AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC vs MICROSOFT CORPORATION, two Software stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
ADP and Microsoft are both software compounders, separated by scale and breadth. Microsoft runs the higher net margin, 36% to ADP's 20, across its cloud-and-enterprise empire, while ADP's 68% return on equity tops Microsoft's 28 on its narrow, asset-light payroll base. ADP is the slightly cheaper stock, near 21 times earnings to Microsoft's 26, and the higher yielder at 2.7%. Microsoft is the platform that touches everything; ADP the back-office utility that quietly runs payroll. Two reliable franchises at very different sizes.
Comparison updated 2026-06-15.
| Metric | ADP | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $241.91 | $385.09 |
| Market cap | $97.4B | $2.87T |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +7.7% | +15.0% |
| P/E | 22.6 | 22.9 |
| P/B | 15.33 | 6.92 |
| P/S | 4.51 | 9.01 |
| EV/EBITDA | 167.9 | 15.8 |
| Revenue growth | +6.9% | +17.9% |
| Gross margin | — | 67.6% |
| Operating margin | — | 46.3% |
| Net margin | 20.1% | 36.0% |
| Return on equity | 68.4% | 27.6% |
| Return on assets | 6.7% | 16.5% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 26.0% |
| FCF yield | 5.6% | 2.5% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 0.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.63 | 0.12 |
| Current ratio | 1.04 | 1.28 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.96 | 7.32 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.