One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$240.91 our estimate vs market $45.71
Wall Street consensus: $65.50 (-72.8% lower than our fair-value estimate)
81% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Willis Lease Finance Corporation
WLFC · NGM · Industrials · Rental & Leasing Services
Current price
$45.71
52-week range
$36.39 - $81.54
Market cap
$967.32M
Balance sheet
Distressed
2.06x Stretched
Net debt $2.54B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 13.4% last year.
- Reward Returns 10.3% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
- Risk Net debt grew 46.3% over 3 years.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 30.7% to 18.9% over 3 years.
What this company does
Willis Lease Finance Corporation
Willis Lease Finance Corporation rents out airplanes and airplane engines to airlines and maintenance companies. Most of their income comes from these rental payments, which are like a steady stream of money for the business. This type of predictable income is important because it helps the company plan and grow by knowing how much money they can expect.
How the company got here
Willis Lease Finance Corporation (WLFC) was founded in 1985 and has grown into a significant player in the aviation leasing world. The company's journey has been shaped by its focus on leasing and servicing commercial aircraft and their engines. Over the years, WLFC has built a reputation for managing and providing these critical assets to airlines and maintenance providers globally. Its strategic decisions have centered on acquiring, leasing, and eventually reselling aircraft and engine components, adapting to the dynamic needs of the aviation industry.
What it actually does
Imagine a world where airlines don't always buy their planes and engines outright. That's where WLFC comes in. The company essentially owns commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and related equipment, and then rents them out to airlines and other aviation businesses. Think of it like renting a car, but for massive airplanes and their powerful engines. WLFC also buys and sells spare parts for these engines, helping keep planes in the air and operational.
Leasing and Related Operations
This is the core of WLFC's business, where the company makes money by renting out commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other related equipment to airlines and aviation service companies. It's like being a landlord for airplanes, providing the physical assets that airlines need to fly passengers and cargo. This segment is the largest part of WLFC's operations, generating the bulk of its revenue by charging lease payments over time.
Spare Parts Sales
Beyond just leasing whole engines, WLFC also operates a business focused on selling individual spare parts for aircraft engines. This includes buying and reselling after-market engine parts, as well as whole engines and engine modules. This segment serves maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations, providing them with the necessary components to fix and maintain aircraft engines, ensuring they can be returned to service efficiently.
What management is betting on now
WLFC's management is focused on strategically growing its leasing portfolio and optimizing its spare parts business. A key priority is likely acquiring more aircraft and engines to lease out, capitalizing on the ongoing demand for air travel and the need for airlines to manage their fleet costs. They are also likely focused on efficiently managing their inventory of spare parts to meet the needs of maintenance providers, aiming to maximize returns from both their leasing and sales operations.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q4
$55.09M
FY2025 Q1
$33.53M
FY2025 Q2
$94.54M
FY2025 Q3
$57.83M
FY2025 Q4
$66.25M
FY2026 Q1
$53.14M
FY2026 Q2
$74.78M
FY2026 Q3
$102.73M
Revenue
$246.32M
Net income
$11.67M
Diluted EPS
0.47
Operating cash flow
$104.76M
Free cash flow
$102.73M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$194.02M
Net income
$30.17M
Diluted EPS
1.31
Operating cash flow
$77.52M
Free cash flow
$74.78M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$194.35M
Net income
$25.08M
Diluted EPS
3.26
Operating cash flow
$56.68M
Free cash flow
$53.14M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$193.62M
Net income
$12.19M
Diluted EPS
1.50
Operating cash flow
$74.16M
Free cash flow
$66.25M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$183.39M
Net income
$24.32M
Diluted EPS
3.25
Operating cash flow
$63.88M
Free cash flow
$57.83M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$195.50M
Net income
$60.38M
Diluted EPS
8.43
Operating cash flow
$104.18M
Free cash flow
$94.54M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$157.73M
Net income
$16.87M
Diluted EPS
2.21
Operating cash flow
$41.01M
Free cash flow
$33.53M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$152.80M
Net income
$21.06M
Diluted EPS
2.76
Operating cash flow
$67.97M
Free cash flow
$55.09M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $240.91 vs current price $45.71
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $65.50 (-72.8% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $240.91 a share — about 427.0% above today's price of $45.71, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $2.5B. Interest coverage 2.1x.
Net debt
$2.54B
Interest coverage
2.06x
Willis Lease Finance Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 2.1 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
WLFC
BASELINE
Willis Lease Finance Corporation
Total debt $2.55B Interest coverage 2.06x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $975.72M Interest coverage 3.60x +75% vs WLFC Carries about 1.7x more debt cushion than WLFC.
Total debt $978.40M Interest coverage 3.75x +82% vs WLFC Carries about 1.8x more debt cushion than WLFC.
Total debt $190.43M Interest coverage 16.11x +681% vs WLFC Carries about 7.8x more debt cushion than WLFC.
Total debt $3.49B Interest coverage 3.11x +51% vs WLFC Carries about 1.5x more debt cushion than WLFC.
What you should know
The case for and against WLFC
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 13.4% last year.
-
Returns 10.3% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 46.3% over 3 years.
-
Operating margin compressed from 30.7% to 18.9% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
13.60x
Forward P/E
8.81x
P/B
1.43x
P/S
1.18x
EV/EBITDA
9.88x
PEG ratio
0.94x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
75.1%
Operating margin
18.9%
Net margin
9.7%
ROE
10.3%
ROA
4.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
3.07x
Current ratio
1.38x
Quick ratio
0.17x
Total debt
$2.55B
Total cash
$13.03M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$828.30M
Revenue 5Y CAGR
27.7%
EPS TTM
3.36
EPS 5Y CAGR
259.9%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$313.12M
Free CF TTM
$252.15M
FCF margin
30.4%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.3%
Payout ratio
15.9%
Last ex-div date
2026-11-16