Willis Lease Finance Corp. (WLFC)
NASDAQ:WLFC
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Willis Lease Finance
(NASDAQ:WLFC)
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Rating:74Outperform
Price Target:
$208.00
▲(72.59% Upside)
Action:Upgraded
Date:05/09/26
The score is driven by strong technical momentum and a constructive earnings call highlighting record operating performance, improving utilization, and meaningful capital deployment capacity. These positives are tempered by financial-profile risks—especially high leverage and negative/volatile free cash flow—while valuation is reasonable but not meaningfully boosted by income (low dividend yield).
Positive Factors
Revenue & Profitability Momentum
WLFC has delivered durable top-line and margin recovery with revenue and adjusted EBITDA rising sharply and net income improving materially. Sustained revenue growth and mid-to-high teens net margins reflect stronger pricing power and operational leverage in the spare-engine leasing and services franchise.
Negative Factors
High Financial Leverage
WLFC's high absolute leverage elevates refinancing and cyclical risk in a capital‑intensive leasing model. Even with recent improvement, indebtedness amplifies earnings sensitivity to rate moves and asset impairments and constrains flexibility to weather airline demand shocks over the coming months.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Revenue & Profitability Momentum
WLFC has delivered durable top-line and margin recovery with revenue and adjusted EBITDA rising sharply and net income improving materially. Sustained revenue growth and mid-to-high teens net margins reflect stronger pricing power and operational leverage in the spare-engine leasing and services franchise.
Read all positive factors
Willis Lease Finance Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Operating Income by Segment
Shows how much profit each business line contributes—such as aircraft leasing, engine leasing, parts sales, or services—revealing which activities generate healthy margins and which drag on earnings. Helps investors judge the sustainability of profits, where management is allocating capital, and how sensitive earnings are to lease rates, maintenance costs, or asset impairments.
Shows how much profit each business line contributes—such as aircraft leasing, engine leasing, parts sales, or services—revealing which activities generate healthy margins and which drag on earnings. Helps investors judge the sustainability of profits, where management is allocating capital, and how sensitive earnings are to lease rates, maintenance costs, or asset impairments.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyWillis Lease Finance (WLFC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.31B
Dividend Yield0.82%
Average Volume (3M)46.79K
Price to Earnings (P/E)10.1
Beta (1Y)1.55
Revenue Growth23.13%
EPS Growth12.80%
CountryUS
Employees445
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryRental & Leasing Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)17.11
Shares Outstanding7,043,713
10 Day Avg. Volume53,309
30 Day Avg. Volume46,787
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio42.87
Price to Book (P/B)1.26
Price to Sales (P/S)1.36
P/FCF Ratio-3.80
Enterprise Value/Market Cap2.82
Enterprise Value/Revenue4.83
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit6.67
Enterprise Value/Ebitda8.80
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$226.00Price Target Upside87.52% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)13.86
Revenue Forecast (FY)$721.00M
Willis Lease Finance Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Willis Lease Finance Corporation (WLFC) is a global leader in the aviation finance industry, specializing in the leasing and financing of commercial aircraft engines and other aviation-related assets. The company operates primarily within the aero...
How the Company Makes Money
WLFC primarily makes money through the leasing and monetization of aircraft engines and related aviation assets. Its key revenue streams typically include: (1) Lease revenue from renting spare commercial aircraft engines to airlines and other oper...
Willis Lease Finance Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 05, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 30, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized strong operating and financial performance across leasing, services and the new Willis Aviation Capital platform: record lease rent revenue, double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth, materially higher EPS, improved utilization and growing AUM with expanded liquidity. These positive developments and clear capital deployment plans outweigh the manageable headwinds (higher G&A and finance costs, some technical expenses, and market risk from fuel/geopolitics). Management highlighted early traction with third‑party capital and continued vertical integration which supports recurring fee income and platform growth.Positive Updates
Record Lease Rent Revenue
Achieved all-time high lease rent revenue of $77.4 million in Q1 2026, up 14.2% quarter-over-quarter driven by larger portfolio, higher utilization and improved lease rates.
