Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
PAY is Paymentus Holdings, a cloud-based electronic bill payment (EBPP) provider that you can buy as US-listed common stock on the NYSE. It is a fast-growing, profitable SaaS-style fintech worth roughly $4 billion as of October 16, 2026, and at about 48x trailing earnings (29x forward) it trades at a premium valuation that reflects those growth expectations.
PAY stock price
As of 2026-10-23, Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) last closed at $33.35, up 6.9% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $20.21 and $44.60.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Paymentus Holdings, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) do?
Paymentus Holdings runs a cloud-native platform that lets billers (utilities, government agencies, insurers, telecoms, and financial institutions) accept and manage electronic bill payments across many channels, including web, mobile app, IVR phone, chat, SMS, and walk-in, all synchronized in real time. Its differentiator is a single-codebase platform and its Instant Payment Network (IPN), which links roughly 2,500-plus billers to high-traffic consumer endpoints such as PayPal, Amazon, and Walmart. Revenue comes from a mix of per-transaction fees, hosted subscription portals, and premium add-ons, producing recurring, sticky enterprise relationships with high retention.
The investment picture centers on durable double-digit growth paired with expanding profits. Fiscal 2025 revenue rose about 37% to roughly $1.2 billion and net income grew to about $67 million. Through 2026 the momentum held: second-quarter revenue reached about $361 million (up roughly 29% year over year), net income was about $26 million, and EPS of $0.25 beat the $0.19 consensus, the fourth straight quarter ahead of estimates. Trailing revenue is now about $1.36 billion with roughly $85 million of net income, and the balance sheet carries about $378 million of cash against only about $10 million of debt. The tension is valuation: at around $31.57 a share (up about 11% year to date and about 9% over the past year, though down roughly 10% in the past month), the stock carries a growth-oriented multiple, so results and guidance need to keep outperforming for the shares to work, and the payments space is crowded with much larger competitors. Third-quarter results are scheduled for November 2, 2026.
What's driving Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)?
1. Structural shift to digital bill pay
Utilities, municipalities, and insurers continue migrating away from paper and legacy systems toward modern digital payment platforms. Paymentus benefits from this multi-year conversion because billers tend to sign long-term contracts and expand transaction volumes over time. In September 2026 it reached Premier level in Guidewire's PartnerConnect program, which deepens its reach into insurers that run on Guidewire's core systems.
2. Transaction volume and network effects
Transaction counts have been growing in the high teens year over year, and the Instant Payment Network connects billers to large consumer platforms. More billers and more consumer endpoints reinforce each other, supporting recurring, usage-based revenue. Quarterly revenue climbed from about $311 million in the third quarter of 2025 to about $361 million in the second quarter of 2026.
3. Margin expansion and profitability
Profit is growing much faster than revenue: trailing net income of about $85 million is up roughly 82% year over year on revenue growth near 29%, and quarterly net income rose from about $18 million to about $26 million over the last four reported quarters. Unlike many growth fintechs, Paymentus is GAAP profitable and generated about $110 million of free cash flow over the past year, which removes any dependence on external funding.
4. New products including AI-native tools
Management has been rolling out new offerings, including a patented AI-oriented bill wallet concept, aimed at deepening engagement and adding premium revenue. Successful adoption could extend the growth runway beyond core bill presentment and payment, which matters more as consensus expects revenue growth to cool from about 37% in 2026 to about 19% in 2027.
What are the risks to Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)?
Valuation is the primary risk: the shares trade near 48x trailing and 29x forward earnings, so any deceleration in revenue growth or a guidance miss could compress the stock sharply, and the stock has already swung between about $20 and $45 over the past 52 weeks. Growth is expected to slow: consensus looks for third-quarter revenue of about $358 million, roughly flat with the second quarter, and growth of around 18% in the fourth quarter. The EBPP and broader payments market includes far larger and well-capitalized competitors such as ACI Worldwide, Fiserv, FIS, and Jack Henry, which could pressure pricing or win large biller contracts. Revenue is partly tied to transaction volumes, so a weaker consumer or slower biller onboarding would slow growth. Thin gross margins (about 25%) leave the model sensitive to interchange and processing costs, and regulatory scrutiny of payments and customer concentration among large billers add further uncertainty. Founder and insider ownership means governance and share supply dynamics also matter for public shareholders.
What is the Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) forecast?
7 analysts publish price targets on PAY, averaging $40.14 against a $31.54 price as of October 2026, or +27.3%. The published targets run from $36.00 to $45.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 4 buy, 4 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 5 raises and 1 cut 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 PAY forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is PAY a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Paymentus Holdings, 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. Structural shift to digital bill pay. Utilities, municipalities, and insurers continue migrating away from paper and legacy systems toward modern digital payment platforms. The most optimistic published target, $45.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. Valuation is the primary risk: the shares trade near 48x trailing and 29x forward earnings, so any deceleration in revenue growth or a guidance miss could compress the stock sharply, and the stock has already swung between about $20 and $45 over the past 52 weeks. The most pessimistic target, $36.00, is roughly what PAY is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on PAY, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Has Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) split its stock?
No. Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) 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.
