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Valued at $20.5 billion by market cap and headquartered in Virginia, Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) is a global leader in science and technology, serving defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. Its expertise includes cybersecurity, data analytics, IT modernization, operations, logistics, sensors, software development, and systems engineering. The company is set to announce its Q2 earnings for fiscal 2024 before the market opens on Tuesday, July 30.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect Leidos to report a profit of $2.26 per share, up 25.6% from $1.80 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded Wall Street’s EPS estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Leidos’ heightened demand across all customer segments, notably in managed health services, helped its EPS for the last quarter to rise 55.8% year over year to $2.29, surpassing the consensus estimate by 38.8%.
Looking ahead, analysts expect Leidos to report an EPS of $8.75 in fiscal 2024, up 19.9% from $7.30 in fiscal year 2023. Its fiscal 2025 EPS is projected to rise 2.4% year over year to $8.96.
LDOS has rallied a whopping 69% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 25.8% gains and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 32.6% returns over the same time frame.
The leading tech company’s stock popped 6.5% on Apr. 30, after the release of its Q1 earnings report. Leidos reported revenue of $3.98 billion and earnings of $2.29 per share, higher than estimates of $3.8 billion and $1.65 per share, driven by strength in its health and civil agency businesses.
Leidos now expects EPS to be between $8.40 and $8.80 in 2024, a boost to the company's previous guidance of $7.50 to $7.90 and well above the $7.85 consensus estimate. Full-year revenue guidance was also raised by $300 million at the low and high ends to $16 billion to $16.4 billion. The company's solid financial results and upwardly revised guidance reflect its continued focus on operational execution and investment in technology-driven solutions.
The consensus view on Leidos stock is “Strong Buy” overall. Among the 14 analysts covering the stock, 12 recommend a "Strong Buy," and the remaining two analysts advise a "Hold." On top of that, the average analyst price target for Leidos is $161.92, indicating a potential upside of 6.7% from the current price levels.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
