AerCap Raises 2026 Adjusted EPS Guidance After Record Q3 Earnings

AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER) raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to approximately $20.70 per share after reporting record adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter, supported by substantial asset-sale gains, maintenance income and other revenue. The outlook includes gains on sale recorded through the first nine months but excludes any such gains in the fourth quarter.

The aircraft leasing company reported third-quarter GAAP net income of $949 million, or $6.17 per share. Adjusted net income was $1.01 billion, or a record $6.56 per share, after excluding purchase-accounting amortization and the related tax effect. GAAP return on equity was 20%, while adjusted return on equity reached a record 22%.

Basic lease rents totaled $1.70 billion, including $23 million of lease-premium amortization. Maintenance rents and other receipts were $267 million, including $35 million of maintenance-rights asset amortization, while other income was $97 million, primarily from interest and management fees.

Interest expense was $475 million, and leasing expenses were $131 million, including $14 million of maintenance-rights amortization. AerCap recorded $123 million of income tax expense, representing an effective tax rate of 12.3%.

Asset sales bolster results

AerCap sold $1.1 billion of assets during the quarter and recorded a $353 million net gain on sale. The transactions generated a 45% unlevered gain-on-sale margin and represented 2.6 times book value on an equity basis.

Across its owned and managed fleet, excluding SES transactions, the company completed 204 transactions during the quarter. These included 85 leases, 34 purchases and 85 sales across aircraft, engines and helicopters. AerCap invested $1.9 billion in capital expenditure, including the purchase of 32 aircraft.

For the first nine months of 2026, the company identified $866 million of gains on sale, a $453 million net maintenance contribution and $266 million of other income as key drivers of performance. Net maintenance contribution excludes purchase-accounting amortization and is calculated as maintenance revenue less leasing expenses.

AerCap has also added 225 aircraft with what it described as attractive economics and near-term delivery dates to its order book. As of September 30, the company had 366 aircraft, engines and helicopters on order. Its total owned, managed and on-order portfolio comprised 3,482 assets, with new-technology assets accounting for 79% of the fleet.

Liquidity and capital allocation

Third-quarter operating cash flow was $1.8 billion. AerCap ended September with an adjusted debt-to-equity ratio of 2.0 times, compared with its 2.7-times target, while secured debt represented 8% of total assets. Its average cost of debt was 4.2% during the quarter.

The company reported approximately $22 billion of liquidity sources covering the next 12 months, equivalent to 1.8 times projected uses. It also said it retained $3.7 billion of excess capital after aircraft and engine orders, share repurchases and balance-sheet actions.

AerCap repurchased 5.3 million shares for $783 million in the third quarter. Repurchases exceeded $2.2 billion in the first nine months of 2026 and represented about 10% of the shares outstanding at the end of 2025. Book value per share stood at $124.89 as of September 30, based on shares outstanding excluding unvested restricted stock.

The company’s guidance and other forward-looking statements remain subject to risks including access to capital, interest-rate changes, customers’ ability to make lease payments, aircraft demand, asset purchase and sale execution, airline industry conditions and regulatory changes. AerCap also cited geopolitical conflicts, sanctions, trade tensions, tariffs, credit-rating pressure and information-system disruptions as factors that could cause actual results to differ from its expectations.