, crimps new-business bookings, and may accelerate small-business client failures, while falling rates shrink the float income earned on client funds held between payroll cycles. A meaningful portion of recent earnings growth came from elevated interest income, a tailwind that the company itself flagged as likely to moderate. Technologically, more modern unified-database competitors such as Workday, Ceridian Dayforce, UKG, and fast-growing challengers like Rippling and Paycom continue to compete on user experience, integration simplicity, and AI capabilities, and could erode ADP's share in the enterprise and mid-market segments over time. Valuation risk has also returned: at about 26x trailing earnings and roughly at the average analyst price target of $286, the stock leaves less room for a disappointing fiscal 2027 start. Finally, ADP's reliance on third-party cloud infrastructure introduces operational concentration risk, and any significant service disruption could damage client trust in a business where payroll accuracy is non-negotiable.

15 analysts publish price targets on ADP, averaging $286.40 against a $288.90 price as of October 2026, or -0.9%. The published targets run from $225.00 to $322.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 4 buy, 12 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there have been 10 raises and 0 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full ADP forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Automatic Data Processing, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Sticky recurring revenue and elite client retention. ADP's Employer Services segment reported client retention of 92.1% in fiscal 2025, a product of deep operational integration: once payroll, tax filing, benefits, and compliance are running on ADP's platform, the cost and disruption of switching is high. The most optimistic published target, $322.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. ADP's growth is materially sensitive to employment levels and interest rates: a recession that raises unemployment reduces the headcount on which per-employee fees are charged, crimps new-business bookings, and may accelerate small-business client failures, while falling rates shrink the float income earned on client funds held between payroll cycles. The most pessimistic target, $225.00, is roughly what ADP is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on ADP, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Automatic Data Processing, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (FY2026, ended June 30, 2026): ~$22.0 billion (+~7%)
• Net Income (FY2026): ~$4.4 billion
• Adjusted Diluted EPS (FY2026, sum of quarters): ~$11.12
• Operating Margin (GAAP, TTM): ~23.5%
• Free Cash Flow (TTM): ~$5.2 billion
• P/E Ratio (trailing / forward): ~26x / ~21x
• Market Capitalization: ~$114 billion
• Dividend Yield: ~2.4% ($6.80 annual)

At $287.25, ADP trades near 26x trailing GAAP earnings and about 21x forward estimates, up from roughly 20x in mid-2026 and closer to its five-year average near 29-30x after a 17% three-month rally. Consensus for fiscal 2027 is about $23.2 billion of revenue and $12.26 of EPS, roughly 10% growth. The October 28, 2026 report is the first read on whether that pace is holding.

If you want ADP exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

Other names that sit close to ADP: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get ADP exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (NOBL), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so ADP sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where ADP fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

ADP is a recurring-revenue compounding machine: its payroll and HCM platform processes wages for a significant fraction of the U.S. workforce, it posted about $22.0 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue growing near 7%, and its adjusted diluted EPS has risen every year for over a decade, to roughly $11.12 in fiscal 2026. If you believe the global shift toward outsourced, cloud-based workforce administration continues and that ADP's scale advantages and switching costs protect margins through the economic cycle, the question becomes sizing and overlap with other dividend-growth or quality-factor positions, not timing; the risk is that a labor-market contraction or sustained rate decline erodes client funds float income while newer, nimbler HCM platforms continue to chip away at ADP's share. After a 17% three-month rally the valuation is also less of a cushion than it was in mid-2026.

Whether ADP is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is ADP a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the ADP stock forecast.

For income investors, whether ADP pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ADP pay a dividend? And to weigh ADP against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: ADP vs HCM and ADP vs WDAY.