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 NEW YORK (AP) - The biggest goal at Automatic Data Processing, Inc., which processes pay for one of every six private sector workers in the United States, is returning to the growth of the past.
The company had enjoyed 166 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth until the third quarter of 2003, when low interest rates and an economic dip ended its streak. Gary Butler, who joined the company 31 years ago as a payroll salesman in Atlanta and became CEO in August, is working to bring back the growth — and the company's share price, which has lagged the wider market.
Butler's predecessor as CEO, Art Weinbach, had the job for ten years and was only the fourth chief executive since the company went public 45 years ago. ADP prides itself on steadiness; it's one of only six U.S. companies outside the financial sector with a AAA bond rating.
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