paylocity

USA | $PCTY
high
Tier 1 — Public Strategic strategic_public v2 v2.0.0-br4
Sections
Deal Killer Strategic Positioning Negotiation Leverage Balance Sheet & Financials Integration Post-Mortem Competitive Moat Advertiser Cannibalization PE Clock / IPO Window Employee Retention (Post-Acquisition) Cultural Red Flags
$1
TTM Revenue
$403.7M
TTM EBITDA
$6
Market Cap
Synergy NPV

Asset A: Domain low

$15.0M – $20.0M
Valuation Range

Asset B: Media low

$9.0M – $45.0M
Valuation Range

Asset C: Platform low

Valuation Range

Deal Killer low

cfo_objection
Primary Deal Killer

paylocity's financial profile, derived from public filings, suggests capital allocation is under scrutiny. A discretionary media acquisition at HR.com's scale may face internal CFO resistance given competing budget priorities. Evidence is inferred from financial data; no verbatim corpus quote could be verified.

Strategic Positioning medium

active
M&A Appetite
9
Total Deals (Corpus)
3
Last 24 Months

Strategic gaps:

Positioning rationale:

  • 3 deals in last 24 months + acquisition capacity=comfortable
Signal audit trail (2 inputs)

Negotiation Leverage high

Top talking points:

  1. Buyer already spends on HR.com advertising — acquisition eliminates duplicate media spend
  2. HR.com ran a 2022 process with 8 offers — proven market demand establishes a competitive floor
  3. hr.com is one of <676 2-letter .com domains — category-defining, few substitutes, independent of media business performance

All leverage points:

Buyer already spends on HR.com advertising — acquisition eliminates duplicate media spend
5 overlapping advertisers: ADP, G-P, HRSoft
→ advertiser_cannibalization
HR.com ran a 2022 process with 8 offers — proven market demand establishes a competitive floor
2022 offers ranged $9M-$45M
→ seller_facts
hr.com is one of <676 2-letter .com domains — category-defining, few substitutes, independent of media business performance
domain broker estimate: $15M+
→ seller_facts
Buyer is actively acquiring in adjacent HR/media space — inbound interest likely
9 prior adjacent acquisitions
→ integration_post_mortem

Balance Sheet & Financials high

-0.982x
Leverage (Net Debt / EBITDA)
NET_CASH
Leverage Health
comfortable
Acquisition Capacity vs HR.com
Net Debt$-396.5M
Total Debt$1.6M
Cash & Equivalents$398.1M

Integration Post-Mortem medium

9
Prior Acquisitions Found
Smooth
Integration Pattern
LOW
Bandwidth Exhaustion Risk

Found 9 prior adjacent acquisition reference(s) for paylocity in the source corpus. Evidence suggests prior acquisitions completed integration on schedule with product shipped and customers retained.

