SAIC Q3 Earnings Beat: Will Strong FY26 Guidance Lift the Stock?

Core Insights - Science Applications International (SAIC) reported non-GAAP earnings of $2.58 per share for Q3 fiscal 2026, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.07 by 24.6%, although this represents a 1.1% decline from $2.61 per share in the same quarter last year [1][10] - The company’s revenues for the third quarter decreased by 5.6% year over year to $1.87 billion, slightly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.86 billion [2][10] - SAIC's shares rose by 16.3% following the earnings report, despite a year-to-date decline of 8.1%, which is better than the Zacks Computers – IT Services industry's decline of 14.4% [3] Financial Performance - Defence and Intelligence segment revenues, which made up 77.1% of total revenues, were $1.44 billion, down 5% year over year; Civilian revenues, accounting for 22.9%, totaled $427 million, down 7.4% year over year [4] - Net bookings for the quarter were approximately $2.2 billion, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2, with an estimated backlog of $23.8 billion, of which $3.8 billion was funded [5][10] - Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased by 21.7% to $101 million, with SG&A as a percentage of revenues rising to 5.4% from 4.2% in the previous year [6] - Non-GAAP operating income decreased to $183 million from $195 million year over year, with a non-GAAP operating margin of 9.8%, down 10 basis points [6][7] Cash Flow and Balance Sheet - The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $45 million, down from $48 million in the previous quarter; long-term debt increased to $2.48 billion from $1.84 billion [8] - Operating cash flow for the quarter was $129 million, while free cash flow was $135 million; for the first three quarters of fiscal 2026, operating cash flow was $351 million and free cash flow was $241 million [9] Guidance and Future Outlook - SAIC raised its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to between $7.275 billion and $7.325 billion, up from the previous range of $7.25 billion to $7.325 billion; the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is $7.27 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 2.7% [11] - Adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to approximately $695 million, with an expected adjusted EBITDA margin of 9.5%; adjusted EPS guidance was increased to a range of $9.80 to $10.00, up from $9.40 to $9.60 [12] - The company estimates free cash flow for fiscal 2026 to exceed $550 million [13]