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ADP (company)

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) is an American multinational provider of cloud-based human resources management, payroll processing, and professional employer organization (PEO) services, headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.

History

In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business with his brother Joe Taub. The idea came to him when Taub had visited a company where employees had not been paid on time because of one employee's illness.[4] Automatic Payrolls, Inc. started with one client and an initial investment of $6,000.[4] Frank Lautenberg joined the brothers in the company's infancy. In 1957, Lautenberg, after successfully serving in sales and marketing, became a full-fledged partner with the two brothers.

In August 1961, the company changed its name to Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP),[5] and began using punched card machines, check printing machines, and mainframe computers. ADP went public in September 1961[6] with 300 clients, 125 employees, and revenues of approximately US$400,000.[7] It also transcribed and printed the report cards for students in Essex County, New Jersey.[7] The company established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 1965. In 1970, Lautenberg was noted as being the president of the company.[8] Also in 1970, the company's stock transitioned from trading on American Stock Exchange to trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[8] Lautenberg continued in his roles as chairman and CEO until elected to the United States Senate from New Jersey in 1982.[9]

From 1985 onward, ADP's annual revenues exceeded the $1 billion mark, with paychecks processed for about 20% of the U.S. workforce. In August 1996, ADP began acting as a professional employer organization (PEO) after acquiring Staff Management Systems of Tampa, Florida.[10]

On October 21, 2008, ADP switched its stock listing to the NASDAQ Global Select Market.[11]

In 2020, ADP was ranked 227 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.[12] ADP has also been included on Fortune Magazine's "World's Most Admired Companies" List for 14 consecutive years[13] and has earned recognition from DiversityInc as one of the top companies for diversity and inclusion in the United States for 11 consecutive years.[14]

ADP has about 67,000 employees worldwide and its fiscal year 2025 revenues were $20.6 billion.[3]

Acquisitions

ADP acquired the pioneering online computer services company Time Sharing Limited (TSL) in 1974 and Cyphernetics in 1975.[15]

As ADP became a professional employer organization, it made several acquisitions. In 1995, the company acquired the German company Autonom and the payroll and human resource services company GSI, among others.[16][17][18][19] In September 1998, ADP acquired UK-based Chessington Computer Centre that supplied administration services to the UK Government.[20]

In 2006, ADP acquired Kerridge Computer Co. Ltd., a dealer management systems (DMS) provider to auto dealers, primarily in the UK.[21] In 2007, the ADP Brokerage Service Group was spun off to form Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

In January 2017, ADP acquired The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC).[22][23] In October 2017, ADP acquired Global Cash Card, a digital payments facilitator.[24]

In January 2018, ADP acquired WorkMarket, a New York City–based software platform company that helps businesses manage freelancers, contractors, and consultants.[25][26] Later that same year, the company announced the acquisition of Celergo, a global payroll management service company.[27][28]

In 2023, ADP acquired workflow automation tool Sora.[28][29][30]

In October 2024, ADP acquired WorkForce Software, a management services provider.[31]

Divisions and spinoffs

Broadridge Financial Solutions

In 2007, the ADP Brokerage Service Group was spun off to form Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., removing about US$2 billion from ADP's total yearly revenue.[32] ADP distributed one share of Broadridge common stock for every four shares of ADP common stock held by shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 23, 2007.[33] ADP had originally bought Brokerage Service Group in 1965.[34]

CDK Global, LLC

Formerly called ADP Dealer Services, CDK Global was formed October 1, 2014, and provides technology services to automotive dealerships, as well as vehicle manufacturers.[35][36][37] In 2010, ADP acquired the automotive marketing company Cobalt.[38]

BZ Results, winner of AutoSuccess magazine's 2005 "Innovative Company of the Year" award,[39] was purchased by ADP in 2006.[40] At the time, BZ Results was valued at $125 million. On April 7, 2014, ADP laid off several Dealer Services associates in a reorganization and 3 days later announced plans to spin off the Dealer Services division as a standalone company.[41] On August 19, 2014, ADP Dealer Services announced that the name of the new company, post-spinoff, would be CDK Global (an acronym for Cobalt, Dealer Services, Kerridge).[42]

Both S&P and Moody's downgraded ADP to AA in April 2014, after the dealer services unit was spun off.[43]

Employment data

ADP has been used as a source of private-sector employment data in addition to or in place of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.[44][45][46] ADP's National Employment Report launches the day before BLS reports.[47] In 2022, it was redesigned in collaboration with Stanford's Digital Economy Lab.[48]

As early as 2018, ADP employment and earnings data were used by the Federal Reserve. In mid-2025, ADP stopped providing data to the Federal Reserve.[49]

