Automatic Data Processing, Inc. · ADP · FY2026 Q4 · Calendar Q3 2026

ADP ends FY2026 strongly as AI products support growth and retention

ADP's FY2026 results and management commentary support the view that resilient demand and expanding AI-enabled products can underpin continued growth, but the thesis depends on Lyric traction, AI monetization, and execution against the FY2027 outlook.

Reported Before market openNASDAQTechnology $107.78B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $2.64 Consensus $2.59
EPS surprise +1.9% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $5.47B Consensus $5.44B
Revenue surprise +0.7% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +3.5% Event window
SPY move -1.5% Same window
Abnormal move +5.0% Stock minus SPY
Volume 2.0× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +2.9% Up to 20 sessions
ADPSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

The current quarter shifted the focus from product rollout to broader adoption and operating impact: management cited a 94% increase in Lyric live clients, wider The Zone usage, and continued AI-driven efficiency while maintaining the FY2027 outlook.

Guidance delta

Management maintained its FY2027 outlook for 5–6% revenue growth and 9–11% EPS growth.

Key takeaways

  • ADP said fiscal 2026 finished ahead of its guidance on revenue, margin, and EPS growth.
  • Management highlighted ADP Assist, Lyric, and The Zone as increasingly embedded in core offerings.
  • Lyric live clients increased 94%, while The Zone reached 48% of service associates and reduced contacts per client by 4%.
  • The FY2027 outlook calls for continued revenue and EPS growth, with ongoing AI integration and global expansion.

