Leidos Sees Strong Bookings and Sustained Growth Across National Security, Health and International Sectors

Leidos’ Domestic DOD, Intel and National Security Operations Are Seeing Modest to Moderate Growth

Leidos’ reorganization is delivering positive results, particularly down the company’s income statement, where profitability reached record levels in 1H24. Midsingle-digit top-line growth is being buoyed by strong bookings activity with the Department of Defense (DOD) and civilian agencies.

 

Leidos’ top-line expansion is also being driven by the continued surge in program volumes in Leidos Health, which itself is sustaining year-to-year sales growth and operating margins near 20%. Outside of federal IT, Leidos’ Australia subsidiary is parlaying the company’s innovations in military-grade cybersecurity and software into new growth avenues in the fast-expanding Australian defense sector.
 

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3Q24 Vertical Analysis

National Security & Digital (NSD)

NSD is booking new work with the DOD to modernize existing software platforms and implement new software that will accommodate future advanced weapons systems and digital technologies like AI-enhanced battlespace solutions. Leidos’ DevSecOps capabilities heavily underpin NSD’s efforts to enable the DOD to achieve its “Army of 2030” concept. NSD is also actively touting the potential benefits of GenAI for national security and DOD missions by addressing the upfront ethical and security risks of GenAI for defense and national security agencies.

Defense Systems (DS)

Sequential margin improvement for DS owes to efforts to optimize contract delivery. DS houses Dynetics, where activity is accelerating to develop satellite, force protection and hypersonics solutions for the DOD. Margins in DS will improve further in 2H24 as programs in these three areas transition from the R&D phases to production and delivery to clients.

Health & Civil (H&C)

Underpinning H&C’s robust performance of five straight quarters of double-digit growth as of 3Q24 are higher program volumes in H&C’s managed health services (medical examinations, diagnostic tests and automated reporting – delivered principally through Leidos’ QTC Health Services subsidiary) and disability exam programs with the VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration).

 

H&C was also awarded a five-year $326 million contract in 3Q24 with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Agile software development to modernize NIH’s grant management system, further extending H&C’s relationship with the NIH. (H&C provides scientific and operational support to the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers.)

Commercial & International (C&I)

Top-line growth for C&I, which includes Leidos’ commercial energy, international and Security Enterprise Solutions (SES) operations, is holding at low-single-digit rates. Segment expansion owes to higher program volumes in Australia, accelerating activity in Leidos’ energy unit and the continued rebound of Leidos’ now-restructured SES group.

 

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