Paychex (PAYX) Earnings: Q1 Fiscal 2027 Results and Next Report Date

The quarter ended August 31, 2026 and Paychex published the results on September 23, 2026. Revenue and diluted EPS are shown against Q1 fiscal 2026, the same quarter a year earlier, which takes seasonal swings out of the comparison. Paychex reports EPS two ways: GAAP, under the accounting rules every US filer follows, and adjusted diluted, which leaves out items the company considers outside its operating results. The release reconciles the two, and when they diverge, the reconciliation says why.

• Paychex's fiscal year ends May 31, so Q1 fiscal 2027 is the three months to August 31, 2026.
• Paychex acquired Paycor HCM in April 2025. Adjusted figures exclude Paycor acquisition-related costs: $65.5 million before tax in the quarter, against $84.8 million a year earlier.

Source: Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 results, September 23, 2026. Also in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 31, 2026. Figures as reported; checked against the release on November 10, 2026.

How Paychex splits revenue in its own release, under its own labels, for Q1 fiscal 2027 against Q1 fiscal 2026. Indented lines are parts of the line above them.

• Paychex's Management Solutions revenue was $1.2 billion in Q1 fiscal 2027, up 4% from $1.2 billion in Q1 fiscal 2026, 74% of total revenue.
• Paychex's PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue was $368 million in Q1 fiscal 2027, up 12% from $329 million in Q1 fiscal 2026, 23% of total revenue.
• Paychex's Interest on funds held for clients revenue was $49.8 million in Q1 fiscal 2027, up 5% from $47.6 million in Q1 fiscal 2026, 3% of total revenue.

Segment lines are the figures writers cite most often, because they show where the growth in a quarter came from. Companies redraw their segments from time to time and restate the prior year to match, so a year-ago figure here can differ from the one printed a year ago. When that has happened, the note above says so.

From the earnings release

Paychex gives a full-year outlook only, not a quarterly one. It also kept its outlook for Management Solutions revenue growth at 5% to 6%, adjusted operating margin at about 44% and the effective income tax rate at about 24%.

In its Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Paychex said:

“Total revenue growth 5% to 6% No change”

“PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue growth 7% to 8% Previously 6% to 7%”

“Interest on funds held for clients $200 million to $210 million Previously $195 million to $205 million”

“Adjusted diluted earnings per share growth 7% to 9% No change”

Source: Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026.

This is the company's own guidance as of Sep 23, 2026, quoted as given. Walnut does not make forecasts of its own. Analyst estimates for the coming quarters are on the PAYX forecast page.

Revenue and diluted EPS for the last 5 quarters. Each date links to that quarter's release.

GAAP total revenue and diluted EPS, each as first reported in that quarter's release. Paycor is in every quarter shown, so the rows compare like for like on ownership.

Paychex's next report is expected around December 18, 2026, a date estimated from its reporting history that the company has not yet confirmed. This page will show Q1 fiscal 2027 until those results are out and have been checked against the release.

Each quarter keeps its own page with the figures as reported, so a link to one stays pointed at the same numbers after the next report.

• Q1 fiscal 2027 (this page), reported Sep 23, 2026

Paychex reports revenue in three lines. In Q1 fiscal 2027 Management Solutions brought in $1,213.1 million of the $1,630.5 million total, PEO and Insurance Solutions $367.6 million, and interest on funds held for clients $49.8 million. Total revenue rose 6% from $1,540.0 million a year earlier. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026)

Management Solutions is Paychex's HCM software and HR advisory business, sold through three platforms: SurePayroll, Paychex Flex and Paycor. It also includes ASO, the HR outsourcing service that bundles that software with HR representatives. Paychex said the line grew 4% because of higher revenue per client from price realization and product penetration. (Paychex Form 10-K, fiscal 2026, Jul 17, 2026; Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026)

PEO and Insurance Solutions grew fastest, up 12% to $367.6 million. Through its PEO subsidiaries Paychex takes on payroll, HR, benefits administration, insurance and risk management for client businesses as a co-employer. Paychex put the growth down to more average PEO worksite employees and higher PEO insurance volumes. At May 31, 2026 its ASO and PEO solutions covered 2,600,000 worksite employees, against 2,460,000 a year earlier. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026; Paychex Form 10-K, fiscal 2026, Jul 17, 2026)

