Item 1. Business

Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms “Paychex,” “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to Paychex, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

We are an industry-leading human capital management (“HCM”) company delivering a full suite of technology and advisory services in human resources (“HR”), employee benefit solutions, insurance, and payroll processing. As of May 31, 2024, we served greater than 745,000 small- to medium-sized businesses and their employees across the U.S. and parts of Europe. Paychex was incorporated in Delaware in 1979, maintains a corporate headquarters in Rochester, New York, and has a fiscal year that ends on May 31st.

For any organization, a key function is effective HCM, which requires both resources and expertise. Organizations are faced with continuous evolution in employer-employee relations including: an increasing number and complexity of federal, state, and local regulations; changing workforce dynamics; and challenges attracting and retaining talent. The workplace is rapidly changing as employees increasingly become mobile, work remotely, and expect a user experience similar to consumer-oriented applications. We specialize in helping small- to medium-sized businesses who do not have the resources or expertise to adapt to the constantly evolving environment.

Paychex offers a full range of integrated HCM solutions from hire to retire for businesses and their employees that allows us to customize our offering to the client's business, whether it is small or large, simple or complex. We believe that we have the breadth of solutions to cover the spectrum of the employee life cycle, but we also allow integrations with popular HR, accounting, point-of-sale, and productivity applications.

The key features of our solutions are:

Comprehensive cloud-based platform optimized to meet the HR and payroll needs of small- and medium-sized organizations;

Expertise in HR and payroll with our technology backed by approximately 250 compliance experts and over 650 HR business professionals;

Streamlined workforce management that combines technology with flexible, tech-enabled support options;

Modern, mobile, and intuitive user experience with self-service capabilities;

Scalable and customizable platform that allows clients the ability to add services as they grow;

Software as a service, or “SaaS”, delivery model that reduces total cost of ownership for our clients; and

Advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (“AI”) capabilities powered by large data sets.

We market our solutions through a combination of direct and virtual sales forces and ecommerce solutions supported by various digital lead generation and multi-channel marketing initiatives. Over 50% of our revenues are from solutions other than payroll processing.

Company Strategy

Our strategy is to be the digitally driven HR leader, serving as an essential partner to small-to-medium sized businesses by providing them with the technology and advisory services they need for HR, payroll, benefits, and insurance. We believe that successfully executing this strategy will lead to strong, long-term financial performance. We intend to strengthen and extend our position as a leading provider through continued investments in both our innovative technology and HR advisory solutions. Key elements of our strategy include:

Growing our client base and market share. We operate in a large and growing market, with significant potential to expand within our current target markets. We continually invest in new demand generation, sales tools, go-to-market strategies along with channel partnerships, eCommerce, and digital marketing.

Expand our share of wallet. We offer a full-suite of integrated solutions incorporating a unique combination of industry-leading HR technology and HR advisory solutions that sets us apart in the industry. We intend to continue to increase penetration across our HCM software, HR outsourcing, retirement, insurance, and payments offerings.

Leveraging technology innovations**.** We continue to invest significantly in our proprietary, award-winning Paychex Flex® platform and mobility applications to maximize efficiency and functionality for our clients and their employees. We believe we are well positioned to capture the AI opportunity with large and growing data sets,

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predictive analytics and AI models, and increased AI investments to improve efficiency, enhance the customer experience, and unlock new growth opportunities.

Engaging in strategic acquisitions**.** We utilize acquisitions, when appropriate, as a means to expand our portfolio, enter new markets, or increase our scale. We will continue to evaluate and monitor potential acquisitions and target acquisitions that are aligned with our overall strategy.

Our Solutions

Our solutions bring together payroll and HCM software with HR and compliance expertise, along with flexible, personalized, and technology-enabled support capabilities. Clients have the option of doing payroll online using our SaaS technology, outsourcing to our payroll specialists, or using a combination of these methods. Payroll is integrated with HCM software modules for clients who have more complex HR needs. We also provide comprehensive HR outsourcing through our administrative services organization (“ASO”) and PEO solutions. The integration of leading-edge technology and flexible support options allows us to meet our clients’ needs how, when, and where they want.

We closely monitor the evolving challenges and needs of small- and medium-sized businesses, and proactively aid our clients in navigating macroeconomic challenges, legislative changes, and other complexities they may face. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024 (“fiscal 2024”), top challenges for employers were macroeconomic pressures including inflation and interest rates, maintaining sufficient staffing levels, providing appropriate employee development, keeping technology current, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance.

