LDOS vs SAIC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
LDOS is the larger of the two ($14.54B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (8.82x forward earnings, beta 0.55). SAIC is the smaller challenger ($5.34B), actually pricier on forward earnings (11.48x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
LDOS vs SAIC: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | LDOS | SAIC | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $14.54B | $5.34B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 8.82 | 11.48 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 10.57 | 14.21 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.55 | 0.29 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 16% of range | 93% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.90 | 3.82 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: LDOS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how LDOS and SAIC affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. LDOS and SAIC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined LDOS and SAIC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Leidos Holdings (LDOS) do?
Leidos Holdings is a large government services and technology contractor that builds and runs mission systems for U.S. federal agencies and allied governments. Its work spans intelligence and digital modernization, cybersecurity, defense systems, homeland security (including airport and border screening technology), and health services such as medical exams and health IT. Roughly the bulk of its revenue comes from the U.S. government, making it a prime contractor on long-duration programs rather than a commercial-product company.
What does Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) do?
Science Applications International Corporation is a Reston, Virginia contractor that designs, integrates and runs technology systems for federal agencies. It calls itself a mission integrator, which in practice means systems engineering, mission IT, enterprise IT and professional services delivered under roughly 1,700 active contracts by about 23,000 employees. The business reports in two segments. Defense and Intelligence produced about $1.47 billion of revenue in the quarter ended May 1, 2026, serving the Department of War (the renamed Department of Defense) and the intelligence community. Civilian produced about $440 million, covering federal civilian agencies plus state and local customers in areas like travel, trade and public health. In fiscal 2026, about 52% of revenue came from the Department of War and about 46% from intelligence and other federal agencies, with 98% of the total tied to prime contracts or subcontracts for the U.S. government. This is the company that kept the SAIC name in the 2013 separation; the parent renamed itself Leidos.
LDOS vs SAIC: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- LDOS drivers: Large backlog and revenue visibility; Margin expansion and cash generation.
- SAIC drivers: Margin repair under new leadership; A shrinking share count doing heavy lifting.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The overwhelming majority of Leidos revenue comes from the U.S. For SAIC, the central risk is stated in the guidance itself: management expects organic revenue to decline 2% to 4% in fiscal 2027, so the earnings growth on offer comes from margin and share count rather than demand.
LDOS or SAIC: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick LDOS if you believe its drivers more; SAIC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the LDOS and SAIC guides.
LDOS vs SAIC: the full fundamentals
LDOS. In its most recent quarter (fiscal Q1 2026, ended early April 2026), Leidos posted about $4.4 billion in revenue, non-GAAP EPS of roughly $3.13, and adjusted EBITDA margin near 14%, and it raised full-year guidance. The stock trades at a low double-digit trailing P/E, a discount to the broader market that reflects its slow-growth, government-dependent profile. Figures are approximate and change with new filings and price moves.
SAIC. The multiple looks undemanding on earnings and less so on cash flow: an enterprise value near $7.7 billion against guided adjusted EBITDA of roughly $725 million works out around 10.6 times, which is a normal price for a stable federal services book and a full one for a business guiding revenue lower. The stock traded around $126 in late August 2026 inside a 52-week range of roughly $81 to $130, so most of the margin story has already been repriced. What the numbers do not settle is whether fiscal 2027 is the trough of a portfolio reset or the start of a slower drift, and backlog conversion over the next few quarters is the thing that answers it.
Headline figures (approximate, April 2026): LDOS shows revenue (ttm) ~$17.5B, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$18.0B to $18.4B, latest quarter revenue ~$4.4B (up ~4% YoY), total backlog ~$48B; SAIC shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.29B, versus ~$7.26B in fiscal 2026 and ~$7.48B in fiscal 2025, adjusted ebitda ~$708M in fiscal 2026 (9.7% margin); fiscal 2027 guided to ~$720M to ~$730M (10.1% to 10.3%), diluted eps ~$8.89 trailing GAAP; ~$7.70 in fiscal 2026; fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guided to ~$9.90 to ~$10.10, total backlog / book-to-bill ~$22.9B at May 1, 2026 (~$3.7B funded); Q1 book-to-bill ~1.1x, trailing twelve months ~1.0x.
The bottom line: LDOS vs SAIC
LDOS and SAIC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined LDOS and SAIC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how LDOS or SAIC fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Leidos Holdings with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how LDOS fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between LDOS and SAIC?
+
Leidos Holdings is a large government services and technology contractor that builds and runs mission systems for U.S. Science Applications International Corporation is a Reston, Virginia contractor that designs, integrates and runs technology systems for federal agencies. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is LDOS or SAIC the better stock?
+
Neither is universally better. LDOS is the larger incumbent; SAIC is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, LDOS or SAIC?
+
On forward P/E (as of August 2026), LDOS trades at 8.82x and SAIC at 11.48x, so LDOS is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both LDOS and SAIC?
+
Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of LDOS vs SAIC?
+
LDOS: The overwhelming majority of Leidos revenue comes from the U.S. government, so budget delays, continuing resolutions, sequestration scenarios, and shifting administration priorities can directly pressure results. Contracts are frequently recompeted, and losing a large program or seeing an award protested can create lumpy revenue swings. Margins can be squeezed on fixed-price and cost-reimbursable work if execution slips or labor costs rise. The company also faces growing competition from both traditional peers and large commercial cloud and AI firms moving into federal work. Finally, its modest valuation reflects limited growth, so multiple expansion is not guaranteed even if execution stays solid. SAIC: The central risk is stated in the guidance itself: management expects organic revenue to decline 2% to 4% in fiscal 2027, so the earnings growth on offer comes from margin and share count rather than demand. Customer concentration is close to total, with 98% of revenue tied to the U.S. government, which means appropriations lapses, agency efficiency reviews and program cancellations hit the whole business at once rather than a division of it; the 10-K notes the government shut down for 43 days beginning October 1, 2025 and that the Department of Homeland Security was still awaiting fiscal 2026 appropriations. About 62% of revenue comes from cost-reimbursement contracts, which limits downside on any single job but also caps how far margins can travel. Recompete losses are the structural threat in federal services, since large multi-year awards come up for rebid on a schedule and a single loss can remove hundreds of millions of revenue with no replacement in hand. Finally, the balance sheet carries roughly $2.4 billion of net debt and $2.94 billion of goodwill against about $1.4 billion of book equity, so a sustained revenue decline would compress leverage headroom and the buyback capacity that is currently doing much of the work.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell LDOS or SAIC; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.