LHX vs OSIS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

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.

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. LHX and OSIS 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 LHX and OSIS 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.

L3Harris Technologies is a major US defense and aerospace contractor formed by the 2019 merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation. It positions itself as an agile defense-technology company spanning communications, sensors, electronic warfare, space, intelligence, and missile systems. The business is organized into segments covering Space and Airborne Systems (avionics, sensors, electronic warfare, space payloads), Integrated Mission Systems (ISR, maritime, electro-optical), Communication Systems (tactical radios, secure communications), and, following its acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne, a propulsion segment that makes rocket motors and missile propulsion for the US military and space programs. L3Harris primarily sells to the US Department of Defense, allied governments, and intelligence agencies under long-term contracts, which gives it durable, often multi-year revenue backed by defense budgets. It makes money by designing, building, and supporting mission-critical hardware and software, then earning long-tail revenue from sustainment, upgrades, and spare parts. The company also pursues cost-savings programs to expand margins after its large merger and acquisitions. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.

Full LHX guide

OSI Systems, Inc. runs three divisions from its base in Hawthorne, California, with roughly 7,300 employees. Security is the largest and best known: Rapiscan and AS&E branded X-ray, computed tomography and gamma-ray systems that screen carry-on bags, checked luggage, cargo containers, vehicles and people at airports, ports, borders and government sites, increasingly sold as multi-year turnkey screening services rather than one-off boxes. Healthcare is Spacelabs, which sells patient monitoring, cardiology and anesthesia products into hospitals. Optoelectronics and Manufacturing builds photodiodes, detectors, optical sensors and electronic subassemblies, some for outside customers and some feeding the company's own security and medical products. Trailing revenue runs about $1.81 billion, with Security contributing roughly two-thirds of the total.

Full OSIS guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• LHX drivers: Rising global defense spending; Diversified mission-critical portfolio.
• OSIS drivers: Aviation and border screening replacement demand; Defense and RF work broadening the mix.

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: L3Harris depends heavily on US government and allied defense budgets, so spending cuts, continuing resolutions, government shutdowns, or shifting priorities directly threaten revenue. For OSIS, revenue is concentrated in a small number of very large government contracts, so a single program ending, as the Mexico SEDENA work did, can erase tens of millions of quarterly revenue with little notice.

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 LHX if you believe its drivers more; OSIS 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 LHX and OSIS guides.

LHX. L3Harris trades at a defense-sector multiple supported by a large multi-year backlog, predictable government revenue, and steady free cash flow. The valuation reflects the durability of defense spending and the company's margin-expansion and capital-return story, offset by debt from acquisitions and program-execution risk. Defense names like L3Harris are often valued on backlog visibility and free cash flow as much as headline earnings.

OSIS. Fiscal years end in June, so the figures above sit between the May 2026 third-quarter report and the fiscal 2026 full-year results and first fiscal 2027 guidance expected later in August. At roughly 22 times guided non-GAAP earnings and about 2.1 times revenue, OSIS is priced closer to a defense prime than to a medical device or electronics manufacturer, which is consistent with where most of its profit comes from. The multiple already reflects the record backlog, so the reported operating margin and the size of new bookings tend to matter more to the share price than the headline revenue beat.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): LHX shows revenue (ttm) ~$21 billion, operating margin ~15%, net income (ttm) ~$1.5-2 billion, p/e (ttm) ~20x; OSIS shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.81B, market cap ~$3.8B, fiscal 2026 revenue guidance ~$1.825B to ~$1.867B, fiscal 2026 non-gaap eps guidance ~$10.30 to ~$10.55.

LHX and OSIS 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 LHX and OSIS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.