AcquisitionYearOutcome
paylocity acquisition (2024)2024none
echcrunch.com/2024/09/04/paylocity-acquiring-corporate-spend-startup-airbase-for-325m] Paylocity is acquiring corporate spend startup Airbase for $325M | TechCrunch –:–:–:– The first StrictlyVC of 2026 lands in San Francisco on April 30. Tickets are limited. Register here. Save up to $680 on you
paylocity acquisition record techcrunch.com high
paylocity acquisition (2026)2026none
$200 million or 1.2 million shares in Q1 Fiscal Year 2026; $500 million or 3.0 million shares repurchased since May 2024 Announcing updated long-term financial targets, including increased Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow margin targets SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paylocity
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high
paylocity acquisition (2014)2014none
10.0M - 1 investor, led by Adams Street Partners - Post-IPO Equity (2014-03-01): USD 120.0M - Acquired Airbase (2024-09-04) for USD 325.0M - Acquired Airbase, Inc. (2024-09-01) for USD 325.0M - Acquired Trace (2023-12-01) - Acquired TraceHQ.com, Inc (2023-12-01) - Acquired Trace (2023-11-30) for US
paylocity acquisition record paylocity.com high
paylocity acquisition (2025)2025none
up 15% year-over-year - FY 2025 Total Revenue of $1,595.2 million, up 14% year-over-year - Repurchased 800,000 shares of common stock for $150 million during FY 2025 - Increased share repurchase authorization by $500 million - Announced the launch of Paylocity for Finance - expands the platform’s re
paylocity acquisition record www.globenewswire.com high
paylocity acquisition (2007)2007none
Adams Street Partners, followed by a $27.3 million Series B round in 2012. In 2010, Paylocity acquired Payroll Online and expanded its market presence in human capital management (HCM). Paylocity held an initial public offering in March 2014, raising about $120 million. At the time of the IPO, fou
paylocity acquisition record en.wikipedia.org high
paylocity acquisition (2008)2008none
the IPO, founder Steve Sarowitz held 44% ownership of the company. From 2019 to 2024, Paylocity acquired a number of companies in HCM space, including BeneFlEX, VivGrid, Sampage, Blue Marble Payroll, Cloudsnap, Trace and Airbase.Inc. ## Products and services Paylocity offers human capital managem
paylocity acquisition record en.wikipedia.org high
paylocity acquisition (year unknown)none
PHASE I ... Hyperscale Data's $102 Million in Cash, Restricted Cash, and Bitc... # Paylocity Acquires Grayscale to Expand AI-Powered Recruiting Capabilities Rhea-AI Impact (Neutral) Rhea-AI Sentiment (Positive) Tags ## Rhea-AI Summary - English - Arabic - French - German - Italian - Korean
paylocity acquisition record www.stocktitan.net high
paylocity acquisition (2022)2022smooth
Officer Exhibit 99.1 CONTACT: Brad Buyce bbuyce@paylocity.com 404-895-3998 Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Cloudsnap Integration Automation Platform Reaffirms Commitment to Delivering the Most Modern Workforce Solutions Platform SCHAUMBURG, IL (January 19, 2022) – Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY), a lead
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high
paylocity acquisition (2023)2023none
y.com/news-releases/news-release-details/paylocity-announces-acquisition-trace] Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Trace | Paylocity # Press Release Details # Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Trace << Back Dec 1, 2023 PDF Version ### Building on its track record of innovation, Paylocity will
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high
echcrunch.com/2024/09/04/paylocity-acquiring-corporate-spend-startup-airbase-for-325m] Paylocity is acquiring corporate spend startup Airbase for $325M | TechCrunch –:–:–:– The first StrictlyVC of 2026 lands in San Francisco on April 30. Tickets are limited. Register here. Save up to $680 on you
paylocity acquisition record techcrunch.com high
$200 million or 1.2 million shares in Q1 Fiscal Year 2026; $500 million or 3.0 million shares repurchased since May 2024 Announcing updated long-term financial targets, including increased Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow margin targets SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paylocity
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high
10.0M - 1 investor, led by Adams Street Partners - Post-IPO Equity (2014-03-01): USD 120.0M - Acquired Airbase (2024-09-04) for USD 325.0M - Acquired Airbase, Inc. (2024-09-01) for USD 325.0M - Acquired Trace (2023-12-01) - Acquired TraceHQ.com, Inc (2023-12-01) - Acquired Trace (2023-11-30) for US
paylocity acquisition record paylocity.com high
up 15% year-over-year - FY 2025 Total Revenue of $1,595.2 million, up 14% year-over-year - Repurchased 800,000 shares of common stock for $150 million during FY 2025 - Increased share repurchase authorization by $500 million - Announced the launch of Paylocity for Finance - expands the platform’s re
paylocity acquisition record www.globenewswire.com high
Adams Street Partners, followed by a $27.3 million Series B round in 2012. In 2010, Paylocity acquired Payroll Online and expanded its market presence in human capital management (HCM). Paylocity held an initial public offering in March 2014, raising about $120 million. At the time of the IPO, fou
paylocity acquisition record en.wikipedia.org high
the IPO, founder Steve Sarowitz held 44% ownership of the company. From 2019 to 2024, Paylocity acquired a number of companies in HCM space, including BeneFlEX, VivGrid, Sampage, Blue Marble Payroll, Cloudsnap, Trace and Airbase.Inc. ## Products and services Paylocity offers human capital managem
paylocity acquisition record en.wikipedia.org high
PHASE I ... Hyperscale Data's $102 Million in Cash, Restricted Cash, and Bitc... # Paylocity Acquires Grayscale to Expand AI-Powered Recruiting Capabilities Rhea-AI Impact (Neutral) Rhea-AI Sentiment (Positive) Tags ## Rhea-AI Summary - English - Arabic - French - German - Italian - Korean
paylocity acquisition record www.stocktitan.net high
Officer Exhibit 99.1 CONTACT: Brad Buyce bbuyce@paylocity.com 404-895-3998 Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Cloudsnap Integration Automation Platform Reaffirms Commitment to Delivering the Most Modern Workforce Solutions Platform SCHAUMBURG, IL (January 19, 2022) – Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY), a lead
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high
y.com/news-releases/news-release-details/paylocity-announces-acquisition-trace] Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Trace | Paylocity # Press Release Details # Paylocity Announces Acquisition of Trace << Back Dec 1, 2023 PDF Version ### Building on its track record of innovation, Paylocity will
paylocity acquisition record investors.paylocity.com high

Competitive Moat honest null

No competitive moat signals found in this buyer’s public corpus.

Advertiser Cannibalization high

HIGH
Cannibalization Risk
5
Overlapping Advertisers
Overlapping advertisers:
ADP G-P HRSoft Culture Amp ERIN

paylocity corpus mentions 5 known HR.com advertiser(s): ADP, G-P, HRSoft, Culture Amp, ERIN. An acquisition would mean the buyer is purchasing a media property where they (or their portfolio companies) actively advertise, creating cannibalization risk: post-close, those ad budgets would flow internally rather than generating third-party revenue for the combined entity.

UKG (71), Aon (61), Paycom (133), Verizon (41), Airbase (101), Cintas (36), ADP (779), Paycor (106), Wells Fargo (37), Paychex (744) - Alumni Go To: Gusto (40), Dayforce (24), ProLiant (68), Viventiu
ADP mention in buyer source corpus paylocity.com high
marketplace. Additionally, our AI strategy has continued to progress - delivering predictive and actionable insights, generative AI functionality and a growing number of autonomous agents across the p
ERIN mention in buyer source corpus investors.paylocity.com high

PE Clock / IPO Window honest null

Not applicable — this buyer is a public strategic, not under PE exit pressure.

Employee Retention (Post-Acquisition) low

UNKNOWN
Retention Risk Assessment
Employees with 20-30 year tenure. Debbie wants them protected post-sale.
Debbie McGrath, 2026-03-23 meeting

Cultural Red Flags honest null

No cultural-risk signals found in this buyer’s public corpus.