Feb 17 (Reuters) – Defense contractor Leidos Holdings reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations as last year’s six-week U.S. government shutdown weighed on the company’s order books.
The shutdown, the longest in the country’s history, ended in November after severely disrupting government operations and putting pressure on contractors like Leidos that provide IT, weapons and other services to federal agencies.
Leidos, which also supplies air traffic control systems to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, saw its shares fall 1.6% in premarket trading.
Last month, defense supplier L3Harris Technologies also said the production shutdown had also hit, mainly its space systems business.
Leidos’ fourth-quarter revenue was $4.21 billion, down 3.6% from last year and below analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Sales at its Health and Civilian segment, which provides electronic health record systems to Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs hospitals, also took a hit as sales fell 9.3%.
However, on an adjusted basis, the Reston, Virginia-based company earned $2.76 per share in the fourth quarter, beating estimates of $2.61, as its adjusted core margin expanded 160 basis points and it strengthened cost controls.
Leidos forecast 2026 adjusted profit per share in a range of $12.05 to $12.45, with the midpoint being 4 cents below analysts’ expectations of $12.29.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
