Contrasting Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) and Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY)

Posted by Marion Hillson on Mar 16th, 2025

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS – Get Free Report) and Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY – Get Free Report) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Leidos and Waystar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Leidos	7.53%	30.93%	10.64%
Waystar	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Leidos and Waystar, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Leidos	0	6	9	1	2.69
Waystar	0	0	12	1	3.08

Leidos presently has a consensus price target of $175.87, indicating a potential upside of 30.67%. Waystar has a consensus price target of $40.75, indicating a potential upside of 11.74%. Given Leidos’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Leidos is more favorable than Waystar.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Leidos and Waystar”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Leidos	$16.66 billion	1.06	$1.25 billion	$9.24	14.57
Waystar	$943.55 million	6.65	-$51.33 million	N/A	N/A

Leidos has higher revenue and earnings than Waystar.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.1% of Leidos shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Leidos shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Leidos beats Waystar on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Leidos

(Get Free Report)

Leidos Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, the space development agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, defense information systems agency, military services, and government agencies of U.S. allies abroad, as well as other federal and commercial customers in the national security industry. The solutions include technology, large-scale systems, command and control platforms, data analytics, logistics, and cybersecurity solutions, as well as intelligence analysis and operations support services to critical missions. The Civil segment provides systems integration services to air navigation service providers, including the federal aviation administration, the En route automation modernization, advanced technology oceanic procedure, time based flow management, terminal flight data management, geo-7, and future flight services, as well as enterprise-information display systems; and security detection services. It also offers information technology (IT) solutions in cloud computing, mobility, application modernization, DevOps, data center, network modernization, asset management, help desk operations, and digital workplace enablement; and environment, energy, and infrastructure services. The Health segment offers solutions to federal and commercial customers responsible for health and well-being of people, include health information management, managed health, digital modernization, and life sciences research and development services. Leidos Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Waystar