Talk:ADP (company)
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Request to update the History section
[edit]![]() | This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest was declined. |
Hi, this is Justin again from ADP. I've been working off and on for the past few weeks on putting together some updates for the ADP article (beyond the infobox one I already posted).
This request is about the History section. The current History section is quite short, given that the company is 77 years old, and many of the factual claims are not supported by citations so it's not clear if that information is correct. There's also an entire subsection about acquisitions, which is mostly fine but there's no context about why these deals were important and how they reflected ADP's expansion into different service areas. There's also a lot of duplicative material that's covered again in the Divisions and spinoffs section.
I tried to combine the History section, Acquisitions subsection, and Divisions and spinoffs section into a cohesive historical treatment that is split into different eras:
Revised History section
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Founding and early history[edit]In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business with his brother Joe Taub.[1][2] Frank Lautenberg joined the brothers in the company's infancy.[3] In 1954, Lautenberg, after successfully serving in sales and marketing, became a full-fledged partner with the two brothers.[4] In 1957 the company installed a punched card system that would facilitate automatic data processing, replacing manual input calculators.[5] The next year the company changed its name to Automatic Data Processing.[6] In 1961, Oppenheimer & Company, one of ADP's clients, took the company public.[5] At that time the company had 300 clients, 125 employees, and revenues of approximately US$400,000.[7] In 1962, ADP opened a Wall Street office to provide payroll and accounting services to brokerage firms.[8][9] This office eventually expanded into ADP's brokerage service division, which was spun off into Broadridge Financial Solutions in 1997.[10] ADP established its dealer services business in 1973 after acquiring National Inventory Control System, a Portland-based inventory control service and data center, and CSI Computer Systems of Cincinnati.[11] These moves extended ADP's reach into another industry-specific market, and the company later completed more than 30 dealer service acquisitions before spinning the division off into a separate company.[12] Expansion and growth[edit]In 1975, Frank Lautenberg succeeded Henry Taub as CEO. By that time, ADP's annual revenue had grown to $150 million and the company had around 5,000 employees.[13] ADP acquired the online computer services company Time Sharing Limited (TSL) in 1974 and Cyphernetics in 1975.[14][15] By 1978, ADP had acquired more than 60 companies, including 50 service bureaus in the United States and four in Europe.[16] By 1981, ADP had approximately 100,000 clients and total annual revenues exceeding $500 million, making it the world's largest independent computer services company.[17][18] At that time, ADP processed paychecks for five percent of the U.S. workforce.[17] In early 1983, Frank Lautenberg left ADP after being elected to the United States Senate.[19] ADP president Josh Weston assumed the additional title of CEO.[19] From 1985 onward, ADP's annual revenues exceeded the $1 billion mark.[20][21] Consolidation[edit]In the early 1990s, ADP made several strategic acquisitions of payroll competitors,[22] most notably Bank of America's $110 million revenue business services division in 1992[23] and the European payroll and human resource services company GSI in 1995.[24] ADP also established itself in the professional employer organization sector through its acquisition of two Florida-based companies, Staff Management Systems in 1996 and the Vincam Group in 1999.[25][26] ADP continued expanding in Europe during this period, beginning with the acquisition of Autonom, a German computing services company.[27] In 1999, ADP acquired UK-based Chessington Computer Centre, a supplier of administration services to the UK Government.[28][29] In 2006, ADP acquired Kerridge Computer Co. Ltd., a UK-based dealership management system provider,[30] and BZ Results, a US-based automotive marketing and market research services provider.[31][32] In 2007, the ADP Brokerage Service Group was spun off to form Broadridge Financial Solutions, resulting in approximately US$2 billion in revenue being removed from ADP's total yearly revenue.[33] 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.[34] On October 21, 2008, ADP switched its stock listing to the NASDAQ Global Select Market.[35] 2010 to present[edit]In 2010, ADP acquired the automotive marketing company Cobalt.[36] On April 7, 2014, ADP laid off several dealer services associates as part of a reorganization, and three days later, it announced plans to spin off the dealer services division as a standalone company.[37] 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.[38] Both S&P and Moody's downgraded ADP to AA in April 2014, after the dealer services unit was spun off.[39] Beginning with the January 2017 acquisition of The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC).[40], ADP pursued several acquisitions that served to reinforce its existing customer base.[41] In January 2018, ADP acquired WorkMarket, a New York City–based workforce management startup.[42][43] Later that same year, the company announced the acquisition of Celergo, a global payroll management service company.[44][45] In 2023, ADP acquired workflow automation tool Sora,[46][47] and launched a corporate venture capital arm, ADP Ventures.[48] In October 2024, ADP acquired WorkForce Software, a workforce management services provider.[49] The next month ADP partnered with Fiserv to offer a small business management system.[50] In 2025, Fortune included ADP on its World's Most Admired Companies list for the 19th consecutive appearance.[51][52] References
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Throughout the draft above, I tried to fill in chronological gaps and contextualize specific acquisitions and business developments, all based on coverage in major news outlets (e.g. The New York Times, Reuters, The Herald-News, MarketWatch, TechCrunch, etc.) and relevant books about the industry. I also cut out some passages that could be considered promotional (e.g. "[ADP] has earned recognition from DiversityInc as one of the top companies for diversity and inclusion in the United States for 11 consecutive years" and "winner of AutoSuccess magazine's 2005 'Innovative Company of the Year' award").
