Paychex's Profit And Sales Rise, Top Forecasts

Paychex reported on Friday a fiscal second-quarter profit that rose to $173 million, or 47 cents a share, from $158.7 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. That beat the FactSet consensus analyst per-share earnings estimate of 46 cents. The provider human resources outsourcing services said total sales rose 10% to $676.3 million, with total service revenue increasing 10% to $665.9 million. Both topped analyst forecasts of $675 million and and $665.5 million, respectively. The company affirmed its full fiscal-year outlook for total service revenue growth of 8% to 10%. The stock, which inched up less than 0.1% in premarket trade, has gained 4.9% this year through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 12%.