Operating cash flow of $523M in 2026Q3 converted net income at only 1.28x after buybacks of $504M, while free cash flow margin swung from 0.8% in 2025Q1 to 16.7% in 2026Q2, indicating cash generation remains timing-dependent rather than steadily compounding.
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) cash flow statement — 21-year operating, investing & financing cash flows
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Jan'25 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Jan'21 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Jan'13 | Jan'12 | Jan'11 | Jan'10 | Jan'09 | Jan'08 | Jan'07 | Jan'06 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 2.11B | 1.75B | 1.39B | 1.17B | 986M | 1.03B | 1.33B | 992M | 768M | 526M | 446M | 410M | 396M | 195M | 345M | 710M | 714M | 623M | 542M | 342M | 708M | 595M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 10.19% | 8.35% | 7.55% | 6.85% | 7.51% | 10.85% | 8.94% | 7.53% | 5.17% | 6.33% | 8.06% | 7.82% | 3.38% | 3.09% | 6.71% | 6.42% | 5.74% | 5.38% | 3.83% | 8.54% | 7.64% |
| Operating CF Growth % | 521.24% | 25.72% | 19.48% | 18.15% | -4.36% | -22.71% | 34.48% | 29.17% | 46.01% | 17.94% | 8.78% | 3.54% | 103.08% | -43.48% | -51.41% | -0.56% | 14.61% | 14.94% | 58.48% | -51.69% | 18.99% | - |
| Net Income | 1.42B | 1.45B | 1.25B | 208M | 693M | 759M | 629M | 670M | 582M | 364M | 246M | 236M | -330M | 84M | 523M | -67M | 569M | 500M | 452M | 415M | 391M | 345M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 304M | 290M | 290M | 331M | 333M | 325M | 282M | 234M | 257M | 336M | 122M | 44M | 62M | 81M | 113M | 114M | 111M | 93M | 89M | 80M | 72M | 70M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 102M | 95M | 85M | 77M | 73M | 67M | 62M | 52M | 44M | 43M | 35M | 31M | 42M | 55M | 84M | 84M | 102M | 106M | 94M | 89M | 64M | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | 94M | 369M | -98M | -109M | -211M | -26M | -4M | 18M | 17M | 57M | 0 | -6M | 56M | -38M | 72M | -9M | -30M | -18M | 4M | -4M | 3M | -42M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 62M | 28M | 55M | 715M | 66M | -3M | 62M | -91M | 8M | 21M | 4M | 5M | 519M | 152M | -61M | -7M | -4M | -15M | -76M | -72M | 2M | -16M |
| Working Capital Changes | 119M | -480M | -191M | -57M | 32M | -91M | 303M | 109M | -140M | -295M | 39M | 100M | 47M | -139M | -386M | 595M | -34M | -43M | -21M | -166M | 176M | 238M |
| Change in Receivables | 93M | -46M | -220M | -65M | -174M | -5M | -127M | 116M | -58M | -183M | 149M | -32M | 162M | -67M | 325M | -48M | 0 | -94M | 4M | -237M | -72M | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 135M | 0 | 5M | 127M | -116M | -85M | -76M | -101M | -14M | -12M | 55M | -64M | -93M | -28M | 54M | -112M | -46M | 9M | 0 |
| Change in Payables | -336M | -308M | -160M | 31M | -149M | -212M | 151M | 116M | -46M | 152M | -25M | 101M | -43M | -88M | -744M | 757M | 0 | -32M | 67M | 47M | 36M | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -2.49B | -421M | -142M | -211M | -313M | -730M | -2.81B | 65M | -114M | -71M | 25M | 82.91M | 80M | 280M | -477M | -37M | -394M | -305M | -259M | -202M | 1.24B | -583M |