We provide a unique blend of innovative technology solutions, backed by our extensive compliance and HR expertise, that help customers more effectively hire, develop, and retain top talent in this challenging workforce environment. As businesses operate in a tight labor market, having an online portal for employee self-service that is intuitive and easy-to-use helps increase employee retention and efficiency for our customers. We continue to invest in our technology, enhancing our solutions to continuously improve the customer and employee experiences from hiring and onboarding through employee retention.

HCM Technology: Paychex Flex is our proprietary HCM SaaS platform that provides seamless workforce management throughout the employee life cycle from recruiting and hiring to retirement through an integrated suite of solutions including recruiting, onboarding, HR, time and attendance and employee benefits. It utilizes a single cloud-based platform, with single client and employee records. Clients can select the modules they need and easily customize solutions as they grow. In addition, Paychex Flex presents function-focused analytics throughout the platform, providing HR leaders with data to make more informed business decisions. Paychex Flex uses a device-independent design throughout the HCM suite, which allows full functionality of all application components, regardless of device or screen size. We believe our Paychex mobile solutions add greater value and convenience for our clients and their employees by allowing them instant access on their mobile device, and usage of our mobile and self-service capabilities continue to grow.

HR and Compliance Expertise: Paychex augments its HCM software solutions with 50+ years of experience. We have over 650 HR business professionals who are dedicated to our clients and have the experience and training to provide HR best practices and advice. Our HR business partners are available to provide our ASO and PEO clients with specific guidance on HR issues. In addition, we have approximately 250 compliance professionals who are in real-time contact with tax agencies and regulators to understand upcoming or newly enacted laws and regulations and advocate for our clients’ interests. The contributions of these compliance experts are intended to ensure that our HCM solutions are updated in a timely fashion to adhere to applicable regulations and to help our clients stay in compliance.

Technology-Enabled Client Service: Paychex Flex also provides technology-enabled service with options that include self-service, a 24/7 dedicated service center, an individual payroll specialist, and integrated service via a multi-product service center. In addition, medium-sized clients can utilize a relationship manager for more personalized service. This flexible platform services our small- to medium-sized clients and a portion of our PEO business.

Within Paychex Flex, we leverage embedded AI to assist our clients. Our Paychex Flex Intelligence Engine allows individual preference on learning style - via written how-to-documents, tutorial-style video vignettes, or guided interactive tours. The Paychex Flex Intelligence Engine also includes the Flex Assistant, a customer service chatbot that can answer questions across thousands of topics and provides access to over 1,200 instructional resources. At any time, a live Paychex agent is just a click away, with the entire chat conversation available in real-time to provide a more personalized service experience. The Flex Assistant consistently handles nearly two-thirds of questions that would otherwise reach a payroll/HR functionary or a customer service representative, with high satisfaction scores.

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The platform embeds self-service capabilities that empower client employees to manage their HR and benefits information from any location, on any device. These self-service capabilities allow for greater access and convenience for client employees and greater productivity for clients.

Our Clients

Paychex has HR solutions to fit the needs of any small- to medium-sized business, from do-it-yourself payroll to comprehensive HR outsourcing. The target market for our integrated HCM solutions is small- to medium-sized businesses. Within this space, we serve a diverse client base operating in a broad range of industries throughout the U.S. and parts of Europe. The flexibility and scalability of our solutions allow our clients to select the best solution that meets their needs. We utilize service agreements and arrangements with clients that generally do not contain specified contract periods and may be terminated by either party with 30-days notice of termination. We believe client retention is a useful indicator of client satisfaction with our solutions and support. For fiscal 2024, client retention was in the range of 82% to 83% of our beginning client base.

We support our small-business clients, reducing the complexity and risk of running their own payroll, while ensuring greater accuracy with up-to-date tax rates and regulatory information. We simplify their payroll with a combination of our solutions and customer support options for a quick and easy payday. Clients may choose to have our service team handle everything for them, or process payroll themselves utilizing our proprietary, robust SaaS Paychex Flex platform and our SurePayroll® SaaS-based solutions. Both solutions allow users to process payroll when they want, how they want, and on any device (desktop, tablet, and mobile phone).

While Paychex Flex is our primary SaaS-based platform utilized by the majority of our clients for their HCM needs, there are some clients that use other platforms, including SurePayroll clients, and certain PEO clients.

Both our small- and medium-sized clients can choose one of our comprehensive HR outsourcing services, which include ASO and PEO solutions, and participate in our benefits offerings, which include our insurance and retirement services. Our insurance services simplify the insurance process to make it easy to find plans with the features and affordability to meet the client’s needs. Our retirement services solutions offer many plan design options to meet the client’s requirements, as well as various investment options.

