In This Article:
Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS, with a robust backlog, rising earnings estimates, efficient debt management and strong liquidity, offers a great investment opportunity in the Zacks Aerospace Defense Equipment industry.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.
DRS’ Growth Forecast & Surprise History
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRS’ 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.9% to $1.08 per share over the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Leonardo DRS’ total revenues for 2025 stands at $3.52 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 9%.
The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 14.6%. DRS surpassed expectations in the last four reported quarters
and delivered an average earnings surprise of 20.42% in the last four quarters.
DRS’ Liquidity
The company’s current ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2025 was 2.02, higher than the industry’s average of 1.79. The ratio, being greater than one, indicates Leonardo DRS’ ability to meet its future short-term liabilities without difficulties.
Overview of DRS’ Debt Profile
Currently, Leonardo DRS’ total debt to capital is 12.34%, much better than the industry’s average of 52.52%.
DRS’ times interest earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the first quarter of 2025 was 17.8. The TIE ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company will be able to meet its interest payment obligations in the near term without any problems.
DRS’ Rising Backlog
Leonardo DRS’ total backlog as of March 31, 2025 increased 9.8% to $8.61 billion from the year-ago reported figure. The rise in the backlog was primarily attributed to the receipt of new awards within the company's Advanced Sensing and Computing segment across several domains, including dismounted army, naval and aerial sensor programs.
DRS Stock Price Performance
In the past six months, DRS shares have rallied 14.6% compared with the industry’s rise of 2.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are Curtiss-Wright Corp. CW, Woodward, Inc. WWD and FTAI Aviation Ltd. FTAI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
CW’s long-term earnings growth rate is 12%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s total revenues for 2025 stands at $3.38 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 8.3%.
Woodward’s long-term earnings growth rate is 13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WWD’s fiscal 2025 sales is pegged at $3.43 billion, which implies an improvement of 3.3%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FTAI’s 2025 EPS stands at $5.14 per share, which calls for massive growth of 133.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FTAI’s total revenues for 2025 is pegged at $2.11 billion, which implies growth of 21.8%.