Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for Leidos Q3 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has lowered its Q3 2025 earnings per share forecast for Leidos Holdings, Inc. to $2.53, down from a previous estimate of $2.60.
• Despite the downgrade, the consensus estimate for Leidos' full-year earnings remains strong at $10.62 per share.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Leidos in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings of $2.53 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.60. The consensus estimate for Leidos' current full-year earnings is $10.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Leidos' Q1 2026 earnings at $2.81 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.36 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $11.69 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.88 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $3.00 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $178.00 price objective on Leidos and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $186.00) on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.31.

Leidos Trading Down 1.1%

Leidos stock opened at $186.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Leidos has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.71. The business's fifty day moving average is $183.47 and its 200 day moving average is $162.55.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.58. Leidos had a return on equity of 33.57% and a net margin of 8.22%.The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Leidos has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.12%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, Director Gregory R. Dahlberg sold 952 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.43, for a total transaction of $168,913.36. Following the sale, the director owned 21,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,738,095.24. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Edward Hull sold 12,497 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.14, for a total value of $2,226,215.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,040.38. The trade was a 32.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,975 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,740. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Leidos in the second quarter worth $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos during the first quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 471.4% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 200 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Leidos by 66.2% during the second quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 216 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.

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