Air Lease (AL) Q3 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates, Up Y/Y
Air Lease Corporation (AL) reported better-than-expected third-quarter 2023 results wherein both earnings and revenues have outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 and improved 22.2% on a year-over-year basis.The uptick was backed by growth of AL’s fleet and an increase in sales activity, partially offset by an increase in interest expense.
Total revenues of $659.4 million outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $659.2 million and jumped 17.5% year over year, owing to the continuous growth in the company’s fleet and an increase in sales activity. The increase in aircraft sales, trading and other revenues was related to the sale of eight aircraft and one sales-type lease transaction, which provided almost $43.9 million in gains.
Other Statistics
Revenues from the rental of flight equipment climbed 11.5% year over year to $604.02 million in the reported quarter. Revenues from aircraft sales, trading activity and other sources grew more than 100% from the year-ago quarter to $55.33 million.
Operating expenses rose 16.7% to $494.3 million.
As of Sep 30, 2023, Air Lease owned 448 aircraft with a net book value of $25.6 billion. The total fleet size at the third-quarter end was 878 (including the owned fleet of 448) compared with 887 at the end of June 2023.
Air Lease Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Air Lease Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Air Lease Corporation Quote
Liquidity
Air Lease exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $512.08 million compared with $576.73 million at June 2023-end. As of Sep 30, 2023, AL had $18.6 billion of debt financing and net of discount and issuance costs compared with $18.8 billion as of Jun 30, 2023.
Dividend Update
On Nov 3, 2023, Air Lease’s board of directors increased its quarterly cash dividend by 5%, from 20 cents per share to 21 cents. The next quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share will be paid on Jan 10, 2024, to shareholders of record as of Dec 15, 2023.
Currently, Air Lease carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performances of Other Transportation Companies
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT third-quarter 2023 EPS of $1.80 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.85 and declined 30% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,163.8 million also lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,224 million and fell 18% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, decreased 15% year over year.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) reported third-quarter 2023 EPS (excluding 31 cents from nonrecurring items) of $2.03, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 and improved 35% on a year-over-year basis.
DAL’s revenues of $15,488 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15,290.4 million and increased 11% on a year-over-year basis, driven by higher air-travel demand.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK reported third-quarter 2023 EPS of $1.83, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88 and declined 28% year over year.
Operating revenues of $2,839 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,876.1 million. The top line jumped 0.4% year over year, with passenger revenues accounting for 92.2% of the top line and increasing 0.1% owing to continued recovery in air-travel demand.
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