AERG vs LDOS vs LHX Stock Comparison

Applied Energetics, Leidos Holdings and L3Harris Technologies Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LDOS Leidos Holdings, Inc.
$141.02 +14.6% 1M -25.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.07B
P/E
13.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.63B
Div. yield
0.01%
Defense Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Leidos Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Leidos Holdings 6, L3Harris Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAERGLDOSLHXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $195.41M $18.07B $51.91B LHX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -12.1x 13.1x 23.9x LDOS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 11.1x 24.4x LDOS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -82.5% +3.4% — LDOS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5,128.4% 7.8% — LDOS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.9% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -50.6% -25.1% -2.9% LHX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -19.1%/yr +7.1%/yr +3.9%/yr LDOS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 72.1% 35.6% 29.4% LHX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 15/100 69/100 68/100 LDOS

Percentile Scorecard

AERGLDOSLHX

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

AxisAERGLDOSLHX
Valuation 3 #97 of 100 98 #3 of 100 81 #20 of 100
Growth 2 #94 of 96 58 #41 of 96 –
Profitability 5 #90 of 95 84 #16 of 95 –
Financial Health 40 #63 of 105 31 #73 of 105 30 #74 of 105
Shareholder Returns 25 #49 of 65 72 #19 of 65 94 #5 of 65
Overall 15 69 68
  • AERG ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LDOS ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LHX 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

PeriodAERGLDOSLHXSPY
1 month -5.6%+14.6%+17.9% +0.7%
3 months -32.0%+25.4%+2.5% +3.7%
6 months -37.0%-5.5%-13.1% +7.1%
Year to date -53.0%-21.8%-5.1% +12.8%
1 year -50.6%-25.1%-2.9% +11.9%
3 years -64.6%+53.6%+59.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year -29.3%+15.4%+16.9% +22.8%
5 years -65.3%+41.0%+20.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year -19.1%+7.1%+3.9% +10.9%
10 years —+240.6%+211.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+13.0%+12.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAERGLDOSLHXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 72.1%35.6%29.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.2%37.1%29.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.080.260.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.70-0.70-0.10 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.1%-50.3%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.4%-29.3%-26.4% -1.2%
52-week high $1.95$199.55$378.48 $779.14
52-week low $0.68$100.00$233.68 $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.

MultipleAERGLDOSLHX
P/E now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 26.9x 12.9xmedian 26.9x 23.9xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 622.9xmedian 3.0x 1.0xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -12.4xmedian 15.0x 9.9xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -18.8xmedian 27.2x 8.2xmedian 27.2x 15.8xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 89.5xmedian 2.5x 3.3xmedian 2.5x 2.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.36median 0.93 0.45median 0.93 —median 0.93

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 monthsAERGLDOSLHX
Revenue $313.97K $17.63B –
Gross profit $143.70K $3.14B –
Operating income -$16.17M $2.03B –
Net income -$16.07M $1.40B –
Free cash flow -$10.40M $2.16B –
R&D $2.09M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.07 $10.92 –
Cash & equivalents $1.19M $748.00M $2.47B
Total debt – $21.66B –
Shares (diluted) 229.90M 126.00M 187.30M
Enterprise value $182.39M $14.78B $51.91B

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
MetricAERGLDOSLHX
P/E -12.1x 12.9x 23.9x
P/FCF -18.8x 8.2x 15.8x
P/Operating cash flow -19.1x 7.7x –
P/S 622.9x 1.0x 1.1x
P/B 89.5x 3.3x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 89.5x 4.0x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA -12.4x 9.9x –
EV/EBIT -12.0x 11.3x –
EV/Revenue 619.2x 1.3x –
EV/FCF -18.7x 10.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow -19.0x 10.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.36 0.45 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSLHX
Revenue growth (1Y) -82.5% 3.4% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -47.4% 5.9% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -83.3% 4.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -54.8% 14.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -41.9% -0.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -37.6% 21.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -41.0% -0.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 24.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) -36.1% 1.3% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 28.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -56.2% 54.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 35.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -34.3% 63.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.0% 41.7% –

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSLHX
Debt / assets – 38.6% –
Debt / equity – 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.3x –
Debt / FCF – 2.8x –
Liabilities / assets 46.3% 65.9% 51.5%
Equity / assets 53.7% 34.1% 46.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.6x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.4x –
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 0.32 3.21 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAERGLDOSLHX
Dividend yield – 1.2% 1.8%
Net buyback yield -5.6% 3.7% –
Shareholder yield -5.6% 4.9% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 15.5% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 2.8% –

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.

ConsensusAERGLDOSLHX
Forward P/E – 11.1xFY2026 24.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $12.75FY2026 $11.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +6.3%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -9.0% +10.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $17.52BFY2026 $24.16BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +2.0%FY2026 +10.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +14.9% +0.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAERGLDOSLHX
Held by institutions 0.0% 79.3% 87.5%
Institutions holding 1 774 1,692
Change in shares held, QoQ – +4.1% -0.5%
Institutions buying 0 380 848
Institutions selling 0 295 570
Buyers to sellers – 1.29 1.49

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.

AERGLDOSLHX
AERG 1.00 0.00 -0.01
LDOS 0.00 1.00 0.43
LHX -0.01 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AERG, LDOS and LHX?

L3Harris Technologies (LHX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Energetics (AERG) $195.41M, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) $18.07B, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) $51.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, AERG, LDOS and LHX?

Leidos Holdings (LDOS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Energetics (AERG) -12.1x, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 13.1x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 23.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) is cheapest (Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 11.1x, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 24.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has the highest net margin (Applied Energetics (AERG) -5,128.4%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 7.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year L3Harris Technologies (LHX) returned the most: Applied Energetics (AERG) -50.6%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) -25.1%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) -2.9%. Over five years, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) compounded fastest (Applied Energetics (AERG) -19.1%/yr, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) +7.1%/yr, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) +3.9%/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%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 0.00%. Applied Energetics (AERG) and L3Harris Technologies (LHX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has been the steadiest (Applied Energetics (AERG) 72.1%, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 35.6%, L3Harris Technologies (LHX) 29.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Leidos Holdings (LDOS) 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.