VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS COMPARISON ★

NO ADVICE

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Stock Comparison

Paychex, Inc. vs Workday, Inc.

Compare moat strength, market structure, and segment coverage to understand how each company defends its edge.

Paychex, Inc.

PAYX · NASDAQ Global Select Market

Market cap (USD)$39.4B
Gross margin (TTM)73.4%
Operating margin (TTM)37.1%
Net margin (TTM)26.5%
SectorIndustrials
IndustryStaffing & Employment Services
CountryUS
Data as of2026-01-04
Moat score
66/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Paychex, Inc.'s moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View PAYX analysis

Workday, Inc.

WDAY · NASDAQ

Market cap (USD)$55.8B
Gross margin (TTM)75.6%
Operating margin (TTM)6.7%
Net margin (TTM)7%
SectorTechnology
IndustrySoftware - Application
CountryUS
Data as of2025-12-23
Moat score
71/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Workday, Inc.'s moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View WDAY analysis

Comparison highlights

  • Moat score gap: Workday, Inc. leads (71 / 100 vs 66 / 100 for Paychex, Inc.).
  • Segment focus: Paychex, Inc. has 3 segments (73% in Management Solutions); Workday, Inc. has 2 segments (91.4% in Subscription services (Workday cloud applications + platform)).
  • Moat breadth: Paychex, Inc. has 7 moat types across 4 domains; Workday, Inc. has 5 across 2.

Primary market context

Paychex, Inc.

Management Solutions

Market

Payroll processing and integrated HCM solutions for SMB and mid-market employers

Geography

United States (primarily)

Customer

Employers (SMB and mid-market)

Role

HCM SaaS + outsourced payroll/HR service provider

Revenue share

73%

Workday, Inc.

Subscription services (Workday cloud applications + platform)

Market

Enterprise cloud applications for managing people and money (HCM, financial management, spend, planning & analytics)

Geography

Global

Customer

Medium to large organizations (including higher education and government)

Role

SaaS application vendor and extensible platform provider

Revenue share

91.4%

Side-by-side metrics

Paychex, Inc.
Workday, Inc.
Ticker / Exchange
PAYX - NASDAQ Global Select Market
WDAY - NASDAQ
Market cap (USD)
$39.4B
$55.8B
Gross margin (TTM)
73.4%
75.6%
Operating margin (TTM)
37.1%
6.7%
Net margin (TTM)
26.5%
7%
Sector
Industrials
Technology
Industry
Staffing & Employment Services
Software - Application
HQ country
US
US
Primary segment
Management Solutions
Subscription services (Workday cloud applications + platform)
Market structure
Oligopoly
Oligopoly
Market share
n/a
n/a
HHI estimate
n/a
n/a
Pricing power
Moderate
Moderate
Moat score
66 / 100
71 / 100
Moat domains
Demand, Supply, Legal, Financial
Demand, Network
Last update
2026-01-04
2025-12-23

Moat coverage

Shared moat types

Data Workflow LockinSuite Bundling

Paychex, Inc. strengths

Service Field NetworkCompliance AdvantageUnderwriting Risk PoolingSwitching Costs GeneralFloat Prepayment

Workday, Inc. strengths

Training Org Change CostsEcosystem ComplementsWorkday implementation expertise

Segment mix

Paychex, Inc. segments

Full profile >

Management Solutions

Oligopoly

73%

PEO and Insurance Solutions

Competitive

24.1%

Client funds float (interest on funds held for clients)

Oligopoly

2.9%

Workday, Inc. segments

Full profile >

Subscription services (Workday cloud applications + platform)

Oligopoly

91.4%

Professional services (deployment, optimization, training)

Competitive

8.6%

Want the full wide moat stocks list?

Browse the full ranking of wide moat stocks, updated with moat scores and segment context.

View the moat stocks list

Looking for expansion-stage stocks?

Proven models entering the expansion stage with unit economics that work.

View expansion-stage stocks

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.