| Capital Expenditures | -153M | -125M | -149M | -207M | -129M | -104M | -183M | -121M | -73M | -81M | -29M | -27M | -29M | -53M | -48M | -65M | -74M | -58M | -59M | -61M | -74M | -54M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 0.85% | 0.73% | 0.89% | 1.34% | 0.9% | 0.76% | 1.49% | 1.09% | 0.72% | 0.8% | 0.41% | 0.53% | 0.57% | 0.92% | 0.43% | 0.61% | 0.67% | 0.53% | 0.59% | 0.68% | 0.89% | 0.69% |
| Acquisitions | -2.35B | -300M | 0 | -6M | -177M | -622M | -2.65B | 84M | -81M | 8M | 48M | 25M | 0 | -3M | -483M | -222M | -382M | -258M | -204M | -145M | -378M | -226M |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 1M | 4M | 7M | 2M | -7M | -4M | 23M | 102M | 40M | 2M | 6M | 84.91M | 109M | 72M | 54M | 250M | 62M | 11M | 4M | 4M | 29M | 743M |
| Cash from Financing | 80M | -1.13B | -1.08B | -715M | -865M | -113M | 1.45B | -709M | -707M | -429M | -751M | -283M | -463M | -780M | -722M | -449M | 187M | -398M | -427M | -157M | -1.84B | -713M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 1.38B | -29M | -18M | -302M | -165M | 274M | 1.77B | -80M | -59M | -209M | 413M | -39M | -177M | 348M | -550M | -3M | 739M | -18M | -113M | -10M | -27M | -46M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -1.06B | -882M | -851M | -196M | -494M | -226M | -70M | -431M | -424M | -18M | 1M | -112M | -208M | -319M | -22M | -471M | -563M | -474M | -369M | -211M | 619M | -663M |
| Dividends Paid | -217M | -211M | -208M | -201M | -199M | -199M | -196M | -198M | -198M | -198M | -1.14B | -117M | -95M | -477M | -165M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1M | -2M | -2.44B | 0 |
| Share Repurchases | -1.12B | -944M | -906M | -246M | -542M | -270M | -105M | -458M | -438M | -31M | -24M | -118M | -215M | -319M | -22M | -471M | -601M | -474M | -445M | -309M | -724M | -818M |
| Other Financing | -18M | -7M | -7M | -16M | -7M | 38M | -52M | 0 | -26M | -4M | -30M | -15M | 17M | -446M | 15M | 25M | 11M | 94M | 56M | 66M | 6M | -4M |
| Net Change in Cash | -300M | 213M | 156M | 245M | -192M | 188M | -30M | 348M | -53M | 26M | -277M | 200M | 25M | -339M | -848M | 230M | 515M | -71M | 941M | -1.11B | 104M | 1.03B |
| Free Cash Flow | 1.78B | 1.63B | 1.24B | 958M | 857M | 927M | 1.15B | 871M | 695M | 445M | 417M | 383M | 367M | 142M | 297M | 645M | 640M | 565M | 483M | 281M | 634M | 541M |
| FCF Margin % | 9.88% | 9.46% | 7.46% | 6.21% | 5.95% | 6.75% | 9.36% | 7.85% | 6.82% | 4.38% | 5.92% | 7.53% | 7.25% | 2.46% | 2.66% | 6.09% | 5.76% | 5.21% | 4.8% | 3.14% | 7.64% | 6.94% |
| FCF Growth % | 9.35% | 30.73% | 29.75% | 11.79% | -7.55% | -19.46% | 32.15% | 25.32% | 56.18% | 6.71% | 8.88% | 4.36% | 158.45% | -52.19% | -53.95% | 0.78% | 13.27% | 16.98% | 71.89% | -55.68% | 17.19% | - |
| FCF per Share | 14.22 | 12.27 | 9.14 | 6.94 | 6.21 | 6.48 | 7.99 | 6.01 | 4.54 | 2.89 | 4.01 | 5.18 | 4.96 | 1.71 | 3.57 | 7.68 | 6.99 | 5.79 | 4.81 | 2.70 | 6.97 | 6.03 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | 1.25x | 1.20x | 1.11x | 5.85x | 1.44x | 1.37x | 2.12x | 1.49x | 1.32x | 1.44x | 1.83x | 1.61x | -1.23x | 1.19x | 0.66x | 12.03x | 1.16x | 1.25x | 1.20x | 0.82x | 1.81x | 0.64x |
| Interest Paid | -75M | 220M | 226M | 207M | 195M | 182M | 161M | 172M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 5M | 0 | 460M | 435M | 217M | 221M | 140M | 142M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying LDOS stock.
