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Paylocity HoldingPCTY -0.69%75 Graham Number is $45.82 as of Mar. 2026, which is 504% above its 10-year median of 7.59. GuruFocus rates PCTY with a GF Score™ of 75/100 and a GF Value™ of $226.73 (Significantly Undervalued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,478 Software companies, Paylocity Holding ranks worse than 67.32% on this metric.
Graham Number is a figure that measures a stock's fundamental value by taking into account the company's earnings per share and book value per share. The Graham number is the upper bound of the price range that a defensive investor should pay for the stock. According to the theory, any stock price below the Graham number is considered undervalued, and thus worth investing in.
As of today (2026-07-18), the stock price of Paylocity Holding is $125.89. Paylocity Holding's graham number for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was $45.82. Therefore, Paylocity Holding's Price to Graham Number ratio for today is 2.75.
The historical rank and industry rank for Paylocity Holding's Graham Number or its related term are showing as below:
PCTY'
s Price-to-Graham-Number Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 2.36 Med: 7.59 Max: 48
Current: 2.75
During the past 13 years, the highest Price to Graham Number ratio of Paylocity Holding was 48.00. The lowest was 2.36. And the median was 7.59.
PCTY's Price-to-Graham-Number is ranked worse than 67.32% of 1478
companies
in the Software industry
Industry Median: 1.87
vs PCTY: 2.75
Graham Number is a combination of asset valuation and earnings power valuation. It is a very conservative way of valuing a stock.
Paylocity Holding (NAS:PCTY) Graham Number Explanation
Ben Graham actually did not publish a formula like this. But he wrote in The Intelligent Investor (1948 version) regarding to the criteria for purchases:
Current price should not be more than 15 times average earnings of the past three years.
Current price should not be more than 1.5 times the book value last reported. However, a multiplier of earnings below 15 could justify a correspondingly higher multiplier of assets. As a rule of thumb we suggest that the product of the multiplier times the ratio of price to book value should not exceed 22.5. (This figure corresponds to 15 times earnings and 1.5 times book value. It would admit an issue selling at only 9 times earnings and 2.5 times asset value, etc.)
Unlike valuation methods such as DCF or Discounted Earnings, the Graham number does not take growth into the valuation. Unlike the valuation methods based on book value alone, it takes into account the earnings power. Therefore, the Graham Number is a combination of asset valuation and earnings power valuation.
In general, the Graham number is a very conservative way of valuing a stock. It cannot be applied to companies with negative book values.
Paylocity Holding's Price to Graham number Ratio for today is calculated as
Price to Graham number
=
Share Price (Today)
/
Graham number (Q: Mar. 2026 )
=
125.89
/
45.82
=
2.75
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Be Aware
Please keep these in mind:
1. Graham Number does not take growth into account. Therefore it underestimates the values of the companies that have good earnings growth. We feel that if the earnings per share grows more than 10% a year, Graham Number underestimates the value.
2. Graham Number punishes the companies that have temporarily low earnings. Therefore, an average of earnings makes more sense in the calculation of Graham Number.
3. Graham Numbers underestimates companies that are light with book.
Paylocity Holding Graham Number Related Terms
Paylocity Holding Graham Number Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Paylocity Holding's Graham Number can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
PCTY vs DUOL, NAVN, CVLT: Graham Number Comparison
For the Software - Application subindustry, Paylocity Holding's Price-to-Graham-Number, along with its competitors' market caps and Price-to-Graham-Number data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Paylocity Holding Price-to-Graham-Number vs Software Industry
For the Software industry and Technology sector, Paylocity Holding's Price-to-Graham-Number distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Paylocity Holding's Price-to-Graham-Number falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Paylocity Holding (PCTY) has a Graham Number of $45.82 as of Mar. 2026. The Graham Number values a company based on its per-share earnings and book value. View historical data on Paylocity Holding and its competitors. This is 504% above median its historical median of 7.59. Over the past decade, Paylocity Holding's Graham Number has ranged from 2.36 to 48.00. According to the industry distribution chart, Paylocity Holding ranks #995 out of 1478 companies in the Software industry, placing it in the top 67.3%.
Is Paylocity Holding's Graham Number too high?
Paylocity Holding's current Graham Number of $45.82 is 504% above median its 10-year median of 7.59. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 2.36 to a high of 48.00. The Software industry median Graham Number is 1.87. Paylocity Holding's value of $45.82 is 2350.3% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Paylocity Holding ranks #995 out of 1478 companies in the Software industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Paylocity Holding has a GF Score™ of 75/100 and is considered Significantly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Paylocity Holding's Graham Number compare to DUOL and NAVN?
According to the Software industry distribution chart, Paylocity Holding ranks #995 out of 1478 companies for Graham Number. This places Paylocity Holding in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Graham Number is 1.87. Paylocity Holding's value of $45.82 is 2350.3% above this benchmark. Historically, Paylocity Holding's own Graham Number has ranged from 2.36 to 48.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 7.59 vs. the industry median of 1.87, Paylocity Holding has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Graham Number for a Software company?
The median Graham Number among Software companies is 1.87, based on 1,478 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Graham Number significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Graham Number should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Paylocity Holding's current Graham Number of $45.82 is 2350.3% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Graham Number mean?
A high Graham Number can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Graham Number values a company based on its per-share earnings and book value. View historical data on Paylocity Holding and its competitors. For the Software industry, the median Graham Number is 1.87 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Paylocity Holding's current Graham Number is $45.82, which is 504% above median its own 10-year median of 7.59. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Paylocity Holding stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Paylocity Holding (PCTY) is currently considered Significantly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $226.73, compared to a current price of $125.89 — trading 44.5% below its estimated fair value. The current Graham Number is $45.82, which is 504% above median its 10-year median of 7.59 and 2350.3% above the Software industry median of 1.87. Paylocity Holding's overall GF Score™ is 75/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Graham Number calculated?
Graham Number is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Paylocity Holding (PCTY), the current Graham Number is $45.82 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Paylocity Holding (PCTY) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Paylocity Holding stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $125.89 is trading 44.5% below its estimated GF Value™ of $226.73.
GuruFocus considers Paylocity Holding to be Significantly Undervalued.
Key valuation signals for PCTY:
Graham Number: $45.82 (504% above median its 10-year median of 7.59)
GF Value™: $226.73 vs. price of $125.89 (44.5% below fair value)
Industry Position: 2350.3% above the Software median (#995 of 1478)
No single metric tells the full story. See the PCTY stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Paylocity is a cloud-based human capital management provider offering payroll, compliance, and human resources management solutions. With the addition of expense and IT management modules, Paylocity unifies back-office operations spanning HR, finance, and IT on a single platform and bills customers on a subscription basis. The firm's customer base skews toward the midmarket and is primarily based in the US. As of fiscal 2025, Paylocity has nearly 42,000 customers.
75GF Score
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