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Leonardo Spa (IT:LDO)
:LDO

Leonardo Spa (LDO) AI Stock Analysis

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IT:LDO

Leonardo Spa

(LDO)

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Outperform 72 (OpenAI - 5.2)
,
Outperform 72 (OpenAI - 5.2)
,
Outperform 72 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:72Outperform
Price Target:
€70.00
▲(15.51% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/20/26
The score is driven primarily by strengthening financial performance (growth, improving profitability, and deleveraging) and supportive technical momentum. This is partially offset by only moderate profit-to-free-cash-flow conversion and a valuation that looks less compelling given the P/E and low dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Revenue & Profit Momentum
Sustained revenue expansion and rising net margins reflect stronger program delivery and pricing power across defense and services. Over multi-year procurement cycles this improves earnings durability, funds reinvestment into platforms and R&D, and supports steadily improving returns on equity.
Deleveraging & Balance Sheet Strength
Material reduction in leverage improves financial flexibility and lowers interest burden, enabling more stable funding for capex, program working capital, and strategic investments. A stronger balance sheet also reduces refinancing risk across defence program cycles.
Recurring Aftermarket & Services
A substantial recurring services and MRO business provides predictable, long-duration revenue tied to installed fleets. This aftermarket stream smooths cyclicality from new-build programs, enhances lifetime margins, and creates long-term customer relationships and cross-sell opportunities.
Negative Factors
Weak Cash Conversion
Relatively low and volatile FCF-to-income means earnings growth does not fully translate into discretionary cash, limiting capacity to accelerate deleveraging, fund M&A, raise dividends, or absorb program overruns. Persistent cash conversion gaps raise long-term funding risk.
Thin Gross Margins
Low gross margins restrict operating leverage and leave limited room to absorb input-cost inflation or pricing pressure on contracts. Even with revenue growth, thin unit economics constrain sustainable margin expansion and increase sensitivity of profits to cost or schedule disruptions.
High Absolute Debt
Despite improved ratios, a large nominal debt stock exposes the company to interest-rate and refinancing risk and reduces agility for large-scale investments. If profitability weakens or cash conversion falters, servicing sizable debt could strain credit metrics and strategic options.

Leonardo Spa (LDO) vs. iShares MSCI Italy ETF (EWI)

Leonardo Spa Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company DescriptionLeonardo S.p.a., an industrial and technological company, engages in the helicopters, defense electronics and security systems, aeronautics, space, and other businesses in Italy, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company offers a range of helicopters for battlefield, combat, maritime, training, executive and private transport, medical and rescue, security, energy, and utility services, as well as provides support and training services. It also provides trainers, fighters, multi-mission transport, and multi-mission surveillance aircraft; command and controls, radars and sensors, optronics, communication systems, electronic warfare, avionics, air traffic management, and defense systems; and cyber security and resilience, critical communications, digitalization, and monitoring. In addition, the company offers geoinformation, satellite communications, ground systems, navigation, and satellite operations; interplanetary probes and orbiting modules; and robotics and drilling, electro-optics, laser transmitters, atomic clocks, photovoltaic panels, power distributors and amplifiers, attitude sensors, and orbital micropropulsion. Further, it engages in the production and assembly of major structural composite and metallic components for commercial and military aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aircraft, as well as provides automation of airport baggage handling, mail sorting centers, and courier logistics hubs. The company was formerly known as Leonardo - Finmeccanica S.p.a. and changed its name to Leonardo S.p.a. in January 2017. Leonardo S.p.a. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
How the Company Makes MoneyLeonardo makes money primarily by selling aerospace and defense products and by delivering long-term services tied to those platforms. Key revenue streams include: (1) Product sales and programs: revenues from the manufacture and delivery of helicopters (for government, emergency services, and commercial operators), defense electronics and sensor systems (e.g., radars, avionics, optronics, electronic warfare, and integrated mission systems), and aerostructures and aircraft-related components supplied to other aircraft manufacturers and programs. These revenues are typically recognized as units are delivered or as contractual milestones are achieved, often under multi-year procurement or industrial contracts. (2) Services and support: ongoing revenues from maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), spare parts, logistics and fleet support, training, software updates, and capability upgrades for installed fleets and deployed systems; this aftermarket activity is generally recurring and can extend for decades over a platform’s life cycle. (3) Systems integration and solutions: contract revenues from integrating multi-domain defense and security systems (e.g., command-and-control, communications, and sensor networks) and providing cybersecurity and secure digital solutions, often delivered as projects with milestone-based billing. (4) Space and collaborative programs: earnings from participation in space-related activities and from equity-accounted or jointly executed programs where Leonardo contributes technology, manufacturing, or systems and receives revenues through its share of program work or returns from participations; specific partnership structures and the proportion of earnings attributable to each collaboration are null. (5) Government-driven demand and export markets: a significant portion of earnings is influenced by defense and security budgets, procurement cycles, and export orders; contract mix, delivery schedules, and geopolitical factors can materially impact annual revenue timing. Significant partnership details beyond general collaborative participation are null.

