Air Lease (AL) Up 17.1% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Air Lease (AL). Shares have added about 17.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Air Lease due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Air Lease Corporation before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

AL's Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates

Air Lease reported better-than-expected earnings and revenues performance.

Quarterly earnings per share of $1.40 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 and improved 13.8% year over year. The upside was owing to an increase in AL’s total rental of flight equipment revenue, partially offset by higher interest expense, driven by the increase in AL’s composite cost of funds, and a decrease in gain on aircraft sales and trading and other income.

Total revenues of $731.7 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $705.4 million and grew 9.7% year over year.

Other Statistics

Revenues from the rental of flight equipment grew 11% year over year to $679 million. The uptick was owing to the continued growth of AL’s fleet and the higher end of lease revenue. During the second quarter of 2025, AL witnessed almost $20 million from lease revenues.

Revenues from aircraft sales, trading activity and other sources grew 8% from the year-ago quarter to $53 million, owing to increases in management fee revenue and other income, partially offset by lower sales volume. AL witnessed $16.7 million in gains from the sale of four aircraft during the second quarter.

Operating expenses rose 9.2% year over year to $589.1 million.

As of June 30, 2025, Air Lease owned 495 aircraft with a net book value of $29.1 billion. The total fleet size at the second-quarter end was 789 (including the owned fleet of 495, 53 managed fleet and 241 aircraft on order).

Air Lease exited the second quarter with $454.80 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $456.62 million at the prior-quarter end. Debt financing, net of discount and issuance costs, amounted to $20.3 billion at the second-quarter end compared with $19.8 billion at the prior-quarter end.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.

The consensus estimate has shifted 19.26% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Air Lease has a subpar Growth Score of D, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision looks promising. Interestingly, Air Lease has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Air Lease is part of the Zacks Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry. Over the past month, Ryder (R), a stock from the same industry, has gained 5.4%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2025 more than a month ago.

Ryder reported revenues of $3.19 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +0.2%. EPS of $3.32 for the same period compares with $3.00 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Ryder is expected to post earnings of $3.60 per share, indicating a change of +4.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Ryder has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of A.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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