Willis Lease Finance (WLFC) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Record Q3 revenue rose 34.3% YoY to $246.3M; common net income fell to $10.2M from $22.9M, and Adjusted EBITDA declined to $100.9M from $135.0M.

• AUM reached $4.9B, up 32% YoY; management is shifting focus from seeding funds and joint ventures toward growth across the platform and balance sheet.

• Contribution margin exceeded $25M, up 18% YoY; management expects core leasing profits to accelerate as economies of scale develop.

Financial highlights

• Q3 lease rent revenue rose 10.2% YoY to a record $84.4M; maintenance reserve revenue declined 48.3% to $39.3M, reflecting lower long-term and usage-based revenue.

• Q3 spare-parts and equipment sales reached $98.1M versus $5.4M, primarily reflecting aircraft sales; gain on sale of leased equipment was $5.5M versus $16.1M.

• Q3 income before taxes was $18.8M versus $43.2M; diluted EPS was $0.47 versus $1.08. Nine-month revenue increased 18.3% to $634.7M, while net income fell to $67.1M from $101.6M.

• Nine-month lease rent revenue grew 10.3% to $238.9M; Adjusted EBITDA was $345.5M versus $354.4M, and diluted EPS was $2.86 versus $4.63.

Outlook and guidance

• ~$3B of deployable capital is targeted for allocation one-third each to joint ventures, the Blackstone fund and the balance sheet; fund seeding is largely complete.

• Fund capital is expected to be deployed well within its two-year investment period; timing depends on market opportunities and may be lumpy.

• A visible pipeline and aviation supply-demand imbalance support near-term growth and asset deployment; Willis Aviation Capital cited a strong 2026 opportunity pipeline.

• Unused revolving-credit capacity was $1.1B; committed purchases include 27 LEAP-1A and 13 LEAP-1B engines totaling $840.4M by 2030.

• YTD effective tax rate of 28% was management’s best estimate for the full year.