Key Highlights

  • Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) reports third quarter results before the market opens on November 3, 2026, and hosts a call at 8:00 a.m. ET. The published consensus is EPS of USD 3.06 on roughly USD 4.71 billion of revenue.
  • Full-year 2026 guidance was narrowed to EPS of USD 12.20 to USD 12.50 and Revenue of USD 18.2 billion to USD 18.4 billion. It marks the fourth consecutive raise of the low end.
  • Health Operating Margin was a record 25.7 percent a year ago; management expects about 20 percent for the rest of 2026, the main drag on Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) earnings.
  • Last quarter, defense organic growth hit 6 percent with a 2.2 times book-to-bill ratio. Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) also posted record free Cash Flow of USD 761 million.

What Wall Street Expects

Published consensus is EPS of USD 3.06 against USD 3.05 a year earlier, on revenue near USD 4.71 billion, about 5.4 percent higher. The screener lists USD 3.04, so the two EPS figures differ by two cents and neither is a company number. Last quarter EPS was USD 3.26. Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) raised the low end of both full-year ranges, and consensus full-year EPS of about USD 12.30 sits just below the guidance midpoint. Consensus full-year revenue of about USD 18.12 billion is below the bottom of the guided range, which suggests analysts are still catching up with management.

Defense Strength Against a Health Reset

Defense is the growth engine: organic growth rose to 6 percent, and management expects defense excluding airborne surveillance to grow at a double-digit rate this year. Health is being deliberately reset, with margins near 20 percent against a record 25.7 percent a year ago. Recent news includes a USD 1 billion financing led by Blackstone Credit and Insurance on October 12 for combining Analogic with the Leidos security enterprise business, and U.S. Cyber Command selections on October 21 and October 28. The company cites a USD 12 billion defense pipeline, a munitions framework worth more than USD 1 billion and a possible fourth quarter Navy unmanned vessel award.

Bull and Bear Cases

Shares were about USD 136 on October 26, below the 200-day average near USD 143 and the USD 147.33 post-earnings high, after rising about 8.9 percent since the last report. No options-implied move was found, so these are arithmetic scenarios, not forecasts. A bull case, a defense beat and a fifth guidance raise, could retest USD 143, about 5 percent higher, or USD 147.33, about 8 percent higher. A bear case, health margins under 20 percent or a guidance stall, could take the stock toward USD 129, about 5 percent lower. Risks include a suspension of veterans exam incentive payments, military health records insourcing and year-end budget disruption. No peer result with a verified share reaction was found.

Where Things Stand

The contractor is Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS), and the November 3 test is whether defense growth can outrun a health margin falling from 25.7 percent toward 20 percent. Consensus EPS of USD 3.06 is only a cent above last year, so a beat likely depends on defense and cash flow. A fifth raise would extend the pattern; a stall would challenge it. Watch the 8:00 a.m. ET call, any update on the Navy award and Golden Dome work, and whether health margins hold near 20 percent.