External links

References

  1. Jeffrey R. Yost. Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry MIT Press, 2017, retrieved December 9, 2023^
  2. XBRL Viewer www.sec.gov, retrieved 2026-04-17^
  3. US SEC: Annual Form 10-K (2025), Automatic Data Processing, Inc. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, August 6, 2025, retrieved August 7, 2025^
  4. Salamone, Anthony; Harris, Jon (June 15, 2018). "Big Get for City: ADP Plans to Bring 1,600 Jobs to Five City Center Next Year, Sources Say". The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania). p. A1, A4.^
  5. "Business Briefs". The Herald-News (Passaic-Clifton, New Jersey). August 7, 1961. p. 3.^
  6. "Data Processing Stock Offered". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 14, 1961. p. 37.^
  7. Soloway, John (June 3, 1962). "Data Processing Firm Fills Varied Tasks". The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey). Section 3, p. 62.^
  8. Earnings Up 47% for Automatic Data The Bridgeport Post, October 28, 1970, retrieved April 7, 2018^
  9. Adam Clymer. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey Senator in His 5th Term, Dies at 89 The New York Times, June 3, 2013, retrieved June 6, 2023^
  10. Cole-man-Lochner, L. (September 9, 1996). "New Lease on Employment: PEOs Enter the Lexicon of Business". The Record. p. B1.^
  11. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. ADP Announces Move to the NASDAQ Stock Market United States Securities and Exchange Commission, September 26, 2008^
  12. Automatic Data Processing Fortune, July 8, 2020^
  13. ADP recognized on FORTUNE Magazine 2020 World's Most Admired Companies List for 14th consecutive year Fortune, January 21, 2020^
  14. DiversityInc's 2020 Top 50 May 6, 2020, retrieved June 25, 2020^
  15. Business Briefs The Herald-News, July 10, 1975^
  16. Virginie Robert. GSI sur le point d'être rachetée par la société américaine ADP Les Echos, August 31, 1995^
  17. Automatic Data Processing Inc. Automatic Data Processing Inc: Form 10-K (Annual Report) Filed 9/21/1999 for period ending 6/30/1999 September 21, 1999^
  18. ADP Signs Agreement to Acquire GSI Arthur Schmidt & Associates, retrieved April 7, 2018^
  19. Yves L. Doz, Maurizio Zollo, Jeanne Larson. ADP-GSI: The Integration Challenge INSEAD, July 1, 2023, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  20. Ministers under fire over licence errors Computer Weekly, February 4, 1999^
  21. Michael Paige. ADP buys UK's Kerridge for $300M MarketWatch, retrieved May 13, 2018^
  22. ADP acquires Marcus Buckingham Company to expand talent portfolio ADP, January 17, 2017^
  23. Rudd, Lauren (March 5, 2017). "Will ADP Yield Automatic Gains?" Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida). p. F3.^
  24. ADP acquires Global Cash Card ADP, October 5, 2017^
  25. Maria Deutscher. Payroll giant ADP acquires worker management startup WorkMarket siliconANGLE, January 22, 2018, retrieved January 23, 2018^
  26. ADP acquires WorkMarket to further extend human capital management ADP, retrieved January 22, 2018^
  27. ADP Acquires Celergo CPA Practice Advisor, August 1, 2018, retrieved November 1, 2024^
  28. Acquisitions Aid Automatic Data Processing Amid Rising Expenses Yahoo! Finance, August 28, 2024^
  29. ADP buys automation startup Sora unleash.ai, August 3, 2023^
  30. Zacks Equity Research. Business Expansion, Acquisitions Aid ADP Amid Competition Yahoo! Finance, March 1, 2024^
  31. ADP raises annual revenue growth forecast following WorkForce Software acquisition Reuters, October 30, 2024^
  32. Automatic Data Processing March 2007 Current Report, Form 8-K EDGAR, March 21, 2007, retrieved December 26, 2012^
  33. Automatic Data Processing April 2007 Current Report, Form 8-K EDGAR, April 4, 2007, retrieved December 26, 2012^
  34. "A.D.P. Absorbs New York Firm". The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey). p. 18.^
  35. Sophie Oak. A brief history of CDK Global Automotive 30% Club, November 12, 2020, retrieved May 6, 2021^
  36. CDK Global to Be Acquired by Brookfield for $54.87 Per Share in Cash www.businesswire.com, April 7, 2022, retrieved September 21, 2023^
  37. CDK Global LLC - Company Profile and News Bloomberg.com, retrieved September 21, 2023^
  38. ADP Completes Cobalt Acquisition -- Is It Nirvana? Dealer^
  39. Patrick Luck. AutoSuccess' Innovative Companies of the Year AutoSuccess, Systems Marketing, Inc., December 2005, retrieved June 29, 2024^
  40. Cliff Banks. ADP Bolsters Website Efforts By Buying BZ Ward's, April 1, 2006, retrieved December 26, 2006^
  41. ADP plans to spin off dealer-services business MarketWatch, April 10, 2014^
  42. ADP Announces Post-Spin name of its Dealer Services Business retrieved August 19, 2014^
  43. ADP Downgraded by Moody's, S&P After Spin-Off April 10, 2014, retrieved April 10, 2014^
  44. Drew DeSilver. Without government data, an alternative employment report Pew Research Center, October 4, 2013, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  45. Rex Nutting. With no jobs report, where can data junkies turn? MarketWatch, October 4, 2013, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  46. Felix Salmon. A tale of two employment datasets Axios, September 1, 2022, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  47. Felix Salmon. ADP and Stanford ready econ stats fit for the 21st century Axios, July 8, 2022, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  48. New ADP National Employment Report to Launch Late Summer 2022 ADP Media Center, retrieved February 21, 2025^
  49. Nick Timiraos. Fed Lost Access to Private Jobs Data Ahead of Government Shutdown Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2025, retrieved October 24, 2025^