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Leidos' Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Improve Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • Leidos' Q2 adjusted EPS rose 1.6% to $3.26, beating estimates by 12.4%.
  • Revenues climbed 7.2% to $4.56B as defense, energy, air traffic and intelligence demand strengthened.
  • Leidos raised 2026 revenue, EPS and operating cash flow guidance as backlog grew 5% to $48.71B.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $3.26 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.90 by 12.4%. Earnings increased 1.6% from $3.21 in the year-ago quarter.

On a GAAP basis, earnings per share were $2.81, down from $3.01 a year ago. Management attributed the year-over-year decline in GAAP results to discrete costs tied to the Entrust acquisition and the pending joint venture involving security-related businesses.

LDOS' Total Revenues

Total revenues came in at $4.56 billion, up 7.2% year over year and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.36 billion by 4.5%. Organic revenues increased 3.9% to $4.41 billion.

The company said revenues grew on higher customer demand for defense technology products, energy and air traffic management solutions, and intelligence mission support. Acquisition and divestiture revenues totaled $150 million compared with $9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Demand remained solid in the quarter. Net bookings totaled $4.9 billion, translating into a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1. The trailing-12-month book-to-bill ratio was also 1.1, supporting year-over-year growth in both total and funded backlog.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Leidos Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Leidos Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Leidos Holdings, Inc. Quote

LDOS’ Backlog

Backlog at quarter-end was $48.71 billion, including $10.22 billion funded and $38.49 billion unfunded. Total backlog increased 5% year over year, while funded backlog jumped 44%.

By segment, Intelligence & Digital backlog totaled $18.41 billion, Health was $6.61 billion, Homeland was $9.93 billion and Defense was $13.76 billion. Backlog as of July 3, 2026, included $371 million acquired through the Entrust transaction within the Homeland segment.

Operational Statistics of LDOS

Cost of revenues totaled $3.74 billion compared with $3.47 billion in the prior-year quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to $283 million from $217 million, while acquisition, integration and restructuring costs rose to $27 million from $2 million.

Operating income was $514 million, down from $571 million in the year-ago period. The operating margin contracted to 11.3% from 13.4%. Interest expense increased to $69 million from $55 million.

Adjusted EBITDA declined to $631 million from $647 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.8% compared with 15.2% a year ago. The prior-year quarter benefited from several one-time, non-operational gains, including a $25 million insurance reimbursement for legal costs.

Leidos’ Segmental Performance

Intelligence & Digital revenues rose to $1.50 billion from $1.41 billion, supported by recent contract awards and higher Intelligence Community mission-support volumes. The segment also included $9 million of revenues from Kudu Dynamics. Non-GAAP operating margin remained unchanged at 10.1%.

Health revenues declined to $1.09 billion from $1.18 billion, primarily due to lower medical disability examination volumes. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased to 23.8% from 26.3%.

Homeland revenues increased to $1.02 billion from $771 million, driven by continued demand in the Air Traffic and Energy businesses. Results included $141 million from Entrust. Non-GAAP operating margin improved to 12.1% from 9.3% on a better mix of security products, improved program performance and lower indirect expenses.

Defense revenues were $955 million compared with $899 million a year ago, reflecting increased demand for several defense technology product lines. Non-GAAP operating margin was 9.9% compared with 10% in the prior-year period.

LDOS’ Financials

Cash and cash equivalents were $748 million at quarter-end compared with $1.11 billion as of Jan. 2, 2026. Long-term debt, net of the current portion, increased to $6.01 billion from $4.63 billion over the same period.

Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $793 million for the quarter, up from $486 million in the prior-year period.

Leidos returned $127 million to shareholders, including $72 million in share repurchases and $55 million in dividend payments.

LDOS’ 2026 Guidance

Leidos raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $18.20-$18.40 billion from the prior range of $18.00-$18.40 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $18.12 billion, which is below the company’s guided range.

Non-GAAP earnings are now projected at $12.20-$12.50 per share compared with the previous range of $12.10-$12.50. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $12.30 per share, which lies below the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

The company also raised its cash flows provided by operating activities outlook to approximately $1.85 billion from approximately $1.80 billion.

LDOS’ Zacks Rank

Leidos Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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