Sifting through countless of stocks in the Professional Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. or Jacobs Solutions Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions. This segment’s offerings include RUN Powered by ADP, a software platform for small business payroll, HR, and compliance; ADP Workforce Now, a HCM solution used across mid-sized and large businesses to manage employees; and ADP Lyric HCM, a solution for HR management, payroll, workforce management, talent, and data analytics. The PEO Services segment provides HR and employment administration outsourcing solutions under ADP TotalSource name to businesses through a co-employment model. The segment also provides guidance, user-friendly technology, comprehensive employee benefits, and a risk management, safety, and workers’ compensation program. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.

Jacobs Solutions Inc. engages in the infrastructure and advanced facilities, and consulting businesses in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. The company provides consulting, planning, architecture, design, engineering, and infrastructure delivery services including project, program, and construction management and long-term operation of facilities. It also offers consulting services for consumer and manufacturing, defense and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, health and life sciences, and transport sectors. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Latest Professional Services and Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Jacobs Solutions Inc. Stock News

As of December 12, 2025, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. had a $107.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Professional Services median of $1.6 million. Automatic Data Processing, Inc.’s stock is down 9.1% in 2025, up 1.7% in the previous five trading days and down 11.95% in the past year.

Currently, Automatic Data Processing, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 26.3. Automatic Data Processing, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $20.9 billion with a 19.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.908 per share for the current fiscal year. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of December 12, 2025, Jacobs Solutions Inc. had a $16.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 84th percentile of all stocks. Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s stock is up 1.6% in 2025, down 3.2% in the previous five trading days and down 0.27% in the past year.

Currently, Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 52.6. Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.0 billion with a 2.4% net profit margin. As of December 12, 2025, Jacobs Solutions Inc. has not reported significant year-over-year quarterly sales. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.074 per share for the current fiscal year. Jacobs Solutions Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.	ADP	F
Jacobs Solutions Inc.	J	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a Value Score of 19, which is Ultra Expensive. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a Value Score of 21, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Automatic Data Processing, Inc. or Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Automatic Data Processing, Inc. or Jacobs Solutions Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.	ADP	A
Jacobs Solutions Inc.	J	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a Growth Score of 50, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Jacobs Solutions Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.	ADP	A
Jacobs Solutions Inc.	J	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a Quality Score of 81, which is Very Strong. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a Quality Score of 66, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Jacobs Solutions Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. or Jacobs Solutions Inc. Stock?

Overall, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 19, Growth Score of 100 and Quality Score of 81.

Jacobs Solutions Inc. stock has a Value Score of 21, Growth Score of 50 and Quality Score of 66.

Comparing Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Jacobs Solutions Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.