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LDOS
Leidos Holdings, Inc. · Industrials
$107.12
-14.96% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
SAIC
Science Applications International Corporation · Industrials
$102.39
+7.42% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
LDOS
3
SAIC
1
Comparison scoreboard
LDOS LEADS 3/5AI Score
LDOS ✓46.2
SAIC 33.7
1Y Return
LDOS -28.30%
SAIC ✓-0.81%
Fwd P/E
LDOS ✓9.29
SAIC 9.30
Target Up.
LDOS ✓+50.02%
SAIC +19.05%
Op. Margin
LDOS 12.23%
SAIC N/A
Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026
Quick take
LDOS vs SAIC Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Leidos and SAIC are direct competitors in US government IT services and defense solutions, both serving the DoD and federal agencies. Leidos is roughly twice SAIC's revenue scale, giving it advantages in competing for the largest government IT contracts. Both generate predictable cash flows from long-term government contracts and pay consistent dividends.
LDOS vs SAIC is the larger-scale defense IT leader competing for mega-contracts (Leidos) versus the focused mid-tier defense IT specialist (SAIC) — Leidos offers scale advantages and broader portfolio; SAIC offers agility in mid-sized contracts and consistent capital return at a potentially lower valuation.
Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026
LDOS holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. SAIC has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-0.81% vs -28.30%), though LDOS trades at the lower forward P/E (9.29x vs 9.30x). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for LDOS (+50.02%) than for SAIC (+19.05%).
Normalized 1Y performance
LDOS
SAIC
Recent returns
LDOS
SAIC
Analyst price targets & sentiment
LDOS
Price target range
analyst mean$183.27
current price$107.12
+50.0% upside to analyst mean
SAIC · 10 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (2.8/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$96.00
analyst high$137.00
analyst mean$121.90
current price$102.39
+19.1% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
LDOS may suit investors who:
- →prefer the largest US defense IT services company with scale advantages in the most competitive government IT contracts
- →value revenue diversification across Defense, Civil (FAA, NASA), and Health (VA, military health IT) segments
- →want defense IT exposure at the highest revenue scale with depth in intelligence community systems
- →are comfortable with acquisition integration complexity from Dynetics and other technology capability additions
SAIC may suit investors who:
- →prefer a focused defense IT services company with deep DoD domain expertise and consistent capital return
- →value SAIC's agility in mid-tier government IT contracts that may be below Leidos' minimum scale interest
- →want defense IT dividend income at potentially lower valuation multiples than Leidos' larger-scale franchise
- →are comfortable with SAIC's smaller scale limiting access to the largest single-award government IT contracts
Performance & AI score
| Metric | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 46.2 | 33.7 |
| AI rank | #676 | #1847 |
| Latest close | $107.12 | $102.39 |
| 1M return | -14.96% | +7.42% |
| 6M return | -40.94% | +0.67% |
| 1Y return | -28.30% | -0.81% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $7.22K (-27.8%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.06K (+0.6%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $11.23K (+12.3%) started 2021-06-21 | $12.91K (+29.1%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $58.18K (+481.8%) started 2016-06-20 | $24.69K (+146.9%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $15.37B | $4.33B |
| Trailing P/E | 11.18 | 11.52 |
| Forward P/E | 9.29 | 9.30 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 0.59 |
| EV/Revenue | 1.26 | 0.98 |
| Analyst target | $183.27 | $121.90 |
| Target upside | +50.02% | +19.05% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 3.70% | 1.50% |
| Earnings growth | -7.60% | 83.80% |
| EPS growth | -7.60% | +83.80% |
| FCF margin | +6.89% | +5.73% |
| Operating margin | 12.23% | N/A |
| Profit margin | 8.15% | 5.55% |
| ROIC proxy | 30.58% | 27.66% |
| Return on equity | 30.58% | 27.66% |
| Dividend yield | 1.41% | 1.36% |
| Beta | 0.52 | 0.29 |
| Debt/equity | 137.13 | 187.98 |
| Current ratio | 1.40 | 1.16 |
| Quick ratio | 1.11 | 1.03 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
