Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS) stock analysis
Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS) clears 4 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 5 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 2 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $134.73 it trades 63.0% below this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of +63.0%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +3.1% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Leidos Holdings do?
Leidos provides technology, engineering and science services, mostly to the US government in defense, intelligence and health.
What stands out about Leidos Holdings?
- The share price implies falling cash flow. At $134.73, even free cash flow per share shrinking 15% a year would still be worth more than the price in this site's DCF. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 2 of the 8 value filters. It fails Market Cap > $25B ($16.6B) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (2.06); the other 4 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Strongest against peers: free-cash-flow yield. At 15.8% (peer median 4.1%) it ranks 1st of 32 among industrials stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Weakest against peers: net margin. At 7.8% (peer median 13.7%) it ranks 27th of 32 among industrials stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- P/E at the bottom of its own range. LDOS trades at 12.1× trailing earnings; at the end of each of its last 5 fiscal years the multiple was between 15.5× and 74.9×.
How has Leidos Holdings' share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Leidos Holdings undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) +63.0%
- P/E vs. its own history 12.1x · at/below its cheapest point Real range: 15.5x–74.9x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 3.64/5 25 analysts this month: 4 strong buy, 8 buy, 13 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) 3.75 · Safe zone
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · all 5 checks clean Beneish M-score −2.60 · accruals −2.3% of assets · 151% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 0.6% of revenue · share count −2.9% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Jan 2026) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +3.1% net Latest fiscal year (2026): dividends 1.3% + buybacks 2.4% − stock comp 0.6%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 9 years its split-adjusted share count rose 25%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $2.24 per $1 of new profit · FlightSafety-like · but only 18% return on capital Operating profit $575M → $1.5B, capital needed $6.3B → $8.4B, 2017–2026 (3-year averages); return on capital now 18% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 2.06 · Well above fair P/E 12.1× ÷ 5.9% a year of growth behind it. 231st lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 2 of 4 · misses capital-light, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (only 18% return on capital); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 2.06, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 0 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 3 of 7 measures above the median Compared with the 31 other other industrials stocks this site tracks: 3 in the top third, 2 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Leidos Holdings compare with its peers?
3 of 7 measures sit above the median of the 31 other industrials stocks tracked here, 3 in the top third and 2 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 25.8× 12.1× ✓2nd of 32
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 4.1% 15.8% ✓1st of 32
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 34% 27% –21st of 32
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 13.7% 7.8% ✕27th of 32
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 6.8% 3.4% ✕23rd of 32
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.87 1.14 –21st of 32
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 1.34% 1.93% ✓7th of 31
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and LDOS doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: LDOS is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry, is trading below what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth - his own "price is what you pay, value is what you get" test, not a fixed multiple ceiling, and trades at a reasonable multiple of owner earnings, his own term for the real cash a business could pay out. Where it comes up short: LDOS and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, carries more debt relative to equity than he typically tolerates, and runs thinner pretax margins than he'd like to see.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- Pretax margin > 15% ✕
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✓
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✓
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2026
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and LDOS falls short of his bar. In its favor: LDOS isn't asking too much even by a fast grower's usual richer multiple, and is generating real cash to back up a fast grower's higher price tag. Where it comes up short: LDOS doesn't clear the tighter PEG bar a fast grower needs to justify its pace, is growing earnings outside the 20-50% band he considered sustainable for a fast grower - either not fast enough to earn the label, or a pace he'd flag as unlikely to hold up, and is leaning on more debt than he liked a growth story to carry.
- PEG < 1 (stricter for fast growers) ✕
- EPS growth 20%-50% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- P/E < 40 ✓
- Price/FCF < 40 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Leidos Holdings pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $16.6B
- Trailing P/E < 25 12.07
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 2.06
- Price/Book < 8 3.14
- Price/Sales < 7 0.94
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +147768.4%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Leidos Holdings' margin of safety?
History tracking starts this week - check back in a future week to see how this has moved.
Where is Leidos Holdings in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Leidos Holdings?
4,783,477 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Leidos Holdings? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case +78%
- Short interest under 5% of float 3.8%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 4/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +35% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2017 1.05 → 0.94
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Leidos Holdings shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from LDOS's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Leidos Holdings' 10-year financials show?
From LDOS's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Leidos Holdings
What kind of company is Leidos Holdings?
Leidos provides technology, engineering and science services, mostly to the US government in defense, intelligence and health. This site groups it with Professional Services stocks.
Is Leidos Holdings trading above or below its DCF value?
At $134.73, LDOS trades 63.0% below this site's neutral DCF value of $364.50 per share, a margin of safety of +63.0%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Leidos Holdings pass?
LDOS passes 4 of 8. It passes Trailing P/E < 25 (12.07), Price/Book < 8 (3.14), Price/Sales < 7 (0.94) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+147768.4%). It misses Market Cap > $25B ($16.6B) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (2.06). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
What growth is Leidos Holdings' share price pricing in?
At $134.73, even free cash flow per share shrinking 15% a year would still be worth more than the price in this site's DCF. Change the assumptions.
Is Leidos Holdings's P/E ratio high or low compared with its own history?
LDOS trades at 12.1× trailing earnings. At the end of each of its last 5 fiscal years its P/E was between 15.5× and 74.9× (average 29.0×), so today's multiple is at or below the lowest of those years. Each year's P/E pairs net income per diluted share from the 10-K with the closing price at that fiscal year-end.
When does Leidos Holdings report earnings next?
Leidos Holdings's next earnings report is expected on November 3, 2026, with analysts expecting earnings of $3.09 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 4 times, by an average of +7.5%.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Leidos Holdings's 10-K annual report for the year ended Jan 2, 2026, filed Feb 17, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Leidos Holdings Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.