Description of Solutions

Within our HCM solutions, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of HCM technology and HR advisory solutions that allow our clients to meet their diverse HR and payroll needs. Clients can select solutions on an á la carte basis or as part of various solution bundles. Our offerings often leverage the information gathered in our base payroll processing service, allowing us to provide comprehensive outsourcing services covering the HCM spectrum.

Our portfolio of solutions is comprised of the following:

Management Solutions:

Payroll processing solutions: Our payroll processing solutions include the calculation, preparation, and delivery of employee payroll checks; production of internal accounting records and management reports; preparation of federal, state, and local payroll tax returns; and collection and remittance of clients’ payroll obligations.

Payroll tax administration solutions: Payroll tax administration solutions provide for accurate preparation and timely filing of quarterly and year-end tax returns, as well as the electronic transfer of funds to the applicable federal, state, and local tax or regulatory agencies. In connection with these services, we electronically collect payroll taxes from clients’ bank accounts, typically on payday, prepare and file the applicable tax returns, and remit taxes to the applicable tax or regulatory agencies on the respective due dates. These taxes are typically paid between one and 30 days after receipt of collections from clients, with some items extending up to 90 days. We handle regulatory correspondence, amendments, and penalty and interest disputes.

Employee payment solutions: Our employee payment solutions provide an employer the option of paying their employees by direct deposit, payroll debit card, a check drawn on a Paychex account (Readychex®), or a check drawn on the employer’s account and electronically signed by us. For each of the first three methods, we electronically collect net payroll from the clients’ bank accounts, typically one business day before payday, and provide payment to the employees on payday. Our

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Readychex solution provides a cost-effective solution that offers the benefit of convenient, one-step payroll account reconciliation for employers.

We also allow employers to opt for more flexible pay options. Same day ACH functionality is also available for clients using direct deposit, allowing employers the flexibility to pay employees via direct deposit on the same day they initiate payroll. In addition, we are giving business owners the ability to leverage real-time payments to process payroll and deliver net pay to their employees immediately for time worked. Pay-on-demand functionality enables an employee to request access to a portion of earned pay before the scheduled pay date, which is deposited into a traditional bank account or a third-party account.

HR solutions: Our HR solutions allow businesses to outsource and simplify their HR administration and compliance support. These bundled services incorporate integrated HCM technology solutions and HR advisory services through both virtual and on-site availability of a professionally trained HR representative. Clients can opt for different levels of HR outsourcing from our low-touch HR solutions to our full-service HR Pro package. We also offer HR support to non-payroll clients through our HR Partner Plus solution.

Retirement solutions administration: Our retirement solutions line offers a variety of options to employers, including 401(k) plans, 401(k) SIMPLE plans, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans with safe harbor provisions, owner-only 401(k) plans, Pooled Employer Plans, profit sharing plans, and money purchase plans. These solutions provide plan implementation, ongoing compliance with government regulations, employee and employer reporting, participant and employer online access, electronic funds transfer, and other administrative services. Auto enrollment is an optional plan feature that allows employers to automatically enroll employees in their company’s 401(k) plan and increase overall plan participation. Clients may choose from a group of pre-defined fund selections or customize their investment options within their plan. We are the largest 401(k) recordkeeper for small businesses in the U.S. Our large-market retirement services include relationships with financial advisors.

HR administration solutions: We offer cloud-based HR administration software solutions for employee benefits management and administration, time and attendance reporting, recruiting, and onboarding. These services include:

Paychex HR Online offers powerful tools for managing employee personnel information, performance management, HR compliance, and reporting. Our Learning Management solution complements our performance management tool. When combined with our workflow and approval engine, we offer businesses the flexibility to capture ongoing performance feedback, recommend and enroll employees in specific training courses, and leverage automated workflows to track progress and approve compensation changes tied to performance.

Digital communication solutions, including Paychex Flex HR Connect and HR Conversations, which helps strengthen connections and keep workers engaged no matter their work location. Paychex Flex HR Connect provides the ability to digitally submit questions, requests, and incident reports directly to HR through an easy-to-use workflow. HR Conversations enables managers and HR leaders to initiate communications with employees, and enhancements to performance assessments allow for 360-degree feedback digitally within the tool.

Benefits administration software solution that manages the employee-benefit enrollment process for both open-enrollment and life events.

