Is FTAI Aviation (FTAI) a Top Compounder in the Aviation Space?

Crossroads Capital LLC, an investment management company, released its third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Crossroads Capital Investment Partners, LP, appreciated 6.4% net of all fees and expenses in the third quarter of 2025, making the YTD return 34.1% net through Q3 2025. The fund has compounded at 21.4% gross and 17.3% net basis since inception. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Crossroads Capital highlighted stocks such as FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI). FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) owns and acquires aviation equipment for the transportation of goods and people. The one-month return of FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) was 4.12%, and its shares gained 31.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 22, 2025, FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) stock closed at $170.75 per share, with a market capitalization of $17.514 billion.

Crossroads Capital stated the following regarding FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

"As a reminder, FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) captures the most attractive economics in aftermarket aviation not by acting as a passive lessor but by operating as a vertically integrated industrial platform via its Module Factory and Strategic Capital Initiative (SCI). The company’s focus on the aging global fleet of CFM56 and V2500 engines leaves it uniquely positioned to capitalize on a market that remains drastically short refurbished engines. Indeed, as the largest natural buyer of used engines from both aircraft lessors and airlines, FTAI can leverage its significant scale to pass cost savings back to customers, creating an inherent flywheel that we believe should only get stronger with time.

This is because rather than just leasing engines, FTAI utilizes its SCI, specifically through its maintenance centers, to manufacture 'green time' at a structurally lower cost relative to what the OEMs can provide. For readers that are unfamiliar, “green time” in the aerospace industry refers to the remaining usable life on an engine, component, or even an aircraft before it must undergo major maintenance, overhaul, or retirement. It is essentially the flight hours or cycles still available on the asset under its maintenance limits. In other words, by breaking older engines down and rebuilding them using proprietary PMA parts and Used Serviceable Material (USM), FTAI creates serviceable modules (fans, cores, LPTs) that can be swapped in days rather than months. ..” (Click here to read the full text)

FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 51 hedge fund portfolios held FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) at the end of the third quarter, up from 48 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered FTAI Aviation Ltd. (NASDAQ:FTAI) and shared Tourlite Capital Management's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.