Paylocity Holding Corporation reported strong financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2024, with a significant 18% increase in total revenue, reaching $401.3 million. Recurring and other revenues also rose by 17%, totaling $366.8 million. A key highlight is the approval of a $500 million share repurchase program by the Board of Directors. These results underscore Paylocity's continued market leadership and innovation in cloud-based HCM and payroll software solutions. The company introduced enhancements to its talent acquisition suite, including AI-driven features aimed at improving integration and collaboration for new hires. Paylocity’s commitment to innovation is evident in its leadership in 10 product categories in the G2 Spring 2024 Grid Reports.
- Q3 2024 Recurring & Other Revenue of $366.8 million, up 17% year-over-year
- Q3 2024 Total Revenue of $401.3 million, up 18% year-over-year
- Board of Directors approves a $500 million share repurchase program
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 02, 2024 -- Paylocity Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: PCTY), a leading provider of cloud-based HCM and payroll software solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended March 31, 2024.
“Our solid results continued into the third quarter of fiscal 2024, with total revenue growth of 18% and recurring & other revenue growth of 17% as our differentiated value proposition of providing the most modern software in the industry continues to resonate in the market. In Q3, we announced a series of enhancements to our talent acquisition suite to help clients more effectively recruit, train, and retain the newest entrants to the workforce, including AI-driven features that will help new hires automatically integrate and collaborate with their teams. This ongoing commitment to product innovation was recently recognized in the market, with Paylocity placing as an overall leader in 10 product categories in the G2 Spring 2024 Grid Reports. Additionally, because of our strong profitability and cash flows, our Board of Directors has approved a $500 million share repurchase program,” said Toby Williams, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Paylocity.
Third Quarter Fiscal 2024 Financial Highlights
Revenue:
- Total revenue was $401.3 million, an increase of 18% from the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
- Recurring & other revenue was $366.8 million, an increase of 17% from the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Operating Income:
- GAAP operating income was $106.3 million and non-GAAP operating income was $145.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 compared to GAAP operating income of $80.4 million and non-GAAP operating income of $116.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Net Income:
- GAAP net income was $85.3 million or $1.50 per share in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 based on 57.0 million diluted weighted average common shares outstanding compared to $57.6 million or $1.02 per share in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 based on 56.6 million diluted weighted average common shares outstanding.
Adjusted EBITDA:
- Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $167.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 compared to $130.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow:
- Cash and cash equivalents totaled $492.7 million as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.
- Cash flow from operations for the first nine months of fiscal year 2024 was $304.7 million compared to $206.1 million for the first nine months of fiscal year 2023.
- As of March 31, 2024, Paylocity had no long-term debt and had not drawn on its credit facility.
A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures has been provided in this press release, including the accompanying tables. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
Share Repurchase Authorization
The Company’s Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to $500 million of its common stock. Shares will be repurchased from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions at the company’s discretion, subject to market conditions and other factors, and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. The company may commence, suspend or discontinue purchases of common stock under the authorization at any time or periodically without prior notice.
Business Outlook
Based on information available as of May 2, 2024, Paylocity is issuing guidance for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2024 as indicated below.
Fourth Quarter 2024:
- Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $347.8 million to $351.8 million, which represents approximately 13% growth over fiscal year 2023 fourth quarter total revenue.
- Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is expected to be in the range of $104.1 million to $107.1 million.
Fiscal Year 2024:
- Total revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.393 billion to $1.397 billion, which represents approximately 19% growth over fiscal year 2023 total revenue.
- Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is expected to be in the range of $489.5 million to $492.5 million.
We are unable to reconcile forward-looking non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA to its directly comparable GAAP financial measure because the information which is needed to complete a reconciliation is unavailable at this time without unreasonable effort.
Conference Call Details
Paylocity will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter fiscal year 2024 results at 4:30 p.m. Central Time today (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time). A live audio webcast of the conference call along with detailed financial information can be accessed through
https://investors.paylocity.com/events-and-presentations where dial in details are provided. A replay of the call will be available and archived via webcast at
https://investors.paylocity.com/.