Leonardo Spa Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Overall fundamentals are improving: strong revenue growth, rising net margin (~4.3% in 2023 to ~6.3% in 2025), and a healthier balance sheet with materially lower leverage (debt/equity down to ~0.47x in 2025). The key constraint is cash-flow quality: free cash flow is improving but only ~50% of net income in 2025 and has been volatile historically.
Income Statement
78
Positive
Revenue expanded strongly from 2023–2025, with 2025 showing a step-up versus 2024. Profitability is solid and improving: net profit margin rose from ~4.3% (2023) to ~6.3% (2025), and EBIT margin remained healthy around ~7–9% over the last several years. The main offset is that gross margin is relatively thin (~8% in 2024–2025) and has not structurally expanded versus 2023, which limits operating leverage despite higher scale.
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Leverage is moderate and improving: debt relative to equity declined meaningfully from ~1.08x (2020) to ~0.47x (2025), reflecting balance sheet strengthening alongside equity growth. Returns on equity are attractive and improving versus the 2020–2023 period (up to ~12.8% in 2025). The key risk is that absolute debt remains sizable (~€4.5B in 2025), so the company is still exposed to financing costs and any profitability volatility.
Cash Flow
66
Positive
Cash generation is positive and trending better: operating cash flow increased from ~€1.2B (2023) to ~€2.0B (2025), and free cash flow improved to ~€1.0B in 2025 with positive growth. However, free cash flow covers only about half of net income in 2025 (and was lower in prior years), indicating earnings are not fully translating into discretionary cash. Free cash flow volatility is also a watch item given the negative result in 2020 and uneven growth rates across the period.
BreakdownDec 2025Dec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue19.50B17.76B15.29B14.71B14.13B
Gross Profit1.57B1.45B1.65B1.22B1.05B
EBITDA2.27B2.25B1.54B1.65B1.38B
Net Income1.22B1.07B658.00M927.00M586.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets34.51B33.67B30.69B28.58B28.38B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments3.24B2.56B2.41B1.51B2.48B
Total Debt4.49B4.70B4.93B4.61B5.67B
Total Liabilities23.77B23.47B22.13B20.53B21.54B
Stockholders Equity9.56B8.99B7.80B7.18B6.43B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow977.00M646.00M404.00M523.00M190.00M
Operating Cash Flow1.99B1.54B1.19B1.28B805.00M
Investing Cash Flow-605.00M-753.00M-262.00M-924.00M-604.00M
Financing Cash Flow-611.00M-678.00M-12.00M-1.40B30.00M

Leonardo Spa Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price60.60
Price Trends
50DMA
58.14
Positive
100DMA
53.87
Positive
200DMA
51.43
Positive
Market Momentum
MACD
1.75
Negative
RSI
51.67
Neutral
STOCH
52.12
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For IT:LDO, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 60.6 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 60.38, above the 50-day MA of 58.14, and above the 200-day MA of 51.43, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.75 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 51.67 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 52.12 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for IT:LDO.

Leonardo Spa Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
77
Outperform
€26.93B28.6622.15%0.93%21.75%92.91%
74
Outperform
€1.60B83.861.96%0.41%32.64%-38.77%
73
Outperform
€2.24B7.6515.02%2.32%21.15%17.26%
72
Outperform
€34.86B23.1712.10%1.05%14.13%5.99%
66
Neutral
€4.51B71.8414.30%18.44%
63
Neutral
$10.79B15.437.44%2.01%2.89%-14.66%
57
Neutral
€6.61B17.541.76%-7.26%14.20%
* Industrials Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
IT:LDO
Leonardo Spa
60.60
16.29
36.75%
IT:AVIO
Avio S.p.A.
35.00
21.08
151.42%
IT:FCT
Fincantieri S.p.A.
12.59
1.80
16.74%
IT:PRY
Prysmian SpA
93.90
37.43
66.27%
IT:WBD
Webuild SpA
2.24
-1.13
-33.67%
IT:IVG
Iveco Group NV
19.16
3.09
19.23%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Mar 20, 2026