Interest on funds held for clients is what Paychex earns investing client payroll and tax money before it is paid out. It rose 5% to $49.8 million because of higher average interest rates: the average rate earned on client funds was 3.7%, against 3.5% a year earlier, on an average balance of $5,401.6 million that was almost unchanged from $5,400.0 million. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026; Paychex Form 10-Q, Q1 fiscal 2027, Sep 24, 2026)

Paychex's GAAP diluted EPS was $1.21 in Q1 fiscal 2027, up 14% from $1.06, and adjusted diluted EPS was $1.34, up 10% from $1.22. The gap is Paycor acquisition-related costs, which added $0.18 a share before tax: $56.9 million of amortization of intangibles acquired with Paycor, $8.5 million of Paycor acquisition and integration compensation costs and $0.1 million of other acquisition costs. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026)

Operating income grew faster than revenue, up 14% to $619.2 million, which Paychex attributed to revenue growth and lower acquisition-related costs. Operating margin was 38.0%, against 35.2%, and adjusted operating margin was 42.0%, against 40.7%. Interest expense fell to $65.1 million from $68.2 million because of lower outstanding debt. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026; Paychex Form 10-Q, Q1 fiscal 2027, Sep 24, 2026)

The effective income tax rate was 24.0%, against 22.9% a year earlier. Diluted weighted-average shares fell to 356.6 million from 361.9 million. Paychex repurchased no shares in the quarter, against $160.1 million a year earlier, and paid dividends of $1.19 per share totaling $424.1 million. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026; Paychex Form 10-Q, Q1 fiscal 2027, Sep 24, 2026)

Diluted EPS divides net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the quarter, plus the shares that options and other equity awards could add. Buybacks shrink that count and lift EPS for the same profit; share issuance and stock awards enlarge it.

Paychex publishes a full-year outlook in its release, not a quarterly one. For fiscal 2027 it kept total revenue growth at 5% to 6%, adjusted diluted EPS growth at 7% to 9% and adjusted operating margin at about 44%. It raised two lines: PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue growth to 7% to 8% from 6% to 7%, and interest on funds held for clients to $200 million to $210 million from $195 million to $205 million. (Paychex Q1 fiscal 2027 release, Sep 23, 2026)

A consensus figure is the average of the models published by the analysts who cover Paychex, collected by a data provider and revised up to the day of the report. A quarter that lands above it says how expectations were set as much as how the business did, and the share price on the day also reflects the guidance and the lines no consensus covers.

The consensus figures on this page are Yahoo Finance's, as pulled on the date shown. Each comes with the number of analysts behind it; the smaller that number, the more one revised estimate can move the average.

The figures below are the ones Paychex's own release and filings put weight on for Q1 fiscal 2027, with the latest reported value for each.

What the quarter means for a holding is a separate question from what it reported. The case for and against owning PAYX is on is PAYX a buy or a sell?, what analysts expect next is on the PAYX forecast, and what the company does is on the Paychex (PAYX) stock page.

Every number on this page can be traced to a document Paychex published. Checking one takes a couple of minutes, and it is worth doing before you quote a figure anywhere.

• The results release is the document linked in the source line above. Companies publish it on their investor relations site at the moment results go out, and it carries the headline tables: revenue, operating income, net income and EPS for the quarter and the year-ago quarter.
• The same release is filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02, usually on the day of the report. The SEC copy does not change after the fact, which makes it the safer thing to link when you cite a number.
• The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) follows within a few weeks and carries the full financial statements, the segment note and management's discussion of what changed. The fourth quarter is covered by the annual report (Form 10-K) instead.
• Restated comparisons are flagged in the notes on this page. When a company redraws its segments or changes how it adjusts EPS, it restates the year-ago column, so the year-ago figure in a new release can differ from the one printed a year ago. This page always uses the comparison in the newer release, because that is the like-for-like one.

A walk-through of every line in a release, with what each one tells you, is in how to read an earnings report.