COMPARE · Data as of August 27, 2026
ORCL vs PCTY
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ORCL scored 69.6, PCTY scored 81.4 — PCTY leads.
Compare another set
ORCL
Oracle Corporation
69.6
$150.85 · $434.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
11.8
PCTY leads
PCTY
Paylocity Holding Corporation
81.4
$157.93 · $8.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- Fastest growthORCL+17.4%
- Strongest balance sheetPCTY0.11
- Highest qualityPCTY92 / 100
- Largest discount to fair valuePCTY0%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ORCL
stronger →← stronger
PCTY
66
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
92
89
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
87
58
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
67
PCTY is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ORCL
PCTY
-$23.7bF
FCF
$497mC
+17.4%B+
Rev
+12.2%B+
3.89D
D/E
0.11B+
6.5xC+
P/S
—
0.82B+
PEG
1.23B
—
P/E
32.1xB
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ORCL
PCTY
—
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
0% below
—
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~7%/yr
—
1-yr DCF upside
-10%
—
5-yr DCF upside
+0%
—
10-yr DCF upside
+16%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ORCL
Why this score
- Raising its dividend
- Durable high returns
- Diluting shareholders
PCTY
Why this score
- Buying back stock
- Durable high returns
The companies
ORCLOracle Corporation
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $434.5b. Down 56% from 52-week high of $345.72 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +17%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.82 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 42 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $244.12 (implying +62% upside).
Moat
Net margin 25% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 40% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $434.5b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
D/E 3.89 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Free cash flow is negative (-$23.7b) — capital raises or debt issuance likely required; dilution / leverage risk. Down 56% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
PCTYPaylocity Holding Corporation
Why now
Software - Application · market cap $8.7b. 13% off the 52-week high of $180.86. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 19 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $172.00 (implying +9% upside).
Moat
Net margin 16% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 22% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 184% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash, a sign that working capital and capex are well-disciplined.
Risk
Trailing P/E 32x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. AI-native re-pricing — GPT-class models are compressing the cost of features that took years to build; the moat thesis depends on owning the workflow, not just the feature set.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ORCL and PCTY diverge
On the headline score the gap is 11.8 points in favor of PCTY. The widest single difference is Quality, where PCTY leads by 26.4 points.
- QualityORCL 65.9 · PCTY 92.3PCTY +26.4
- ValueORCL 57.5 · PCTY 66.9PCTY +9.4
- GrowthORCL 88.9 · PCTY 87.3level
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.