Some additional information about each subsection:
- Founding and early history
- This section covers the founding of the company in 1949 to the establishment of the dealer services business in 1973. I added citations to claims that are currently unsourced in the current article.
- Expansion and growth
- This section everything from 1975 (when Frank Lautenberg became CEO) to 1985 (when ADP's annual revenues exceeded $1 billion for the first time).
- Consolidation
- This section covers acquisitions and related expansions from the early 1990s to around 2008. Some of this material is currently covered in the Acquisitions subsection and Divisions and spinoffs, but I've consolidated all of these claims, placed them in chronological order, and added important context (as reflected in the cited sources).
- 2010 to present
- This one is pretty self-explanatory. I moved most of the material about CDK Global LLC to this section (it's currently in the Divisions and spinoffs section). I left all of the claims that could be considered "critical" (e.g., "Both S&P and Moody's downgraded ADP to AA in April 2014, after the dealer services unit was spun off").
I know that I'm coming here as a representative of ADP asking for substantial changes to the article, but my goal with these updates is simply to make the article more accurate and encyclopedic. Again, I removed several passages from the current text that could be perceived as promotional. I also added citations to support previously unsourced claims.
I'm only asking about updating the History section right now, but I posted a full draft of all of my proposed changes on my user page for reference.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I know there's a lot here to digest! Justin at ADP (talk) 18:16, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
- @Justin at ADP: I've come here from the Teahouse. As you've seen from the other responses to your requests, small, discrete changes like updating infobox details are far more manageable than large ones like these. I hope you've already read Wikipedia:Simple conflict of interest edit request § Guide to effective COI edit requests. Keep in mind that the volunteer editors are here not to represent the interests of any company, but to summarise information that is of lasting encylopaedic value. Instead of the two large requests that remain open here, it might be better to split them into an edit request for each sub-section, so that editors can assess each on its own merits. ClaudineChionh (she/her · talk · email · global) 06:29, 18 April 2026 (UTC)
- This is extremely useful feedback, ClaudineChionh. I will work on a smaller request. Justin at ADP (talk) 20:09, 20 April 2026 (UTC)
- @Justin at ADP: It appears that this request has been superseded by a new request below. I will close this one, so that editors can find their way to the new one. (If that's not right, reopen this request.) Fiske (talk) 22:30, 23 May 2026 (UTC)
- This is extremely useful feedback, ClaudineChionh. I will work on a smaller request. Justin at ADP (talk) 20:09, 20 April 2026 (UTC)
Request to add the Business model and operations section
[edit]| This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered. |
Hi, this is Justin again from ADP. I have a new request for editors to review, this time about a new Business model and operations section that would summarize basic operational and products information. This new section would fold in some of the existing content, including the Employment data section.
New business model and operations section
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Business model and operations[edit]Automatic Data Processing provides human resource management software and services, including payroll, [1] and operates with a recurring revenue business model.[2] ADP operates through two business segments: employer services and professional employer organization.[3] Key products include RUN Powered by ADP, an HR and payroll platform for small businesses, ADP Workforce Now, a HCM platform for mid-sized and large businesses,[4][5][6] and ADP Lyric HCM, an enterprise HCM platform.[7] ADP also issues the National Employment Report, which analyzes aggregated and anonymized payroll data from more than 26 million workers.[8] The report is widely cited in economic reporting and analysis.[9] The company is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey and operates in more than 140 countries and territories.[10] ADP has expanded its international presence and extended its services through acquisitions.[11] Maria Black has served as CEO since 2023.[12] As of 2025, the company was ranked 220 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue,[13] and had around 67,000 employees.[14] Employment data[edit]ADP has been used as a source of private-sector employment data.[15][16][17] ADP's National Employment Report launches two days before the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.[18] In 2022, it was redesigned in collaboration with Stanford's Digital Economy Lab.[18][19] As early as 2018, the Federal Reserve used ADP employment and earnings data. In mid-2025, ADP stopped providing data to the Federal Reserve.[20] That same year, ADP began issuing the NER Pulse, a weekly preliminary U.S. estimate of the ADP National Employment Report.[21] References
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Let me note here that I made some minor updates to the Employment data section, namely adding a different source for the claim that "In 2022, it was redesigned in collaboration with Stanford's Digital Economy Lab" and adding a line at the end stating that "ADP began issuing the NER Pulse, a weekly preliminary U.S. estimate of the ADP National Employment Report."