Time and attendance solutions, including our integrated Paychex Flex Time software, provide timekeeping, scheduling, and workforce analytics. The InVisionTM IRIS Time Clock, a biometric clock that scans the iris, provides fast and accurate time capture. Paychex Flex Time also works with wearable technology to allow for employees to clock in and out using their smartwatch.

Applicant tracking suite provides technology solutions that streamline, simplify, and drive the applicant workflow and onboarding process for companies of all sizes.

Regulatory compliance solutions: We offer new-hire reporting solutions, which enable clients to comply with federal and state requirements to report information on newly hired employees. This information aids federal and state governments in enforcing child support orders and minimizes fraudulent unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance claims. Our garnishment processing solution provides deductions from employees’ pay, forwards payments to third-party agencies, including those that require electronic payments, and tracks the obligations to fulfillment. These solutions enable employers to comply with legal requirements and reduce the risk of penalties. We also offer comprehensive solutions to help employers and employees with certain mandates under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which sets forth specific coverage and reporting requirements that employers must meet.

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Other HR solutions and support: We offer the outsourcing of plan administration under section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, allowing employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for certain health insurance benefits and health and dependent care expenses not covered by insurance. All required implementation, administration, compliance, claims processing and reimbursement, and coverage tests are provided with these services. We offer state unemployment insurance solutions, which provide clients with prompt processing for all claims, appeals, determinations, change statements, and requests for separation documents.

Business services: We offer various business solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses. Our wholly owned subsidiary, Paychex Advance, LLC, provides a portfolio of solutions to the temporary staffing industry, including payroll funding (via the purchase of accounts receivable) and outsourcing services, which include payroll processing, invoicing, and tax preparation. Alterna Capital Solutions, LLC (“Alterna”), which was acquired in July 2023, offers funding to small businesses through the purchase of outstanding accounts receivable balances under non-recourse agreements. In addition, through partnerships with third-party providers, we provide clients opportunities for solutions such as payment processing services, financial programs, and a small-business loan resource center.

PEO and Insurance Solutions:

PEO solutions: Our licensed PEO subsidiaries offer businesses a combined package that includes payroll, employer compliance, HR and employee benefits administration, risk management outsourcing, and both virtual and on-site availability of a professionally trained HR representative, among other services. What differentiates our PEO solutions from our ASO solutions is that we serve as a co-employer of our clients’ employees and assume the risks and rewards of certain workers’ compensation insurance and certain health insurance offerings. We are certified under the Small Business Efficiency Act to provide PEO solutions. We offer the PEO Protection Plus Package, which helps business owners protect their bottom line from unforeseen costs, including cyberattacks and employee lawsuits.

Insurance solutions: Our licensed insurance agency, Paychex Insurance Agency, Inc., provides insurance through a variety of carriers, allowing employers to expand their employee benefit and corporate offerings at an affordable cost. Insurance offerings include property and casualty coverage such as workers’ compensation, business-owner policies, cybersecurity protection, commercial auto, and health and benefits coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life. Our insurance solutions simplify the insurance process to make it easy to find plans with the features and affordability to meet the client’s needs. With access to numerous top national and regional insurance carriers, our professional insurance agents have access to a wide selection of plans from which they can best match the insurance needs of small businesses. Additionally, clients have the option to integrate their insurance plans with Paychex payroll processing for easy, accurate plan administration.

Sales and Marketing

We market and sell our solutions and support primarily through our direct sales force based in the markets we serve. Our direct sales force includes sales representatives who have defined geographical territories and specialize within our portfolio of solutions. Our sales representatives are also supported by marketing, advertising, public relations, trade shows, and telemarketing programs. Our virtual sales force manages inbound sales leads, sales in areas without a direct sales force presence, and sales of various ancillary solutions.

In addition to our direct selling and marketing efforts, we utilize other indirect sales channels such as our relationships with existing clients, certified public accountants (“CPAs”), and banks for new client referrals. More than 50% of our new small-market payroll clients (excluding business acquisitions) come from these referral sources. Our dedicated business development group drives sales through banking, national associations, and franchise channels. We also utilize digital marketing as a means to market our services.

We have a long-standing partnership with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) as the preferred payroll provider for its AICPA Business SolutionsTM Program. Our current partnership agreement with the AICPA is in place through September 2025. We also partner with numerous state CPA society organizations.

