Free cash flow
Paychex Free cash flow increased by 98.9% to $761.50M in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 14.1%, from $667.30M to $761.50M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 10.6% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q1 '21 | Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $358.20M | $355.20M | $135.60M | $578.20M | $386.90M | $333.70M | $320.10M | $538.00M | $371.40M | $654.30M | $270.60M | $631.00M | $180.40M | $510.50M | $248.00M | $667.30M | $283.30M | $662.50M | $382.80M | $761.50M |
| QoQ Change | — | -0.8% | -61.8% | +326.4% | -33.1% | -13.8% | -4.1% | +68.1% | -31.0% | +76.2% | -58.6% | +133.2% | -71.4% | +183.0% | -51.4% | +169.1% | -57.5% | +133.9% | -42.2% | +98.9% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +8.0% | -6.1% | +136.1% | -7.0% | -4.0% | +96.1% | -15.5% | +17.3% | -51.4% | -22.0% | -8.4% | +5.8% | +57.0% | +29.8% | +54.4% | +14.1% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Paychex's free cash flow?
- Paychex (PAYX) reported free cash flow of $761.50M in Q4 2025.
- How has Paychex's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Paychex's free cash flow increased by 14.1% year-over-year, from $667.30M to $761.50M.
- What is the long-term trend for Paychex's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Paychex's free cash flow has grown at a 10.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.14B to $1.71B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.