Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Will Segmental Sales Aid Leidos' (LDOS) Earnings in Q3?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS - Free Report) is scheduled to report its third-quarter 2023 results on Oct 31 before market open.  

Leidos has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.04%, on average. The strong revenue performance across the majority of its business segments is likely to have contributed to the overall performance of the company in the third quarter of 2023.

Defense Solution’s Performance May Remain Solid

Increased sales volumes for its valued programs, including hypersonics, are likely to have bolstered the Defense Solution’s revenue performance in the third quarter of 2023. Increased revenue contributions from the Cobham Special Mission acquisition are also likely to have aided this segment’s revenues in the third quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Defense Solutions segment’s revenues in the third quarter is pegged at $2,168 million, indicating growth of 4.5% from revenues reported in the year-ago quarter.

Civil’s Revenues to Remain Robust

Higher volumes on the NASA Aegis program and the increased demand for engineering support to commercial energy companies must have added impetus to Civil’s revenue performance in the third quarter of 2023.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Civil segment’s revenues in the third quarter is pegged at $905.2 million, suggesting an increase of 3.6% reported in the year-ago quarter.

Health Unit to Show Strength

Higher volumes of SSA IT work and the increased demand for medical examinations are likely to have continued to lift this segment’s performance in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Health unit’s third-quarter revenues is pegged at $718.6 million, indicating an improvement of 9% from the year-ago quarter.

Q3 Estimates

The expected strong financial results in all of LDOS’ operational divisions must have aided the overall top line in the third quarter. Also, an improving business mix and program execution are likely to have contributed to its third-quarter revenue performance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $3.78 billion, suggesting a rise of 4.8% from the year-ago quarter.

A strong top line, the benefits of the recovering security product business and the company’s cost-cutting initiatives are likely to have boosted Leidos' bottom line in the third quarter of 2023.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.64 per share. This calls for an improvement of 3.1% from the prior-year reported figure.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Leidos Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

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

Backlog Projections Suggest Growth

The strong demand for Leidos products can be gauged by its backlog strength. Our model suggests Leidos’ backlog to increase by 0.6% to $35.22 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for LDOS this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that is not the case here.

Leidos has an Earnings ESP of -1.75% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to Consider

Here are three defense companies you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

Virgin Galactic (SPCE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.21% and a Zacks Rank #2. The long-term earnings growth rate of LHX is 40.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Virgin Galactic’s third-quarter earnings, pegged at a loss of 42 cents per share, indicates an improvement from the prior-year reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SPCE’s sales suggests a growth rate of 42.9% from the prior-year reported figure.

Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.48% and a Zacks Rank #3. NOC delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.38%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC’s third-quarter sales is pegged at $9.67 billion, suggesting a growth rate of 7.8% from the prior-year reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its third-quarter earnings stands at $5.81 per share.

Spire (SPIR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +20.61% and a Zacks Rank #3. It delivered an earnings surprise of 8.94% in the last four quarters, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $26.38 million, suggesting 29.2% growth from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 66 cents per share, indicating an improvement from the prior-year reported figure.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)


Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.


Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in