Paylocity

Overview

Paylocity Holding Corporation is a Nasdaq-listed provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM), finance and IT software, founded in 1997 by Steve Sarowitz in the Chicago area and publicly traded under the ticker PCTY since March 2014 (Nasdaq/Renaissance Capital). For its fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, it reported $1,771.3 million in total revenue — up 11% from $1,595.2 million in fiscal 2025 — with net income of $269.7 million, about 6,900 employees and approximately 44,400 clients (excluding clients added through acquisitions), and annual revenue retention above 92% (Form 10-K). The company is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered at 1400 American Lane in Schaumburg, Illinois (Form 10-K). As an SEC-reporting issuer, it files its financial disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is how its operating figures here are sourced.

The defining thread of Paylocity’s story is steady scaling inside one market segment: mid-sized employers. Its 10-K describes a unified platform built on a single employee record covering payroll, HR, time and attendance, recruiting, benefits, and performance management — clients typically have 10 to 5,000 employees, average over 150 employees, and the company estimates 1.3 million U.S. businesses sit in its addressable band (Form 10-K).

From a $1.55 billion IPO debut to a multi-billion revenue trajectory

Paylocity priced its March 2014 IPO at $17 per share and raised about $120 million; of the 7 million shares offered, the company sold 5 million and selling stockholders sold the rest (Reuters). The shares opened at $31, valuing the company at about $1.55 billion, and closed the day up 53% at $25.94 — the top gainer on the Nasdaq that day (Reuters). Private equity firm Adams Street Partners held a 26% stake at the time, and Reuters named Ultimate Software, Workday, ADP and Paychex as competitors (Reuters). Renaissance Capital had reported the company was founded in 1997, based in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with $91 million in trailing sales and bookrunners Deutsche Bank, BofA Merrill Lynch and William Blair (Nasdaq/Renaissance Capital).

Founder ownership stayed concentrated long after the IPO. A Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC in February 2022 reported that Steven Ira Sarowitz beneficially owned 11,871,008 shares — 21.5% of the class as of December 31, 2021 (SEC 13G/A). Leadership also stayed unusually continuous: Steve Beauchamp had been CEO since the late 2000s, then served as co-CEO alongside Toby Williams before transitioning to Executive Chairman effective August 5, 2024, at which point Williams became the sole chief executive and principal executive officer, and Sarowitz stepped down as board chairman while remaining a director — all disclosed in the company’s Form 8-K (Form 8-K). The 10-K for fiscal 2026 is signed by Toby J. Williams as President and CEO (Form 10-K).

Beyond HCM: the Airbase acquisition and the push into finance software

The most strategic move in recent years was the September 2024 agreement to acquire Airbase, a San Francisco corporate spend management startup, for $325 million, funded through borrowings under Paylocity’s revolving credit facility (TechCrunch). Airbase had been founded in 2017 by Thejo Kote, raised just over $100 million from investors including Menlo Ventures, Bain Capital and First Round Capital, and had been valued at $600 million post-money in 2021 at the market peak, per PitchBook — meaning Paylocity bought it well below that paper high (TechCrunch). A source told TechCrunch that excluding cash on Airbase’s balance sheet, the total deal value was “a little less than $400 million” (TechCrunch).

The stated rationale was expansion beyond HR into the Office of the CFO: Airbase’s bill-pay, expense management, corporate cards and procurement tools were to be integrated with Paylocity’s HCM platform so companies could manage all operational spend on one system (Fintech Futures). Williams said the deal would let Paylocity provide “an integrated software platform to manage all aspects of their operational spend,” while Kote told TechCrunch he was convinced by “the fantastic opportunity to create a unified HCM and Finance platform for the mid-market” (TechCrunch). The fiscal 2026 10-K reflects that positioning, describing the company as a provider of “human capital management (HCM), finance and IT software solutions” with platform-wide AI (“Ignite AI”) embedded across workflows (Form 10-K).

What this profile does not claim

This profile does not state Sarowitz’s current ownership percentage — the 21.5% figure is from a February 2022 13G/A reporting holdings as of December 31, 2021, and later figures were not independently verified. It does not state a current market capitalization, which moves daily. The FY2026 10-K was read as republished filing text; the official EDGAR copy carries identical content under legal disclosure obligation, but readers should check EDGAR directly for the primary document. The detail that the company was renamed Paylocity in December 2005 appears in tertiary indexes but was not independently verified and is not stated. The profile does not claim the Airbase acquisition’s exact closing date or integration results beyond what was reported at announcement.