Please let me know if you have any questions. Justin at ADP (talk) 20:40, 6 March 2026 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Reply 20-MAY-2026
[edit]- The above edit request has not received any responses over the past 3 weeks (22 days in total).
- Discussion is often a key component to implementing edits, and requests may be adversely affected when they fail to garner input from either reviewing or requesting editors. In light of this — and as a safeguard — this request has been declined as needing more discussion.[1]
- The COI editor is urged to revive stalled communications by making contact with local editors on those editor's own talk pages, and then by moving those discussions back to this talk page.
- The COI editor may also wish to broadcast requests for edits at the talk pages of the WikiProjects which govern this article. Those projects are usually listed at the top of an article's talk page.
Regards, Spintendo 18:27, 20 May 2026 (UTC)
- I'm puzzled by this action. I have already reached out to multiple editors (e.g., IsCat, Quackslikeaduck, Suriname0) and posted about these requests at the Teahouse. I have also continued to engage with editors about these requests on this Talk page. The COI edit request queue is currently around 500 and the template says to "be extremely patient." I have tried to follow this advice! Is there a Wikipedia guideline somewhere that states that requests should be closed for "inactivity"? Could you point me towards that page so I can learn more? Justin at ADP (talk) 10:58, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
- Yeah I'm not sure what this means. I would just reopen the request, personally. @Spintendo: care to shed any light on this? Suriname0 (talk) 15:06, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
- For the record, I've never seen a response like this to an edit request. —In solidarity with Wiki Workers United · ClaudineChionh (she/her · talk · email) 00:38, 22 May 2026 (UTC)
- I've reopened both requests. User:ClaudineChionh, feel free to tweak the closures as appropriate. Suriname0 (talk) 20:01, 22 May 2026 (UTC)
- I performed the edit request, with some minor adjustments. Axolitl (talk | contribs) 21:00, 25 June 2026 (UTC)
References
- ^ "Wikipedia:COI edit requests - Declined requests". Wikipedia. 22 April 2026.
If your request is denied, analyze the discussion or the reason why it was declined and make the relevant changes to the request or follow the advice in the thread if any and if appropriate. You may be directed to seek consensus, which means that your request is probably unclear or needs more discussion.
Small update for the infobox
[edit]| This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered. |
Hi this is Justin again from ADP. I have a very small request that I'm hoping can be completed by an editor: Can the Key people category in the infobox can be updated to replace John C. Ayala with the company's new COO Joe DeSilva? This is confirmed by the [https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/8670/000000867025000037/adp- 20250630.htm 2025 10-K], which is already listed as a footnote for the infobox. Please let me know if you have any questions. Justin at ADP (talk) 12:18, 23 March 2026 (UTC)
Done Chattenoir (talk) 21:53, 17 April 2026 (UTC)
- Thank you for helping me out with this, Chattenoir. Justin at ADP (talk) 20:07, 20 April 2026 (UTC)
New request to update early history passages
[edit]| This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered. |
After considering the helpful feedback from ClaudineChionh, I'm posting a shorter History request, this time focused only on the early years of ADP:
Early History subsection
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Founding and early history[edit]In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business with his brother Joe Taub.[1][2] Frank Lautenberg joined the brothers in the company's infancy.[3] In 1954, Lautenberg, after successfully serving in sales and marketing, became a full-fledged partner with the two brothers.[4] In 1957 the company installed a punched card system that would facilitate automatic data processing, replacing manual input calculators.[5] The next year the company changed its name to Automatic Data Processing.[6] In 1961, Oppenheimer & Company, one of ADP's clients, took the company public.[5] At that time the company had 300 clients, 125 employees, and revenues of approximately US$400,000.[7] In 1962, ADP opened a Wall Street office to provide payroll and accounting services to brokerage firms.[8][9] This office eventually expanded into ADP's brokerage service division, which was spun off into Broadridge Financial Solutions in 1997.[10] ADP established its dealer services business in 1973 after acquiring National Inventory Control System, a Portland-based inventory control service and data center, and CSI Computer Systems of Cincinnati.[11] These moves extended ADP's reach into another industry-specific market, and the company later completed more than 30 dealer service acquisitions before spinning the division off into a separate company.[12] References
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The passages above cover the founding of the company in 1949 to the establishment of the dealer services business in 1973. I added citations to claims that are currently unsourced in the current article. You can see a before-and-after comparison here:
Before and after
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References
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I hope this shorter request is easier to review & implement. Thank you! Justin at ADP (talk) 17:40, 21 April 2026 (UTC)
- Thank you again for your help with my infobox request above, Chattenoir. Would you be able to review this short update request for the Early history? Justin at ADP (talk) 18:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC)
Done, with minor adjustments. Axolitl (talk | contribs) 20:58, 25 June 2026 (UTC)
