• In early February 2026, Paylocity reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results showing higher revenue and net income year on year, issued fiscal 2026 revenue guidance implying single-digit growth over 2025, and confirmed it had completed a US$599.64 million share repurchase program covering 3,681,560 shares since May 2024.
• These results, paired with management’s focus on AI-enhanced HR tools and expanded product modules, prompted positive analyst commentary around Paylocity’s competitive positioning and margin progress despite a slower growth outlook.
• With Paylocity’s guidance pointing to more moderate growth alongside completed buybacks, we’ll examine how this shapes the company’s long-term investment narrative.

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Paylocity Holding Investment Narrative Recap

To own Paylocity, you need to believe its cloud HR and payroll platform, boosted by AI features and new modules, can keep winning share and monetizing existing customers, even as overall growth moderates. The key short term catalyst is continued adoption of newer products like AI-driven tools and Paylocity for Finance; the biggest risk is that slower revenue growth and intense competition signal a maturing profile. The latest results and guidance largely confirm, rather than change, that risk balance.

The completion of the US$599.64 million buyback, retiring 3,681,560 shares, is the most directly relevant update here. It reinforces the earnings impact of Paylocity’s margin progress highlighted by analysts, while Q3 and full year 2026 guidance for 7 percent to 9 percent revenue growth keeps the spotlight on whether product expansion and AI enhancements can offset a slower growth outlook and sustain the company’s long term thesis.

Yet beneath this progress, one issue investors should be aware of is how slowing guidance interacts with rising competitive pressure and...

Paylocity Holding’s narrative projects $2.1 billion in revenue and $380.9 million in earnings by 2028.

Uncover how Paylocity Holding's forecasts yield a $170.38 fair value, a 64% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Some of the lowest ranked analysts were already assuming only about 9.4 percent annual revenue growth and US$306.8 million of earnings by 2028, which is a much more cautious view than the baseline narrative and highlights how concerns about AI-driven commoditization could matter more after this latest guidance.

Explore 2 other fair value estimates on Paylocity Holding - why the stock might be worth over 2x more than the current price!

Build Your Own Paylocity Holding Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Paylocity Holding research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Paylocity Holding research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Paylocity Holding's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.