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Government Funding And Technology Investments Will Drive Stronger Long-Term Performance

Published
23 Aug 24
Updated
25 Oct 25
AnalystConsensusTarget's Fair Value
US$622.73
8.1% undervalued intrinsic discount
25 Oct
US$572.49
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Author's Valuation

US$622.738.1% undervalued intrinsic discount

AnalystConsensusTarget Fair Value

Last Update25 Oct 25
Fair value Increased 8.11%

The analyst price target for CACI International increased from $576 to $622.73, a jump of nearly $47. Analysts cite the company’s strong quarterly performance, improved guidance, and consistent margin expansion as key drivers for the upward revision.

Analyst Commentary

Recent analyst reports on CACI International have reflected significant optimism following strong quarterly results and increased guidance. However, there are still areas of caution highlighted in the research community.

Bullish Takeaways
  • Bullish analysts are encouraged by CACI’s robust quarterly performance, which exceeded relatively modest expectations and drove several upward price revisions.
  • The company’s guidance upgrades and consistent growth in funded backlog are viewed as positive indicators for medium and long-term revenue visibility.
  • CACI’s continued expansion of margins, especially as the company pivots toward advanced technologies, supports the thesis of superior execution and positions it for faster growth than peers.
  • Despite broader market uncertainties, such as the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, CACI’s business mix and new contract wins are seen as insulating the company’s fiscal outlook and de-risking potential headwinds for the next fiscal year.
Bearish Takeaways
  • Bearish analysts are cautious about valuation, noting that after recent price moves, the stock may have less upside compared to historical averages or sector peers.
  • There is some concern that CACI’s recent strong performance may be largely factored into the current share price, limiting opportunity for further multiple expansion.
  • The sector’s ongoing exposure to government spending cycles and administrative changes continues to be highlighted as a potential source of volatility and risk for growth projections.

What's in the News

  • Stifel raised its price target for CACI International to $670 from $600, highlighting the company's extraordinary quarterly performance and its strong, de-risked outlook, even as government shutdown concerns persist (Stifel research note).
  • CACI confirmed its earnings guidance for fiscal year 2026, expecting revenues between $9.2 and $9.4 billion, in line with previous guidance.
  • The company announced a five-year, $73 million contract to modernize the Department of the Air Force's network for transmitting time-sensitive tactical and strategic intelligence data, enhancing secure situational awareness for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied partners.
  • CACI was awarded a five-year task order worth up to $180 million to support Pacific Air Forces with network operations modernization. The initiative aims to bolster IT infrastructure and mission readiness across the Indo-Pacific region.
  • CACI secured two contracts valued at approximately $124 million to deliver counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) solutions to the Canadian Armed Forces, with a focus on detecting and defeating drone threats.

Valuation Changes

  • Consensus Analyst Price Target: Increased from $576 to $622.73, reflecting heightened market confidence in future performance.
  • Discount Rate: Decreased slightly from 7.55% to 7.42%. This signals a modest reduction in perceived investment risk.
  • Revenue Growth: Risen marginally from 6.29% to 6.31% annualized. This points to a subtle improvement in future growth expectations.
  • Net Profit Margin: Edged up from 6.09% to 6.13%. This suggests a modest boost in projected profitability.
  • Future P/E: Increased from 22.71x to 23.64x, indicating investor willingness to pay a higher multiple for CACI’s anticipated earnings.

Key Takeaways

  • Expanding government funding and rapid tech adoption are increasing CACI's market opportunities, revenue growth, and contract quality in national security and defense.
  • Strategic acquisitions and sustained digital transformation initiatives strengthen CACI's competitive positioning, margin expansion, and long-term contract visibility.
  • Heavy dependence on U.S. government contracts, rising competition, operational challenges, and workforce pressures create risks for growth, margins, and earnings stability.

Catalysts

About CACI International
    Through its subsidiaries, provides expertise and technology solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally.
What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
  • Robust and growing government funding in national security, border protection, and defense technology-particularly from recent legislative acts (like the $150B+ for defense and $170B for border security)-is providing a favorable backdrop and increasing CACI's addressable market, supporting sustained revenue growth and backlog expansion.
  • Accelerated adoption of advanced technologies, such as software-defined platforms, cyber solutions, and enterprise software modernization, is driving a shift in federal procurement toward higher-value, tech-enabled contracts where CACI's existing leadership, strong track record, and investments ahead of customer need enable higher win rates, contract stickiness, and margin expansion.
  • The ongoing consolidation of government legacy systems and rising demand for digital transformation (as exemplified by CACI's role in Army system consolidation and NASA NCAPS implementation) position the company to capture more long-term, mission-critical contracts, enhancing both revenue visibility and net margins.
  • CACI's strategic acquisition activity focuses on high-margin, technology-driven niches like cyber, electronic warfare, and AI, steadily improving its revenue mix, differentiating its offerings, and delivering incremental expansion in EBITDA and earnings over time.
  • Structural trends including rising regulatory complexity, talent scarcity in cleared roles, and increasing government shift toward outcome-based contracting and longer-term relationships, reinforce CACI's competitive moat, supporting pricing power and improved free cash flow conversion.

CACI International Earnings and Revenue Growth

CACI International Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

How have these above catalysts been quantified?
  • Analysts are assuming CACI International's revenue will grow by 6.5% annually over the next 3 years.
  • Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 5.8% today to 6.1% in 3 years time.
  • Analysts expect earnings to reach $634.1 million (and earnings per share of $30.96) by about September 2028, up from $499.8 million today. The analysts are largely in agreement about this estimate.
  • In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 22.1x on those 2028 earnings, up from 21.1x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Professional Services industry at 26.3x.
  • Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 1.85% per year for the next 3 years.
  • To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 7.57%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

CACI International Future Earnings Per Share Growth

CACI International Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?
  • CACI's heavy reliance on U.S. government defense and intelligence budgets (90%+ of revenue) exposes the company to budget volatility, government shutdowns, and political gridlock-any prolonged reduction or delay in federal spending could lead to significant revenue and earnings instability.
  • While CACI emphasizes its differentiation and selective bidding, the text points to industry-wide competition for high-value contracts and "takeaway work"-heightened competition from larger or aggressively priced peers could compress margins and reduce win rates, impacting both revenue growth and net margins.
  • The company acknowledges recent supply chain and manufacturing issues that slowed production in its space/optical terminal business; persistent execution risks or inability to ramp production could limit top-line growth in emerging areas, especially as volume-based defense tech offerings become more important to margins and revenue.
  • Contracting officer workforce reductions and increasing focus on contract and systems consolidation in government procurement may delay contract awards and introduce uncertainty in business development cycles, potentially slowing backlog conversion, impacting quarterly revenue timing, and leading to lumpier or unpredictable earnings and free cash flow.
  • Talent shortages and rising wage costs in the cleared workforce, especially for cyber, analytics, and AI, could drive up costs and turnover rates, leading to operational pressures, lower utilization rates, and reduced profitability over time-this industry-wide trend could hamper CACI's ability to maintain margin expansion and stable earnings.

Valuation

How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?
  • The analysts have a consensus price target of $563.583 for CACI International based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors.
  • In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $10.4 billion, earnings will come to $634.1 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 22.1x, assuming you use a discount rate of 7.6%.
  • Given the current share price of $479.62, the analyst price target of $563.58 is 14.9% higher.
  • We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.

How well do narratives help inform your perspective?

Disclaimer

AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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