Business Description

In 1949, our founders established ADP with a simple, innovative idea: help clients focus on their business by solving their payroll challenges. In the 77 years since, we have led the Human Capital Management (“HCM”) industry in innovation. We were the first in HCM to deliver automation, move to the cloud, provide a mobile app, and create an online marketplace. Today, we continue that legacy with artificial intelligence (“AI”), building AI into the very core of how we orchestrate, govern and execute HR and pay processes for real-world outcomes. As AI adds new layers of complexity to managing the workforce infrastructure that makes business possible, our clients need a partner they can trust. As the trusted, service-driven, and AI-enabled partner for HCM, we deliver services powered by deep domain expertise, workforce data, and global scale to help organizations manage their most critical workforce functions with precision, compliance and confidence. Today, we are a global leader in HR and payroll solutions, serving over 1.1 million clients and paying over 42 million workers in over 140 countries and territories. Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market® under the symbol “ADP.” 3 When we refer to “we,” “us,” “our,” “ADP,” or the “Company” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we mean Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. 4 BUSINESS OVERVIEW ADP’s Mission Our mission is to help our clients manage the workforce infrastructure that makes business possible, whether they're a Fortune 500 ® company or a small local business. AI is reshaping how work gets done at the task level, but that does not eliminate the need to manage it. In fact, AI has added new layers of complexity for business and ADP is purpose-built for this challenge. ADP brings 77 years of workforce expertise and global scale to payroll, compliance, and workforce management, and these advantages set us apart. We support every HCM need of our clients from HR, payroll, time and benefits to HR outsourcing, talent, compliance and retirement, across the entire employee experience. Our industry-leading data, global scale and reach, and deep domain expertise shape our trusted service model and are at the core of our relationship with each one of our clients, which span over 140 countries and territories. Together, these strengths allow us to solve our clients' challenges with HCM solutions that reduce friction, deliver smart insights to drive decisions, and ultimately empower people at work without replacing their human judgment. ADP’s Strategy With a large and growing addressable market, we are focused on our core growth areas and further enhancing our market position by executing against our three strategic priorities rooted in our structural advantages: • Lead with Best-in-Class HCM Technology. We design and develop world-class, AI-enabled HCM platforms that simplify work and help organizations manage their most critical workforce functions with precision, compliance and confidence in the AI era. Unlike generalized AI tools, our AI is built into the very core of how we orchestrate, govern, and execute HR and pay processes for real-world outcomes. Our global data platform, named “2026 Data Solution of the Year for HR” in the Data Breakthrough Awards, is the foundation of the advantage we bring to our clients. Spanning over 1.1 million clients and 42 million workers across roles, industries and geographies, we have the industry's largest workforce dataset. In the U.S., we pay one in six workers and moved $3.5 trillion in fiscal year 2026, giving us unique insights into the workforce and its emerging trends. AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, and this advantage compounds over time. Every ADP Assist AI Agent is grounded in ADP's institutional knowledge. The result is persona-based agents tailored for employees, managers, HR and payroll practitioners, all informed by ADP's data advantage. Our approach to AI agents earned ADP recognition as one of Fast Company's 2026 “Most Innovative Companies,” with ADP earning the number one spot among HR companies for its purpose-built approach to designing AI tools that solve real client challenges and empower people at work. • Provide Unmatched Expertise and Outsourcing Solutions. Our products, services, and solutions are built on 77 years of hands-on experience with HR processes, workflows, exceptions and regulatory nuance.…