AERG vs LDOS vs ESLT Stock Comparison

Applied Energetics, Leidos Holdings and Elbit Systems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LDOS Leidos Holdings, Inc.
$139.91 +13.2% 1M -26.3% 1Y
Market cap
$17.59B
P/E
12.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.63B
Div. yield
0.01%
Defense Industrials
5 wins
ESLT Elbit Systems Ltd
$777.96 +5.8% 1M +58.2% 1Y
Market cap
$36.14B
P/E
56.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.55B
Div. yield
0.00%
Defense Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Elbit Systems leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Elbit Systems 6, Leidos Holdings 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERGLDOSESLTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $209.21M $17.59B $36.14B ESLT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -13.0x 12.8x 56.8x LDOS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 11.0x 55.8x LDOS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -82.5% +3.4% +13.7% ESLT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5,128.4% 7.8% 7.4% LDOS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.9% 17.8% ESLT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.3x -0.9x ESLT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -43.0% -26.3% +58.2% ESLT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.2%/yr +7.2%/yr +37.4%/yr ESLT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 72.0% 35.6% 44.8% LDOS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 18/100 70/100 60/100 LDOS

Percentile Scorecard

AERGLDOSESLT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAERGLDOSESLT
Valuation 5 #95 of 100 98 #3 of 100 46 #55 of 100
Growth 2 #95 of 97 57 #42 of 97 88 #13 of 97
Profitability 5 #91 of 96 85 #15 of 96 74 #26 of 96
Financial Health 53 #50 of 105 34 #70 of 105 58 #45 of 105
Shareholder Returns 24 #49 of 64 75 #17 of 64 37 #41 of 64
Overall 18 70 60
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LDOS ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • ESLT ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAERGLDOSESLTSPY
1 month +6.8%+13.2%+5.8% -0.8%
3 months -26.6%+21.6%-4.3% +3.5%
6 months -30.4%-3.0%-5.1% +7.0%
Year to date -48.1%-22.4%+34.7% +12.2%
1 year -43.0%-26.3%+58.2% +13.0%
3 years -59.7%+54.6%+318.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year -26.1%+15.6%+61.2% +23.1%
5 years -61.0%+41.4%+389.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year -17.2%+7.2%+37.4% +11.0%
10 years —+235.6%+696.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+12.9%+23.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAERGLDOSESLTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 72.0%35.6%44.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.3%37.3%39.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.100.260.71 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.60-0.741.30 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.1%-50.3%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.8%-29.9%-23.3% -1.8%
52-week high $1.95$199.55$1,014.33 $779.14
52-week low $0.68$100.00$454.95 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAERGLDOSESLT
P/E now vs peer median -13.4xmedian 26.8x 12.8xmedian 26.8x 55.9xmedian 26.8x
P/S now vs peer median 688.9xmedian 2.9x 1.0xmedian 2.9x 4.2xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -13.8xmedian 15.2x 9.8xmedian 15.2x 36.4xmedian 15.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -20.8xmedian 25.5x 8.1xmedian 25.5x 36.4xmedian 25.5x
P/B now vs peer median 99.0xmedian 2.5x 3.3xmedian 2.5x 8.2xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.40median 0.94 0.45median 0.94 1.78median 0.94

