PAYX drawdown: 28.9% below the all-time high
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) is 28.9% below its all-time high, set Jun 6, 2025 (as of market close, Jul 24, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown. "All-time" means since our price data begins (1983).
- Below all-time high
- −28.9%
- 71.1% of ATH
- All-time high
- $159.8
- Jun 6, 2025
- Time below the high
- 14 mo
- since Jun 6, 2025
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −65.8%
- Mar 9, 2009
- Longest underwater
- 15.6 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Jul 29, 2021
- 5.0 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- May 15, 2020
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 1983#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater.
% of all-time high on the price basis — the all-time high considers the full history of PAYX, including years before the visible window. Dividends are excluded on this basis (the convention headlines use).
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2000 | Mar 9, 2009 | −65.8% | 8.3 yrs | Jul 5, 2016 | 15.6 yrs |
| Jun 6, 2025 | Apr 10, 2026 | −46.4% | 10 mo | not yet | 14 mo+ |
| Feb 20, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | −44.2% | 32 days | Nov 9, 2020 | 9 mo |
| Oct 11, 1996 | Apr 2, 1997 | −38.6% | 6 mo | Nov 20, 1997 | 13 mo |
| Apr 12, 1990 | Aug 23, 1990 | −35.1% | 4 mo | Nov 13, 1990 | 7 mo |
| Nov 23, 1998 | Aug 10, 1999 | −31.1% | 9 mo | Oct 8, 1999 | 10 mo |
| Feb 15, 1994 | Jul 12, 1994 | −28.6% | 5 mo | Dec 30, 1994 | 10 mo |
| Apr 6, 2022 | May 31, 2023 | −25.7% | 14 mo | Oct 14, 2024 | 2.5 yrs |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 1983: how far PAYX stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: PAYX is on this chart precisely because it survived — the many stocks that fell this far and never recovered (or were delisted) aren't on anyone's chart, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ
- How far is PAYX from its all-time high?
- PAYX is currently 28.9% below its all-time high, set Jun 6, 2025 (as of market close, Jul 24, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest PAYX drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 1983) took the stock 65.8% below its prior high, bottoming Mar 9, 2009. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily closing prices since 1983 (split-adjusted). "All-time" means since our price data begins — PAYX may have traded earlier. For a 150-year index drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year, 150 years of returns and the rolling-returns explorer. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.