Paylocity is no longer just a mid-market payroll processor. The Schaumburg software company spent the latest fiscal year stitching finance, information technology, recruiting, and agent-style automation onto the same employee record that already runs payroll. Recurring and other revenue still grew about twelve percent, reaching $1.65 billion. The investment debate is whether that platform breadth can keep compounding, or whether the coming-year guide already admits a slower franchise.
The fourth-quarter print accelerated on the recurring line even after stripping the small Grayscale contribution. Client count rose and average revenue per client climbed to $37,200. Retention stayed in the low nineties through the year. What the tape is wrestling with is the mix underneath that print. Client-fund interest already slipped, and the opening guide for the new year steps total growth into the high single digits. A longer amortization life for deferred contract costs also pads reported margin.
Fourth-quarter recurring revenue reached $416 million. Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a company-defined measure that excludes certain items, came in at $655 million. The company also bought back $398 million of stock. The question for the next year is whether attach from Airbase, Ignite, and Elevate can hold recurring growth in double digits once float income fades and the accounting tailwind is stripped out.