Leidos (LDOS) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · LDOSSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Leidos RSUs at vest vs. holding through the LTCG cliff at 12 months.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your vest
Tax inputs
Hold strategy
Best after-tax payout — at year 1 yr
$47,709
Sell + invest wins by $4,981 over Hold 1 yr.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Heads-up: under-withholding. Your employer withholds federal tax at the IRS supplemental rate (22.0% on this vest, ≈ $17,600). Your marginal federal rate on this vest is 32.7%, owing $26,171. Expect to settle the $8,571 gap at tax time.
The hidden purchase
Tax was paid at vest either way. Holding is mathematically equivalent to taking $44,509 in after-tax cash and buying $44,509 of LDOS today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in LDOS. Holding past one year converts the gain to LTCG.
Sell + invest
Best payout| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Federal | |
| State | |
| Medicare | −$1,160 |
| Additional Medicare | −$720 |
| Market gain over 1 yr at 10.0% | $4,451 |
| Cap-gain tax on diversified gain — LTCG (federal + state + NIIT) | −$1,251 |
| Net at year 1 yr | $47,709 |
Sell every share at vest; invest the after-tax cash at the market return for 1 yr, then liquidate. Diversified — no single-stock concentration risk.
Hold 1 yr
| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Vest tax (federal + state + FICA) | |
| Net at year 1 yr | $42,728 |
Sold 444 shares to cover vest tax (net-settled); kept 556 shares 1 yr to qualify for long-term capital gains.
Social Security + Medicare are payroll taxes (collectively called FICA) — they apply because you're still employed at vest.
Both columns are stated in year-1 yr dollars. The sell side compounds at the market return; the hold side compounds at your single-stock expected return after a 20% volatility drag.
Estimates only. Assumes net-settled (sell-to-cover) vesting; double-trigger and pre-IPO RSUs are out of scope. Excludes multi-state moves, AMT interactions on other equity, and 83(b) elections. Not financial advice.
You evaluated one RSU vest. The beta plans every vest of every grant across years, with concentration and AMT in the loop.
Request beta access →Related calculators: RSU Lot Order Calculator · Stock Concentration Calculator
About Leidos
Leidos (LDOS) is a public Aerospace/Defense company, headquartered in Reston, VA.
Last close: $143.48 per share (as of 2026-08-18).
Equity grants at Leidos typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
Leidos Holdings, Inc. is an American defense, aviation, information technology, and biomedical research company headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that provides scientific, engineering, systems integration, and technical services. Founded as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Leidos merged with Lockheed Martin's IT sector, Information Systems & Global Solutions, in August 2016 to create the defense industry’s largest IT services provider. The Leidos-Lockheed Martin merger is one of the biggest transactions thus far in the consolidation of the defense sector. Leidos contracts extensively with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Community, as well as other U.S. government agencies and select commercial markets.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Science Applications International Corporation renamed itself Leidos in 2013 and absorbed Lockheed Martin's Information Systems and Global Solutions division in 2016, and it provides technology services to defense, intelligence, and civil agencies. Government services revenue depends on contract vehicles and recompetes rather than on products, so backlog and win rate are the operating metrics. Security clearances held by staff are a genuine barrier to entry. Airport screening systems and health services diversify beyond pure defense IT. Headquarters are in Reston, Virginia.
Sources: sec.gov · en.wikipedia.org
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Leidos.
Leidos (LDOS) RSUs vest as ordinary income at the price on vest day. The decision is whether to sell at vest and reinvest, or hold the shares through the 12-month LTCG cliff. This calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare like-for-like.
Example: 500 Leidos (LDOS) RSUs vesting at $143.48 per share is $71,740 of ordinary income on vest day. After roughly 32% combined federal + state + FICA (~$22,957), the post-tax share value is ~$48,783. Holding 12 months for long-term capital-gains treatment then only matters for the price change between vest and sale; the ordinary income at vest is already locked in. The calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math.
All Leidos tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
Leidos equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Leidos RSUs at vest?
- Leidos restricted stock units (RSUs) are taxed as ordinary income on their value at vest whether or not you sell. The only open decision is what to do with the shares afterward: sell at vest and reinvest, or hold past twelve months for long-term capital-gains treatment on any further gain. The calculator above runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare them directly.
- Does Leidos grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Leidos typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
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