What is an income statement waterfall?

An income statement waterfall is a bar chart that walks from total revenue down to net income, with each step showing how much a cost or tax line removes (or adds). Subtotals — gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income — are anchored to zero so the cascade reconciles exactly to the bottom line.

How much of Paychex (PAYX) revenue becomes net income?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Paychex turned $6.33B of revenue into $1.64B of net income — a net margin of 25.8%. The waterfall shows where the rest goes: cost of revenue, operating expenses, non-operating items, and taxes.

What are Paychex (PAYX) gross, operating, and net margins?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Paychex reported a gross margin of 73.9%, an operating margin of 36.9%, and a net margin of 25.8%. Each subtotal in the waterfall corresponds to one of these margins.

Why does Paychex (PAYX) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

Gross margin (gross profit ÷ revenue) reflects how much of each revenue dollar remains after direct production costs. Capital-light software and platform businesses often show gross margins above 60–80% because their cost of revenue is mainly hosting and support. Hardware, retail, and commodity businesses show lower gross margins because raw materials and manufacturing costs are significant. The waterfall makes this visible at a glance — the size of the "Cost of Revenue" bar relative to Revenue is the gross margin complement.

What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Gross margin = (Revenue − Cost of Revenue) ÷ Revenue. It measures production efficiency. Operating margin = Operating Income ÷ Revenue. It adds operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and measures the profitability of core operations. Net margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue. It also includes interest, other income/expense, and taxes, and represents the shareholder take after everything.

Paychex (PAYX) Income Statement Waterfall

Revenue

$6.33B

Gross Margin

+73.9%

Operating Margin

+36.9%

Net Margin

+25.8%

Income statement waterfall for Paychex (PAYX) — TTM through Q1 2026

Net income: $1.64B

Margin breakdown for Paychex (PAYX) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Revenue	$6.33B	$6.33B
Cost of Revenue	−$1.65B	$4.68B
Gross Profit	$4.68B	$4.68B
Operating Expenses	−$2.35B	$2.34B
Operating Income	$2.34B	$2.34B
Other Income / Expense	−$190.90M	$2.15B
Pre-tax Income	$2.15B	$2.15B
Income Tax	−$509.30M	$1.64B
Net Income	$1.64B	$1.64B

Revenue$6.33B
Cost of Revenue−$1.65B
Gross Profit$4.68B
Operating Expenses−$2.35B
Operating Income$2.34B
Other Income / Expense−$190.90M
Pre-tax Income$2.15B
Income Tax−$509.30M
Net Income$1.64B

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Income statement waterfall for Paychex (PAYX) — TTM through Q1 2026

Margin breakdown for Paychex (PAYX) — TTM through Q1 2026

Frequently asked questions

+What is an income statement waterfall?

+How much of Paychex (PAYX) revenue becomes net income?

+What are Paychex (PAYX) gross, operating, and net margins?

+Why does Paychex (PAYX) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

+What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Data & methodology

+What is this view?

+How to read this waterfall

+How is the data calculated?

+What is the USD toggle?

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