Leidos Holdings and Expedia Group are among the examples of U.S. stocks combining capital efficiency with growth, and have attracted attention against the backdrop of earnings results and developments in the Middle East.
In the U.S. stock market, major companies are continuing to report earnings, with more than 85% of S&P 500 constituents having disclosed results and approximately 87% producing positive EPS surprises. As interest grows not only in share prices but also in indicators showing companies’ financial strength and growth prospects, stocks that combine improved capital efficiency with growth were screened.
The screening criteria were stringent: S&P 500 constituents excluding banks, insurers and real estate companies; latest-fiscal-year ROIC above 15%; average ROIC for the latest three years exceeding that of the previous three years; current-fiscal-year revenue growth exceeding that of the previous fiscal year; and a ranking among the top 15 stocks by share-price performance over the past month. Leidos Holdings and Expedia Group were among the stocks meeting these criteria.
Leidos Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 revenue and EPS above market expectations and raised the lower end of its full-year outlook. In early 2026, it announced a partnership with OpenAI and indicated that it would roll out generative AI to customers, including government agencies.
CBOE, which operates the company’s options exchange, also posted solid growth in part of its financial results, with its CFO disclosing an increase in derivatives revenue in the second quarter of 2026.
Expedia Group, a major online travel company, recorded double-digit growth in bookings in the April–June 2026 quarter and raised its full-year bookings outlook. The market is said to be sensitive to tensions in the Middle East and companies’ earnings reactions. These stocks are cited as examples of companies combining capital efficiency with growth.