ICLR vs PAYX
Icon PLC and Paychex Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | ICLR | PAYX |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.3B | $6.5B |
| Net income | $229.3M | $1.8B |
| Gross margin | 26.4% | 74.3% |
| Net margin | 2.8% | 27.0% |
| Return on equity | 2.5% | 44.8% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.90 | $4.89 |
| Dividend / share | · | $4.43 |
| Payout ratio | · | 90.3% |
| Free cash flow | $862.0M | $2.3B |
| Equity | $9.2B | $3.7B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.24× | 0.93× |
| Current ratio | 1.10× | 1.26× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 24.2% | 9.9% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | −7.2% | · |
ICLR bills 1.3× the revenue of PAYX, and PAYX keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (27.0% against 2.8%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | ICLR | PAYX |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.3B | $6.5B |
| FY2024 | $8.2B | $5.6B |
| FY2023 | $8.1B | $5.3B |
| FY2022 | $7.7B | $5.0B |
| FY2021 | $5.5B | $4.6B |
| FY2020 | $2.8B | $4.1B |
| FY2019 | $2.8B | $4.0B |
| FY2018 | $2.6B | $3.8B |
| FY2017 | $1.8B | $3.4B |
| FY2016 | $1.7B | $3.2B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | ICLR | PAYX |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $229.3M | $1.8B |
| FY2024 | $739.1M | $1.7B |
| FY2023 | $554.2M | $1.7B |
| FY2022 | $505.3M | $1.6B |
| FY2021 | $153.2M | $1.4B |
| FY2020 | $332.3M | $1.1B |
| FY2019 | $374.0M | $1.1B |
| FY2018 | $322.7M | $1.0B |
| FY2017 | $281.5M | $994.1M |
| FY2016 | $262.2M | $826.3M |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$1,739,340,000 | ICLR |
| FY2024 | +$2,617,290,000 | ICLR |
| FY2023 | +$2,776,626,000 | ICLR |
| FY2022 | +$2,734,286,000 | ICLR |
| FY2021 | +$869,126,000 | ICLR |
| FY2020 | −$1,259,512,000 | PAYX |
| FY2019 | −$1,234,661,000 | PAYX |
| FY2018 | −$1,176,723,000 | PAYX |
| FY2017 | −$1,619,261,000 | PAYX |
| FY2016 | −$1,486,513,000 | PAYX |
| FY2015 | −$1,376,922,000 | PAYX |
| FY2014 | −$1,236,284,000 | PAYX |
| FY2013 | −$1,182,842,000 | PAYX |
| FY2012 | −$1,211,194,000 | PAYX |
| FY2011 | −$1,284,071,000 | PAYX |
| FY2010 | −$1,184,256,000 | PAYX |
| FY2009 | −$1,113,188,000 | PAYX |
| FY2008 | −$1,217,552,000 | PAYX |
The higher-revenue side has changed between ICLR and PAYX over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
12 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −24.2 pp | PAYX |
| FY2024 | −20.7 pp | PAYX |
| FY2023 | −25.1 pp | PAYX |
| FY2022 | −24.6 pp | PAYX |
| FY2021 | −27.4 pp | PAYX |
| FY2014 | −13.2 pp | PAYX |
| FY2013 | −17.2 pp | PAYX |
| FY2012 | −19.5 pp | PAYX |
| FY2011 | −22.2 pp | PAYX |
| FY2010 | −15.0 pp | PAYX |
| FY2009 | −13.2 pp | PAYX |
| FY2008 | −16.6 pp | PAYX |
PAYX has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 12 fiscal years.
12 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
ICLR's net margin has been more volatile than PAYX's over the 12 comparable fiscal years — 3.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 2.9.
12 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
PAYX led in net margin in every one of the 12 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
12 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
ICLR's return on equity has been more volatile than PAYX's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 9.1 percentage points of standard deviation against 4.2.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
PAYX led in return on equity in every one of the 18 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.