How is Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Paymentus Holdings, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$1.36B
- Revenue growth (YoY, latest quarter): ~29%
- Net income (TTM): ~$85M
- Gross / operating margin: ~25% / ~9%
- Market cap: ~$4.0B
- P/E (trailing / forward): ~48x / ~29x
- Dividend yield: None
Paymentus has beaten EPS estimates for four straight quarters, and analysts expect 2026 revenue of about $1.45 billion (up roughly 37%) and EPS of about $0.91, rising to about $1.08 in 2027. At roughly $4 billion of market value against about $85 million of trailing net income, the trailing multiple near 48x is high, and even the forward multiple near 29x assumes rapid growth and profit expansion continue. The seven analysts covering the stock carry a buy-leaning consensus with a mean target near $40, against a price of about $31.57 on October 16, 2026.
Who competes with Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)?
Legacy EBPP and payments software
ACI Worldwide (ACI Speedpay), Fiserv, FIS, and Jack Henry offer integrated billing and payment platforms to utilities, banks, and billers. They are far larger and more diversified, giving them scale and cross-sell reach that pressures pricing.
Modern fintech and payment platforms
Companies such as Bill Holdings and broader payment processors compete for digital payment and software-driven billing workflows. They target overlapping SaaS-style, recurring-revenue opportunities in business and consumer payments.
In-house and processor alternatives
Large billers can build proprietary payment systems or use bank and card-network processors directly. This do-it-yourself option and the switching inertia of incumbent vendors are ongoing competitive constraints.
What stocks are similar to Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)?
Other names that sit close to PAY: 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.
How to invest in Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)
There are three common ways to get PAY exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so PAY sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where PAY 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.
The bottom line on Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)
Paymentus is a rare combination of high revenue growth and real profitability in bill payment, and its second quarter of 2026 beat estimates again, so the investment picture hinges on whether that growth can keep justifying a rich multiple as it slows toward the high teens in 2027.
More on Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY)
Whether PAY 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 PAY a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the PAY stock forecast.
For income investors, whether PAY pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does PAY pay a dividend? And to weigh PAY against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: PAY vs ACIW and PAY vs ACI.
Wondering how PAY fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Paymentus Holdings, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how PAY fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does the ticker PAY stand for?
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PAY is the NYSE ticker for Paymentus Holdings, Inc., a cloud-based electronic bill payment and presentment company. It should not be confused with other payment brands; on US exchanges PAY refers specifically to Paymentus.
What does Paymentus actually do?
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Paymentus provides a cloud platform that lets billers such as utilities, governments, and insurers accept and manage electronic payments across web, app, phone, chat, SMS, and in-person channels. It earns money mainly from transaction fees plus hosted subscriptions and premium features.
Is Paymentus profitable?
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Yes. Paymentus is GAAP profitable, reporting roughly $67 million of net income in fiscal 2025 and about $85 million on a trailing twelve-month basis as of the second quarter of 2026. That profitability is unusual among fast-growing fintechs, and it also produced about $110 million of free cash flow over the past year.
How fast is Paymentus growing?
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Revenue grew about 37% in fiscal 2025 to roughly $1.2 billion, and second-quarter 2026 revenue rose about 29% year over year to about $361 million. Analysts expect full-year 2026 revenue of about $1.45 billion, then growth slowing to roughly 19% in 2027.
Why is the stock considered expensive?
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At around a $4 billion market cap against roughly $85 million of trailing net income, PAY trades at a high trailing earnings multiple (near 48x) and about 29x forward earnings as of October 2026. That valuation prices in continued rapid growth, so results need to keep beating expectations.
Who are Paymentus's main competitors?
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Key competitors include ACI Worldwide, Fiserv, FIS, and Jack Henry in bill presentment and payments, plus modern fintechs and processors. Many rivals are much larger, though Paymentus differentiates with a single-codebase platform and its Instant Payment Network.
Does Paymentus pay a dividend?
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No. Paymentus does not pay a dividend; it is positioned as a growth company that reinvests earnings into expanding its platform and biller network, and it holds about $378 million of cash with very little debt. Investors are generally focused on revenue growth and margin expansion rather than income.
What are the biggest risks with PAY?
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The main risks are a premium valuation that leaves little room for a growth slowdown, competition from far larger payments firms, dependence on transaction volumes tied to consumer activity, thin gross margins, and regulatory and cost pressures in payments. Any guidance disappointment could move the stock sharply, as its roughly 10% drop over the past month shows.
How did Paymentus do in its latest quarter?
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For the second quarter of 2026 (ended June 30), Paymentus reported revenue of about $361 million, up roughly 29% year over year, and net income of about $26 million. EPS of $0.25 beat the $0.19 consensus, its fourth consecutive beat. The next report is scheduled for November 2, 2026, where analysts expect EPS of about $0.21 on revenue near $358 million.
How has PAY stock performed in 2026?
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As of October 16, 2026, PAY closed at about $31.57, up roughly 11% year to date and about 9% over the past year, but down about 10% over the past month. Its 52-week range is roughly $20 to $45. Walnut is not an investment adviser, and past price moves say nothing certain about future returns.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Paymentus Holdings, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.