ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ Paychex Inc. (PAYX) on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $258.7 million.

On a per-share basis, the Rochester, New York-based company said it had profit of 72 cents. Earnings, adjusted for pretax gains, were 70 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 68 cents per share.

The payroll processor and human-resources services provider posted revenue of $990.7 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $986.4 million.

Paychex shares have increased 31% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 27%. The stock has risen 31% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PAYX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PAYX

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News