Our website is available at www.paychex.com. It is a cost-efficient channel that serves as a source of leads and new sales, while complementing the efforts of our direct and virtual sales forces. The website allows us to market to existing and prospective clients that want to learn more about our solutions and support, and offers information about our core lines of business: human resources (www.paychex.com/human-resources), payroll (www.paychex.com/payroll), benefits (www.paychex.com/employee-benefits), and insurance (www.paychex.com/business-insurance).

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Paychex also builds on its reputation as an expert in the HCM industry by providing education and assistance primarily to businesses and the CPA community. We provide free webinars, podcasts, white papers, and other information on our website to inform businesses on the impact of regulatory change as well as HR and business best practices. Paychex WORX, available at www.paychex.com/worx, is a digital destination for insightful resources useful for businesses at every stage, from entrepreneur to enterprise. Paychex WORX highlights our expertise and ability to help businesses of all sizes with a wide range of HR and financial information for current clients and prospects alike.

We also track current regulatory issues that impact the business community and provide regulatory updates. We issue small business trend reports through our Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. Our Paychex Accountant Knowledge Center is a free online resource available through our website that brings valuable information and time-saving online tools to accounting professionals. Through Paychex Flex, AccountantHQ offers access to authorized client payroll and HR data and key account contacts, along with an extensive accountant resource library. AccountantHQ drives efficiency by putting accountants in the best position possible to easily access critical client payroll and HR data, as well as powerful reporting tools.

Markets and Competition

We remain focused on servicing small- to medium-sized businesses based upon the growth potential that we believe exists in the markets we serve. Census data indicates that in the U.S., there are over 6 million employer firms in our target markets.

The market for HCM services is highly competitive and fragmented. We have one primary national competitor and we also compete with other national, international, regional, local, and online service providers. In addition to traditional payroll processing and HR service providers, we compete with in-house payroll and HR systems and departments. Payroll and HR systems and software are sold by many vendors. We believe our solutions also compete with a variety of providers of HR services, such as retirement services companies, insurance companies, HR and benefits consulting firms, and national and regional PEOs.

Competition in the payroll processing and HR services industry is primarily based on service responsiveness, product quality and reputation, including ease of use and accessibility of technology, breadth of service and product offerings, and price. We believe we are competitive in each of these areas. Our leading-edge technology and mobility applications, combined with personalized support provided by industry professionals and our technology-enabled solution capabilities, differentiates us from our competitors.

Software Maintenance and Development

The ever-changing mandates of federal, state, and local tax and regulatory agencies require us to regularly update our proprietary software to provide payroll and HR services to our clients. We are continually engaged in developing enhancements to and maintaining our various software platforms to meet the changing requirements of our clients and the marketplace. We continue to enhance our SaaS solutions and mobility applications to offer our users an integrated and unified experience. Continued enhancement of the client and client employee experience is important to our future success.

Human Capital

We believe our ability to attract and retain qualified employees in all areas of our business is critical to our future success and growth. We strive to foster a workplace that encompasses diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”); attract, retain, and develop talented employees; and keep them safe. In fiscal 2023, we were a signatory to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, the single largest business-led initiative to advance DE&I in the workplace. We also created a new DE&I leadership position to ensure that our efforts in building and sustaining a diverse culture of inclusion are realized.

For detailed information regarding our human capital activities, we encourage investors to visit our Corporate Responsibility website page at https://www.paychex.com/corporate/corporate-responsibility. We have also made our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) report available on our website. The information contained on our website and in our ESG report is not and should not be viewed as being incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

Our Employees: As of May 31, 2024, we employed approximately 16,500 people, primarily in the U.S. and on a full-time basis. None of our employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced a strike or similar work stoppage, and we consider our relations with our employees to be good.

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Paychex Culture: Our core cultural values (“Paychex Values”) are designed to guide decision making aligned to the expectations of clients, stockholders, regulators, employees, and the multiple communities in which we operate and to reflect our continuing commitment to DE&I. The Paychex Values are:

Integrity	Accountability	Innovation
Partnership	Respect	Service

Each of these values guide our decision-making process and are critical to our ongoing success. All employees are required to verify their understanding and observance of these values during our annual “Right Way” training, review these values with management during periodic performance discussions, and are further encouraged to attend ongoing training during the year. Volunteer “Culture Champions” throughout the Company also help promote these values daily. We encourage employee feedback through our employee engagement surveys, as described below. This approach empowers our employees and allows us to make a positive impact in the communities we work and serve. As a result of our commitment to these principles, in 2024 we were recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. We have achieved this recognition 16 times, and consecutively since 2012. In addition, we were also recognized by Forbes as a Best Employer for Diversity for 2024.