LDOS max drawdown46.32%
SAIC max drawdown31.34%
LDOS max wkly drop16.99%
SAIC max wkly drop15.99%
5Y risk snapshot
LDOS max drawdown46.51%
SAIC max drawdown45.74%
LDOS max wkly drop21.35%
SAIC max wkly drop22.11%
10Y risk snapshot
LDOS max drawdown46.51%
SAIC max drawdown45.92%
LDOS max wkly drop21.35%
SAIC max wkly drop24.66%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -27.79% | -0.81% |
| CAGR | -27.83% | -0.81% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.08 | 0.05 | |
| Max drawdown | 46.32% | 31.34% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.15% | 16.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.99% | 15.99% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +6.57% | +20.00% |
| CAGR | +1.28% | +3.71% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.02 | 0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 46.51% | 45.74% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.54% | 16.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 21.35% | 22.11% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +253.04% | +108.16% |
| CAGR | +13.45% | +7.61% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.43 | 0.25 | |
| Max drawdown | 46.51% | 45.92% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.54% | 18.22% | |
| Max wkly drop | 21.35% | 24.66% |
Business comparison
| Category | LDOS | SAIC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Leidos Holdings, Inc. | Science Applications International Corporation |
| Sector | Technology | Industrials |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Leidos is the largest US defense IT company, providing IT services, systems integration, and solutions to the DoD, Intelligence Community, and civilian federal agencies. Its segments span Defense Solutions (DoD analytics, logistics IT), Civil (civilian agency IT, FAA, NASA), and Health (military health IT, VA systems). Leidos acquired Dynetics (engineering/hypersonics) and regularly wins large multi-year government IT contracts. Revenue exceeds $15B annually. | SAIC provides technology integration and IT modernization services primarily to the US government, with DoD and intelligence community customers comprising the majority of revenue. SAIC was split from Leidos (then SAIC Corp) in 2013 and has since focused on IT services, digital transformation, and systems modernization for defense and federal agencies. Revenue is approximately $7.5B — roughly half of Leidos' scale. |
| Investor focus | Investors track revenue growth, bookings and total backlog (indicates future revenue), operating margins, and key contract wins (OASIS+, DEOS, health IT vehicles) signaling future revenue pipeline quality. | Investors track bookings-to-revenue ratio, contract win rate on new opportunities, margin improvement from operational efficiency programs, and dividend sustainability from stable government IT cash flows. |
LDOS strengths
- →Largest US defense IT services company with scale advantages in competing for multi-billion dollar government IT contracts
- →Health segment (military health IT, VA systems) provides a growing civilian government revenue stream alongside core defense IT
- →Long-term government IT contracts with multi-year base periods provide revenue visibility that commercial IT companies lack
SAIC strengths
- →Deep domain expertise in specific DoD and intelligence community systems modernization creates repeat customer relationships
- →Smaller scale than Leidos makes SAIC more agile in pursuing mid-tier contracts that may be below Leidos' scale threshold
- →Consistent free cash flow from long-term government contracts supports reliable dividends and buybacks
Risks to watch — LDOS
- →Government IT services is highly competitive — SAIC, Booz Allen, Leidos, and CACI all compete for the same contract vehicles
- →Budget continuing resolutions and sequestration risk can delay contract awards and compress growth in government-dependent revenue
- →M&A integration complexity from Dynetics and other acquisitions can create near-term margin compression
Risks to watch — SAIC
- →Smaller scale than Leidos limits SAIC's ability to compete for the largest government IT contract vehicles
- →Government IT contract concentration in DoD creates exposure to DoD budget cycles and program prioritization changes
- →Competition from Leidos, Booz Allen, Accenture Federal, and others on every material contract opportunity
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