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAERGLDOSESLT
Revenue $313.97K $17.63B $8.55B
Gross profit $143.70K $3.14B $2.14B
Operating income -$16.17M $2.03B $787.82M
Net income -$16.07M $1.40B $636.61M
Free cash flow -$10.40M $2.16B $992.19M
R&D $2.09M – $582.72M
EPS (diluted) $-0.07 $10.92 $13.56
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $748.00M $255.34M
Total debt – $21.66B $92.13M
Shares (diluted) 229.90M 126.00M 46.92M
Enterprise value $196.18M $14.30B $32.70B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSESLT
P/E -13.4x 12.8x 55.9x
P/FCF -20.8x 8.1x 36.4x
P/Operating cash flow -21.1x 7.6x 36.4x
P/S 688.9x 1.0x 4.2x
P/B 99.0x 3.3x 8.2x
P/Tangible book 99.0x 4.0x 8.2x
EV/EBITDA -13.8x 9.8x 36.4x
EV/EBIT -13.3x 11.3x 44.8x
EV/Revenue 685.1x 1.3x 4.1x
EV/FCF -20.7x 10.6x 35.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -21.0x 9.9x 35.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.40 0.45 1.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSESLT
Revenue growth (1Y) -82.5% 3.4% 13.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 5.9% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -83.3% 4.8% 18.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -54.8% 14.4% 14.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -41.9% -0.4% 37.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.6% 21.1% 26.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.0% -0.8% 58.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 24.8% 33.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -36.1% 1.3% 50.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 28.6% 31.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -56.2% 54.9% 22.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 35.7% 82.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.3% 63.2% 105.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.0% 41.7% 175.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSESLT
Gross margin 45.8% 17.8% 25.0%
EBITDA margin -4,975% 13.2% 11.3%
Operating margin -5,150% 11.5% 9.2%
Pretax margin -5,118% 10.2% 8.1%
Net margin -5,128% 7.8% 7.4%
FCF margin -3,312% 12.3% 11.6%
Operating cash flow margin -3,260% 13.0% 11.6%
Return on equity -440.1% 26.8% 14.7%
Return on assets -300.4% 9.0% 4.7%
Return on invested capital – 13.9% 17.8%
Return on capital employed -409.2% 16.5% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.1x 1.1x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.6x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1,759% 0.6% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSESLT
Debt / assets – 38.6% 0.7%
Debt / equity – 1.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.3x -0.9x
Debt / FCF – 2.8x 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 46.3% 65.9% 68.2%
Equity / assets 53.7% 34.1% 31.8%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.6x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.4x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 6.92 3.20 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSESLT
Dividend yield – 1.2% 0.5%
Net buyback yield -5.0% 3.7% 0.0%
Shareholder yield -5.0% 5.0% 0.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 15.5% 22.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.0% 14.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.3% -54.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 2.8% -17.4%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAERGLDOSESLT
Forward P/E – 11.0xFY2026 55.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $12.75FY2026 $13.93FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +6.3%FY2026 +22.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -9.0% +21.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $17.52BFY2026 $8.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +2.0%FY2026 +11.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +14.9% +21.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERGLDOSESLT
Held by institutions 0.0% 79.3% 19.9%
Institutions holding 1 773 384
Change in shares held, QoQ – +4.1% -7.1%
Institutions buying 0 380 202
Institutions selling 0 294 106
Buyers to sellers – 1.29 1.91

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AERGLDOSESLT
AERG 1.00 0.00 0.00
LDOS 0.00 1.00 0.25
ESLT 0.00 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERG, LDOS and ESLT?

Elbit Systems (ESLT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Energetics (AERG) $209.21M, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) $17.59B, Elbit Systems (ESLT) $36.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERG, LDOS and ESLT?

Leidos Holdings (LDOS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Energetics (AERG) -13.0x, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 12.8x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 56.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) is cheapest (Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 11.0x, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 55.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Elbit Systems (ESLT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Energetics (AERG) -82.5%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) +3.4%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +13.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has the highest net margin (Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 7.8%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 7.4%). On return on invested capital, Elbit Systems (ESLT) leads (Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 13.9%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 17.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Elbit Systems (ESLT) returned the most: Applied Energetics (AERG) -43.0%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) -26.3%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +58.2%. Over five years, Elbit Systems (ESLT) compounded fastest (Applied Energetics (AERG) -17.2%/yr, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) +7.2%/yr, Elbit Systems (ESLT) +37.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Applied Energetics (AERG) 0.00%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 0.01%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 0.00%. Applied Energetics (AERG) and Elbit Systems (ESLT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has been the steadiest (Applied Energetics (AERG) 72.0%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 35.6%, Elbit Systems (ESLT) 44.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AERG, LDOS and ESLT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Elbit Systems (ESLT) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.