Shares of Paycom (NYSE:PAYC) tumbled 8.82% in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the release of its third-quarter earnings report. The human capital management software provider's results fell short of analyst expectations on the bottom line, despite a slight beat on revenue.

Paycom reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.94, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by 0.51%. While this represents a 16.17% increase from the same period last year, when EPS stood at $1.67, the narrow miss appears to have disappointed investors. On the revenue front, the company fared slightly better, reporting $493.3 million in sales, marginally above the analyst consensus of $492.999 million. This figure marks a 9.15% year-over-year increase from $451.934 million.

The significant after-hours drop suggests that investors may be concerned about Paycom's ability to maintain its growth trajectory and meet earnings expectations in an increasingly competitive market. The company's performance in the coming quarters will be closely watched to determine if this earnings miss is an isolated incident or the beginning of a more challenging period for Paycom.