About Paylocity
Paylocity is a leading provider of cloud-based HCM and payroll software solutions headquartered in Schaumburg, IL. Founded in 1997 and publicly traded since 2014, Paylocity offers an intuitive, easy-to-use product suite that helps businesses tackle today’s challenges while moving them toward the promise of tomorrow. Known for its unique culture and consistently recognized as one of the best places to work, Paylocity accompanies its clients on the journey to create great workplaces and help people achieve their best through automation, data-driven insights, and engagement. For more information, visit
www.paylocity.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures when reporting its financial results, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross profit margin, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per share, non-GAAP sales and marketing and non-GAAP sales and marketing margin, non-GAAP total research and development and non-GAAP total research and development margin, non-GAAP general and administrative and non-GAAP general and administrative margin, free cash flow and free cash flow margin, certain of which are included in this release. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flow that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization expense, adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises and other items as described later in this release. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA margin as adjusted EBITDA as described in the preceding sentence divided by total revenues. We define Adjusted EBITDA margin excluding interest income on funds held for clients as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization expense, adjusted to eliminate interest income on funds held for clients, stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises and other items as described later in this release divided by recurring and other revenue
. Adjusted gross profit is adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises and amortization of capitalized internal-use software costs and certain acquired intangibles. Adjusted gross profit margin is calculated as adjusted gross profit as described in the preceding sentence divided by total revenues. Non-GAAP operating income is adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises, the amortization of acquired intangibles and other items as described later in this release. Non-GAAP sales and marketing expense is adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises and other items as described later in this release. Non-GAAP sales and marketing margin is calculated by dividing non-GAAP sales and marketing by total revenues. Non-GAAP general and administrative expense is adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises, the amortization of certain acquired intangibles and other items as described later in this release. Non-GAAP general and administrative margin is calculated by dividing non-GAAP general and administrative margin by total revenues. Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share are adjusted to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises, the amortization of acquired intangibles and other items as described later in this release, including the income tax effect on these items. Non-GAAP total research and development is adjusted for capitalized internal-use software costs paid and to eliminate stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll taxes related to stock releases and option exercises and other items as described later in this release. Non-GAAP total research and development margin is calculated by dividing non-GAAP total research and development by total revenues. Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capitalized internal-use software costs, purchase of property and equipment and lease allowances used for tenant improvements. Free cash flow margin is calculated by dividing free cash flow as defined in the preceding sentence divided by total revenues. Please note that other companies may define their non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do. Management presents certain non-GAAP financial measures in this release because it considers them to be important supplemental measures of performance. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, including analysis of the company's performance against prior periods, the preparation of operating budgets and to determine appropriate levels of operating and capital investments. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional insight for analysts and investors in evaluating the company's financial and operational performance. Management also intends to provide these non-GAAP financial measures as part of the company’s future earnings discussions and, therefore, the inclusion of the non-GAAP financial measures should provide consistency in the company’s financial reporting. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytical tool. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures provided in this release.
Safe Harbor/Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein regarding Paylocity’s future operations, ability to scale its business, future financial position and performance, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “would,” “seek” and similar expressions (or the negative of these terms) are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about management's estimates regarding future revenues and financial performance, long-term financial targets, future share repurchases and other statements about management’s beliefs, intentions or goals. Paylocity may not actually achieve the expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on Paylocity’s forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the general economic conditions in regions in which Paylocity does business, changes in interest rates, business disruptions, reductions in employment and an increase in business failures that have occurred or may occur in the future; Paylocity’s ability to leverage AI Assist and other forms of artificial intelligence and machine learning in its technology, which may be constrained by current and future laws, regulations, interpretive positions or standards governing new and evolving technologies and ethical considerations that could restrict or impose burdensome and costly requirements on its ability to continue to leverage data in innovative ways; Paylocity’s ability to retain existing clients and to attract new clients to enter into subscriptions for its services; the challenges associated with a growing company’s ability to effectively service clients in a dynamic and competitive market; challenges associated with expanding and evolving a sales organization to effectively address new geographies and products and services; challenges related to cybersecurity threats and evolving cybersecurity regulations; Paylocity’s reliance on and ability to expand its referral network of third parties; Paylocity’s reliance on third party payroll partners in foreign jurisdictions in its Blue Marble business; difficulties associated with accurately forecasting revenue and appropriately planning expenses; challenges with managing growth effectively; risks related to regulatory, legislative and judicial uncertainty in Paylocity’s markets; Paylocity’s ability to protect and defend its intellectual property; the risk that Paylocity’s security measures are compromised or a threat actor gains unauthorized access to customer data; unexpected events in the market for Paylocity’s solutions; changes in the competitive environment in Paylocity’s industry and the markets in which it operates; adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; changes in the employment rates of Paylocity’s clients and the resultant impact on revenue; the possibility that Paylocity may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and potential factors that could affect Paylocity’s business and financial results identified in Paylocity’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including its 10-K filed with the SEC on August 4, 2023. Additional information will also be set forth in Paylocity’s future quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and other filings that Paylocity makes with the SEC. These forward-looking statements represent Paylocity’s expectations as of the date of this press release. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Paylocity disclaims any obligations to update or alter these forward-looking statements in the future, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.