Negative Updates
Rising G&A and Personnel Costs
General & administrative expenses increased 18.6% to $56.6 million YoY, driven by a $12.5 million rise in personnel costs (including $6.9 million higher share-based compensation and $4.1 million higher wages) to support growth.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Lease Rent Revenue
Achieved all-time high lease rent revenue of $77.4 million in Q1 2026, up 14.2% quarter-over-quarter driven by larger portfolio, higher utilization and improved lease rates.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided that the company is well positioned to deploy capital and grow the platform, citing $4.1B of assets under management, >$2.7B of committed/deployed capital under Willis Aviation Capital, approximately $1.5B of capital ready to deploy, an expanded $1.75B revolver (plus a $750M JV facility), and total indebtedness of roughly $2.25B with leverage of 2.68x and a weighted average cost of debt of 5.12%. They pointed to Q1 operating metrics that underpin this guidance: record lease rent revenue of $77.4M, adjusted EBITDA of $123.8M, diluted EPS of $3.26, owned portfolio of $2.86B, utilization up to ~85.8% (from ~80%), an average lease rate factor of 1.04%, maintenance reserve revenue of $55.5M, spare parts & equipment sales of $21.7M, management & advisory fees of $7.9M and maintenance services revenue of $9.8M. Management expects fee and carried‑interest revenue to ramp as funds deploy (Liberty Mutual funded ~$90M of finance leases in Q1, Blackstone deployments began in April with ~ $200M planned from the balance sheet), has completed ~$170M of JOLCO financings, continues a $0.40 quarterly dividend, and sees durable engine shop‑visit demand through the mid‑2030s.Willis Lease Finance Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
82
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
56
Neutral
Cash Flow
45
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 763.50M | 675.84M | 569.22M | 418.56M | 311.93M | 274.20M |
| Gross Profit | 552.64M | 444.10M | 429.44M | 291.26M | 202.83M | 168.77M |
| EBITDA | 418.72M | 329.53M | 352.62M | 236.85M | 164.80M | 167.63M |
| Net Income | 121.97M | 113.76M | 108.61M | 43.78M | 5.44M | 3.35M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.51B | 4.03B | 3.30B | 2.65B | 2.58B | 2.46B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 24.55M | 16.44M | 9.11M | 7.07M | 12.15M | 14.33M |
| Total Debt | 2.25B | 2.71B | 2.26B | 1.80B | 1.85B | 1.79B |
| Total Liabilities | 2.81B | 3.31B | 2.75B | 2.21B | 2.17B | 2.09B |
| Stockholders Equity | 694.37M | 725.54M | 549.34M | 438.96M | 404.69M | 375.88M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | -280.65M | -241.34M | -546.07M | 60.96M | -148.60M | -117.29M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 298.90M | 283.24M | 284.41M | 229.74M | 144.42M | 90.66M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -190.18M | -256.40M | -764.91M | -92.78M | -194.38M | -148.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -37.24M | 387.60M | 444.98M | -57.94M | 43.33M | 74.05M |
Willis Lease Finance Technical Analysis
Neutral
120.52
Price Trends
190.78
Negative
186.68
Negative
161.09
Positive
Market Momentum
-4.17
Positive
43.02
Neutral
41.72
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WLFC, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 120.52 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 197.93, below the 50-day MA of 190.78, and below the 200-day MA of 161.09, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -4.17 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 43.02 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 41.72 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for WLFC.
Willis Lease Finance Risk Analysis
Willis Lease Finance disclosed 37 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Willis Lease Finance reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Willis Lease Finance Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $1.31B | 10.15 | 17.33% | 0.82% | 23.13% | 12.80% | |
73 Outperform | $23.66B | 5.72 | 21.57% | 0.74% | -3.68% | 100.38% | |
71 Outperform | $9.65B | 19.95 | 16.36% | 1.75% | -0.07% | 4.18% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
49 Neutral | $1.66B | -2.71 | 123.33% | ― | -0.99% | 79.92% | |
48 Neutral | $5.83B | -9.26 | 22.83% | ― | 0.72% | 69.91% |
* Industrials Sector Average
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Willis Lease Finance
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Willis Lease Finance Corporate Events
Shareholder MeetingsStock Split
Willis Lease Adjourns Meeting on Stock Split Proposal
Neutral
May 27, 2026
Willis Lease Finance Corporation held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 26, 2026, with 92.23% of eligible common shares represented, and shareholders approved the election of one Class I director, an advisory say-on-pay for named exec...
Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Willis Lease Finance Reports Strong First-Quarter 2026 Results
Positive
May 5, 2026
On April 29, 2026, Willis Lease Finance’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on May 22, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 11, 2026, underscoring its capital return strategy. On May 5, 2026, the company re...
Financial Disclosures
Willis Lease Finance Sets Date for Q1 2026 Results
Neutral
Apr 22, 2026
Willis Lease Finance Corporation, a leading lessor of commercial aircraft engines and global aviation services provider, said on April 22, 2026, that it will release its first-quarter 2026 financial results before U.S. markets open on May 5, 2026....
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and FinancingRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Willis Lease Finance Ends Key Credit Facility Agreement
Negative
Mar 31, 2026
On March 26, 2026, Willis Warehouse Facility LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Willis Lease Finance Corporation, entered into an agreement to terminate a credit agreement originally dated May 3, 2024, with Bank of America as facility agent, Bank o...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Willis Lease Finance Expands and Extends Credit Facility
Positive
Mar 30, 2026
On March 27, 2026, Willis Lease Finance Corporation amended and extended its revolving credit facility, boosting total lender commitments from $1.0 billion to $1.75 billion and pushing the facility’s maturity out to April 2031. The company r...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Willis Lease Finance Announces Record 2025 Financial Results
Positive
Mar 10, 2026
On March 10, 2026, Willis Lease Finance Corporation reported record results for the year ended December 31, 2025, with total revenue rising 28.3% to $730.2 million and pre-tax income increasing 5.2% to $160.6 million. The company also posted recor...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.