Talent Acquisition and Development: We compete for talent along with our direct competitors and other companies in the geographic areas we serve. We invest significant resources to attract and retain top talent. Our Talent Acquisition Team, in conjunction with certain third-party partners, have developed comprehensive processes to identify and recruit accomplished professionals.

Once hired, our world-class Training Department provides functional training for payroll and HCM specialists and sales associates and also offers personal training, professional development, and leadership-development programs. As a result of our efforts, we have been recognized as one of the top training organizations in the world with a 2024 Training APEX Award presented by Training magazine. Paychex ranked number four on the list, the fourth consecutive year in the top ten. This is also the Company's 23rd consecutive appearance on the list that identifies organizations that excel at training and employee development.

Comprehensive Compensation and Benefits: We are committed to providing a fair wage and a total rewards package that allows our employees to be their best in every area of their lives. We regularly review employee salaries to ensure we are competitive in the industry and offer financial benefits such as a 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, tuition assistance, scholarships for children of employees, and financial education. We are also committed to rewarding employees with comprehensive and competitive benefits and well-being package which includes medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance, short- and long-term disability, employee assistance program, paid family leave, and a variety of well-being programs. For fiscal 2024, compensation-related expenses accounted for approximately 58% of our total expenses.

Employee Well-being Initiatives: In addition to providing a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, we are committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for our employees. Healthier employees are at lower risk of injury from workplace related exposures, perform work more safely with lower rates of absenteeism, experience better job performance, and can live their lives more fully outside of work. Our well-being program is a robust program focusing on the physical, emotional, community, career, and financial health of our employees.

Our award-winning well-being initiatives offer a wide variety of services, tools, and resources that can help employees achieve their health goals using a holistic approach. In addition, we sponsor onsite health screenings, Red Cross blood donation events, flu vaccination clinics, vaping and tobacco cessation, weight management, resiliency training, meditation and yoga classes, and a variety of other programs. Similar to our Culture Champions, we also promote the use of “Well-Being Champions” - Paychex employees who serve as a liaison between the Employee Well-Being Program and their team members. Our employees’ financial well-being is equally important, so we have developed programs for financial education and support. We maintain procedures for events such as fires, severe weather, medical emergencies, and active shooters, as well as other important information related to general workforce safety.

In recognizing the ever-growing diversity of our workplace, we annually celebrate Paychex Culture Day. This is an additional paid day off for employees to celebrate and recognize a holiday that is significant to them. This is just one of the many ways we celebrate our unique heritages, and it reflects our Company's commitment to DE&I and flexibility.

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Employee Engagement: We regularly ask our employees to share their views on working at Paychex through company-wide engagement surveys. Facilitated internally by our Human Resources Organizational Development Team, the survey methodology is periodically updated to reflect currents trends and issues including company direction and strategy, DE&I, individual development, collaboration, and our Paychex Values. A third-party administers the survey in order to maintain confidentiality of responses. We use the survey responses to help inform management and assist in developing programs and policies that will maintain and promote Paychex Values.

Intellectual Property

We own or license and use a number of trademarks, trade names, copyrights, service marks, trade secrets, computer programs and software, and other intellectual property rights. Collectively, our intellectual property rights are material to the conduct of our business. Where it is determined to be appropriate, we take measures to protect our intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements or policies with employees, vendors, and others; license agreements with licensees and licensors of intellectual property; and registration of certain trademarks. We believe that the “Paychex” name, trademark, and logo are of material importance to us.

Seasonality

There is no significant seasonality to our business. However, during our third fiscal quarter, which ends in February, the number of new payroll clients, new retirement services clients, and new worksite employees associated with our ASO and PEO businesses tends to be higher than during the rest of the fiscal year, primarily because many businesses prefer to start using our services at the beginning of a calendar year. In addition, calendar year-end transaction processing and client funds activity are traditionally higher during our third fiscal quarter due to year-end bonus payments, additional year-end services, and the preparation and delivery of end-of year reporting requirements.

Available Information

We are subject to the informational and reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Therefore, we file periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that includes our reports, proxy statements, and other information.

Our corporate website, www.paychex.com, provides materials for investors and information about our services. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other SEC filings, as well as any amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are made available, free of charge, on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports have been filed with or furnished to the SEC. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into our Form 10-K. Also, copies of our Annual Report to Stockholders and Proxy Statement, to be issued in connection with our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, will be made available, free of charge, upon written request submitted to Paychex, Inc., c/o Corporate Secretary, 911 Panorama Trail South, Rochester, New York 14625-2396.

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