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) generated $1.75B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) generated $1.63B in free cash flow in 2025. Free cash flow is the cash left over after capital expenditures, which can be used to pay dividends, repurchase shares, or pay down debt.
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) spent $125.0M on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) returned $211.0M to shareholders via cash dividends and spent $944.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Lumpy working capital swings
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Operating Cash Conversion Highly Volatile
According to reported quarterly figures, Leidos converted net income into operating cash flow at 1.28x in 2026Q3 and 2.23x in 2026Q2, but only 0.16x in 2025Q1, indicating that cash conversion depends heavily on timing of working capital rather than steady earnings quality.
The ratio of operating cash flow to net income ranged from 0.16x to 2.23x across the ten quarters shown, a spread wide enough to suggest that reported earnings are not a reliable proxy for cash generation in any single period. The 2025Q1 trough, where working capital absorbed $372M, coincides with a $58M operating cash flow against $363M of net income, which appears to reflect billing and collection timing on government contracts rather than deterioration in underlying profitability. Investors should monitor whether the average conversion over a full cycle tracks near 1.0x, since the quarterly noise makes the trailing trend difficult to interpret cleanly.
Free Cash Flow Margins Swing Widely
Based on reported figures, Leidos free cash flow margin moved from 0.8% in 2025Q1 to 16.7% in 2026Q2, with the 2026Q3 margin settling at 10.3%, suggesting cash generation remains episodic rather than compounding.
Free cash flow has been positive in every quarter shown, which supports the view that the business is self-funding even at its weakest points. However, the magnitude of the swings implies that quarterly FCF is driven more by contract milestone billing and receivable collection than by a stable margin structure. The relatively low capital intensity, with CapEx near 0.5% to 1.0% of revenue in most quarters, means that the FCF swings are primarily working capital driven rather than investment driven.
Working Capital Drives Quarterly Cash Variance
As reported in financial statements, working capital changes ranged from a $372M outflow in 2025Q1 to a $323M inflow in 2026Q2, accounting for most of the variance in quarterly operating cash flow.
The pattern of large outflows followed by large inflows suggests that receivables and unbilled balances build around contract milestones and then convert when invoices are settled, which is consistent with percentage-of-completion revenue recognition on long-duration federal work. The sign alternation across quarters does not clearly indicate structural deterioration, but investors should watch whether the 2026Q1 outflow of $156M and the 2026Q3 outflow of $22M reflect a lengthening collection cycle. Without disclosed days-sales-outstanding or unbilled receivable detail in the supplied data, the cause of the swings warrants further investigation.
Buybacks Dominate Capital Returned
According to recent filings, Leidos deployed $504M into share repurchases in 2026Q3 and $528M in 2025Q1, while dividends remained a steady $51M to $55M per quarter, indicating buybacks are the primary discretionary use of cash.
Dividend payments were consistent and modest relative to free cash flow, which suggests the dividend is comfortably covered even in weaker quarters. Buybacks have varied substantially and in several quarters exceeded free cash flow, including 2026Q3 where repurchases of $504M compared with FCF of $476M. This pattern may indicate that management funds repurchases partly from balance sheet cash or acquisition-related financing, and investors should monitor whether sustained repurchases above FCF are sustainable without adding leverage.
Stock-Based Comp and Acquisitions Mask Cash
Based on the supplied quarterly data, stock-based compensation of $19M to $28M per quarter and acquisition outflows of up to $2.3B in 2026Q1 suggest that headline free cash flow may not fully represent cash available to shareholders.
Stock-based compensation is a non-cash add-back in operating cash flow, so reported FCF overstates the economic cost of employee pay to the extent shares are issued to offset dilution, though buybacks may be partly offsetting this. The $2.3B acquisition outflow in 2026Q1 falls outside free cash flow entirely, meaning the FCF figures shown do not capture the capital consumed by the company's acquisition strategy. Investors should consider whether acquisition spending, which appears to be a recurring theme in management's capital allocation, should be treated as a necessary cost of maintaining growth when evaluating true cash returns.