Management priorities

  • Roll out ADP Assist across the ADP Marketplace.
  • Expand The Zone adoption across service and sales teams.
  • Scale Lyric and Workforce Suite in enterprise and international markets.
  • Continue AI-driven efficiency initiatives and consider strategic acquisitions that fit the portfolio.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
ADP EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 3 future estimate-only quarters. Q3 '24 estimate $2.79 Q3 '24 actual $2.88, beat Q4 '24 estimate $2.06 Q4 '24 actual $2.09, beat Q1 '25 estimate $2.21 Q1 '25 actual $2.33, beat Q4 '25 estimate $2.23 Q4 '25 actual $2.26, beat Q1 '26 estimate $2.44 Q1 '26 actual $2.49, beat Q2 '26 estimate $2.57 Q2 '26 actual $2.62, beat Q3 '26 estimate $3.30 Q3 '26 actual $3.37, beat Q4 '26 estimate $2.59 Q4 '26 actual $2.64, beat Q1 '27 estimate $2.77 Q2 '27 estimate $2.92 Q3 '27 estimate $3.69
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold36 ratings
Bullish822.2%
Neutral2363.9%
Bearish513.9%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$263.68Current
$214Low
$261.62Average
$315High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 23, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Cantor Fitzgerald Overweight OverweightMaintainAug 5, 2026
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainJul 30, 2026
Stifel Hold HoldMaintainJul 30, 2026
Morgan Stanley Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainJul 30, 2026
Guggenheim Buy BuyMaintainJul 30, 2026
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 30, 2026
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 22, 2026
TD Cowen Hold HoldMaintainJul 6, 2026
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainMay 5, 2026
JP Morgan Underweight UnderweightMaintainJan 29, 2026
Jefferies Underperform HoldDowngradeDec 16, 2025
Mizuho Outperform OutperformMaintainJun 13, 2025
RBC Capital Sector Perform Sector PerformMaintainJun 5, 2025
TD Securities Hold HoldMaintainMay 21, 2025
Barclays Overweight OverweightMaintainFeb 3, 2025
B of A Securities Neutral NeutralMaintainAug 1, 2024
Evercore ISI Group Underperform UnderperformMaintainMar 26, 2024
Wolfe Research Peer Perform UnderperformUpgradeJan 4, 2024
Deutsche Bank Hold HoldMaintainApr 27, 2023
Baird Neutral NeutralMaintainApr 27, 2023
BMO Capital Market Perform Market PerformMaintainOct 28, 2021
Credit Suisse Neutral OutperformDowngradeAug 16, 2021
Cowen & Co. Market Perform OutperformDowngradeSep 21, 2020
Goldman Sachs Sell SellMaintainJul 14, 2020
CFRA Hold HoldMaintainApr 29, 2020
MoffettNathanson Neutral BuyDowngradeJan 7, 2020
Bank of America Neutral BuyDowngradeSep 11, 2019
Argus Buy BuyMaintainAug 13, 2018
Wedbush Neutral NeutralMaintainJun 13, 2018
Stifel Nicolaus Hold HoldMaintainJun 6, 2018
Bernstein Outperform OutperformMaintainOct 31, 2017
William Blair Market Perform OutperformDowngradeJul 21, 2017
Compass Point Sell SellMaintainApr 15, 2016
Sterne Agee CRT Neutral NeutralMaintainDec 17, 2015
Raymond James Outperform OutperformMaintainAug 1, 2014
Susquehanna Neutral PositiveDowngradeAug 2, 2013
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Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $263.68. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Cantor FitzgeraldAnalyst unavailable$310$272.41 +17.6%Aug 3, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$286$273.37 +8.5%Jul 30, 2026
GuggenheimAnalyst unavailable$300$273.37 +13.8%Jul 30, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$225$276.08 -14.7%Jul 29, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldRamsey El-Assal$294$243.24 +11.5%Jul 22, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldAnalyst unavailable$295$246.22 +11.9%Jul 22, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$270$246.22 +2.4%Jul 22, 2026
Wells FargoJason Kupferberg$248$241.37 -5.9%Jul 9, 2026
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$260$245.6 -1.4%Jul 8, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$240$213 -9.0%May 10, 2026
Argus ResearchAnalyst unavailable$240$209.14 -9.0%May 5, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$270$215.06 +2.4%Apr 30, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$190$215.06 -27.9%Apr 29, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldAnalyst unavailable$244$204.24 -7.5%Apr 21, 2026
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$214$201.25 -18.8%Mar 27, 2026
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$270$231.36 +2.4%Feb 9, 2026
BMO CapitalDaniel Jester$281$249.06 +6.6%Jan 29, 2026
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$280$250.69 +6.2%Jan 29, 2026
Morgan StanleyJames Faucette$274$250.69 +3.9%Jan 29, 2026
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$262$250.69 -0.6%Jan 29, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldAnalyst unavailable$306$258.17 +16.0%Jan 26, 2026
BMO CapitalDaniel Jester$288$260.14 +9.2%Jan 16, 2026
JefferiesSamad Samana$230$264.96 -12.8%Dec 16, 2025
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$290$261.16 +10.0%Oct 30, 2025
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$245$261.22 -7.1%Oct 29, 2025
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$288$283.98 +9.2%Oct 21, 2025
UBSAnalyst unavailable$290$288.69 +10.0%Sep 16, 2025
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$315$310.94 +19.5%Jul 30, 2025
UBSKevin McVeigh$315$306.82 +19.5%Jun 13, 2025
JefferiesSamad Samana$305$300.57 +15.7%Jan 29, 2025
RBC CapitalAshish Sabadra$315$290.24 +19.5%Oct 31, 2024
Bank of America SecuritiesJason Kupferberg$281$285.16 +6.6%Oct 4, 2024
Bank of America SecuritiesJason Kupferberg$267$262.62 +1.3%Aug 1, 2024
RBC CapitalAshish Sabadra$267$252.98 +1.3%Sep 5, 2023
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$257$218.18 -2.5%May 2, 2022
CitigroupAnalyst unavailable$230$218.18 -12.8%May 2, 2022
Mizuho SecuritiesDan Dolev$250$218.18 -5.2%May 2, 2022
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$238$212.46 -9.7%Mar 16, 2022
BMO CapitalJeffrey Silber$220$233.04 -16.6%Nov 16, 2021
J.P. MorganTien Tsin Huang$224$211.82 -15.0%Aug 17, 2021
Credit SuisseKevin Mcveigh$215$213.56 -18.5%Aug 16, 2021
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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based solutions designed for human capital management (HCM). The company organizes its operations into two primary segments: Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Through its Employer Services division, ADP delivers strategic, cloud-powered platforms and comprehensive human resources (HR) outsourcing.…

Historical context

All ADP earnings

Technology peers this season

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SAIL SailPoint, Inc. FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 +13.8% -1.2% SailPoint pairs 25% ARR growth with accelerating AI-driven adoption
CIEN Ciena Corporation FY2026 Q3 · Calendar Q3 2026 +22.0% -10.4% Ciena raises outlook as AI networking demand lifts backlog
DOCU DocuSign, Inc. FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 +6.4% +3.7% DocuSign Q2 FY27: IAM momentum supports a raised outlook
IOT Samsara Inc. FY2027 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026 +25.0% +3.7% Samsara: AI adoption expands as FY27 guidance holds

Latest beats and misses

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-29T16:06:23.445399+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-03T01:23:14.877038+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-23T21:40:54.247441+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-23T21:40:54.244710+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-23. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.