LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (NYSE: AL) announces financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.

“ALC generated record revenues in 2024, driven by our $5 billion in aircraft purchases from our orderbook, and $1.7 billion in aircraft sales. Looking forward, we expect lease rates and aircraft valuations to rise, supporting the value of our business. We remain optimistic about the ongoing benefits of these trends, given aircraft shortages are anticipated to persist for several years to come,” said John L. Plueger, Chief Executive Officer and President, and Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of the Board.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Results

The following table summarizes our operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in millions, except per share amounts and percentages):

Operating Results

Three Months Ended

December 31,

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

$ change

% change

2024

2023

$ change

% change

Revenues

$

712.9

$

716.6

$

(3.7

)

(0.5

)%

$

2,733.7

$

2,685.0

$

48.7

1.8

%

Operating expenses

(572.9

)

(517.2

)

(55.7

)

10.8

%

(2,200.4

)

(1,998.4

)

(202.0

)

10.1

%

(Write-off) of Russian fleet, net of recoveries

—

67.0

(67.0

)

—

—

67.0

(67.0

)

—

Income before taxes

140.0

266.4

(126.4

)

(47.4

)%

533.3

753.6

(220.3

)

(29.2

)%

Net income attributable to common stockholders

$

92.5

$

210.6

$

(118.1

)

(56.1

)%

$

372.1

$

572.9

$

(200.8

)

(35.0

)%

Diluted earnings per share

$

0.83

$

1.89

$

(1.06

)

(56.1

)%

$

3.33

$

5.14

$

(1.81

)

(35.2

)%

Adjusted net income before income taxes(1)

$

150.4

$

213.9

$

(63.5

)

(29.7

)%

$

574.2

$

733.6

$

(159.4

)

(21.7

)%

Adjusted diluted earnings per share before income taxes(1)

$

1.34

$

1.92

$

(0.58

)

(30.2

)%

$

5.13

$

6.58

$

(1.45

)

(22.0

)%

Key Financial Ratios

Three Months Ended

December 31,

Year Ended

December 31,

2024

2023

2024

2023

Pre-tax margin

19.6%

37.2%

19.5%

28.1%

Adjusted pre-tax margin(1)

21.1%

29.8%

21.0%

27.3%

Pre-tax return on common equity (trailing twelve months)

7.4%

11.8%

Adjusted pre-tax return on common equity (trailing twelve months)(1)

8.9%

12.1%

Adjusted net income before income taxes, adjusted diluted earnings per share before income taxes, adjusted pre-tax margin and adjusted pre-tax return on common equity have been adjusted to exclude the effects of certain non-cash items, such as non-cash deemed dividends for redemption of preferred stock, and one-time or non-recurring items that are not expected to continue in the future, such as net write-offs and recoveries related to our former Russian fleet. See note 1 under the Consolidated Statements of Operations included in this earnings release for a discussion of the non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation to their most comparable GAAP financial measures

Highlights

  • During the fourth quarter, we took delivery of 18 aircraft from our orderbook, representing approximately $1.3 billion in aircraft investments, ending the period with 489 aircraft in our owned fleet and over $32 billion in total assets.
  • Sold 14 aircraft during the fourth quarter for $544 million in sales proceeds.
  • We have approximately $1.1 billion of aircraft in our sales pipeline1, which includes approximately $1.0 billion in flight equipment held for sale as of December 31, 2024 and $178 million of aircraft subject to letters of intent.
  • We have placed 100% and 85% of our expected orderbook on long-term leases for aircraft delivering through the end of 2026 and 2027, respectively, and have placed approximately 62% of our entire orderbook delivering through 2029.
  • We ended the quarter with $29.5 billion in committed minimum future rental payments consisting of $18.3 billion in contracted minimum rental payments on the aircraft in our existing fleet and $11.2 billion in minimum future rental payments related to aircraft which will deliver between 2025 through 2029.
  • During the fourth quarter, we raised approximately $1.3 billion in committed debt financings, including a $966.5 million unsecured three-year term loan bearing interest at one-month Term SOFR plus a margin of 1.125% and ended the year with total liquidity of $8.1 billion.
  • On February 11, 2025, our board of directors approved our quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on our outstanding Class A common stock. This quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share will be paid on April 7, 2025 to holders of record of our Class A common stock as of March 18, 2025.

Financial Overview

Fourth Quarter 2024 vs. Fourth Quarter 2023

Our rental revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2024 decreased by approximately 1%, to $639 million, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2023. Despite the continued growth of our fleet, our rental revenues decreased, primarily due to lower end of lease revenue of approximately $54 million as compared to the prior period, due to fewer aircraft returns during the three months ended December 31, 2024.

Our aircraft sales, trading and other revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2024 increased by 2%, to $74 million, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2023, primarily driven by an increase in gains from aircraft sales. We recorded $65 million in gains from the sale of 14 aircraft for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $54 million in gains from the sale of eight aircraft for the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Our net income attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $93 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, as compared to $211 million, or $1.89 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2023. Net income attributable to common stockholders decreased primarily due to higher interest expense driven by the increase in our composite cost of funds and overall outstanding debt balance. In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we recognized a net benefit of approximately $67 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 for the settlement of insurance claims under S7’s insurance policies related to four aircraft in our owned fleet and our equity interest in certain aircraft in our managed fleet that were previously on lease to S7.

Adjusted net income before income taxes during the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $150 million, or $1.34 per adjusted diluted share, as compared to $214 million, or $1.92 per adjusted diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted net income before income taxes decreased primarily due to higher interest expense, driven by the increase in our composite cost of funds and overall outstanding debt balance.

Full Year 2024 vs. Full Year 2023

Our rental revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by 0.4%, to $2.5 billion, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in our rental revenues is primarily due to the growth of our fleet, offset by a decrease in end of lease revenue of approximately $100 million as compared to the prior period, due to fewer aircraft returns during the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as a slight decrease in our lease yields due to the sales of older aircraft with higher lease yields and the purchases of new aircraft with lower initial lease yields.

Our aircraft sales, trading and other revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by 18%, to $246 million, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily driven by an increase in gains from aircraft sales. We recorded $170 million in gains from the sale of 39 aircraft for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $146 million in gains from the sale of 25 aircraft for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Our net income attributable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $372 million, or $3.33 per diluted share, as compared to $573 million, or $5.14 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our net income attributable to common stockholders decreased from the prior year period primarily due to higher interest expense, driven by the increase in our composite cost of funds and overall outstanding debt balance, partially offset by the increase in revenue as discussed above. In addition, we recognized a net benefit of approximately $67 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, for the settlement of insurance claims under S7’s insurance policies related to four aircraft in our owned fleet and our equity interest in certain aircraft in our managed fleet that were previously on lease to S7.

Adjusted net income before income taxes during the year ended December 31, 2024, was $574 million, or $5.13 per adjusted diluted share, as compared to $734 million, or $6.58 per adjusted diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2023. Adjusted net income before income taxes decreased primarily due to higher interest expense, driven by the increase in our composite cost of funds and overall outstanding debt balance, partially offset by the increase in revenue as discussed above.

Aircraft in our sales pipeline is as of December 31, 2024, and includes letters of intent and sale agreements signed through February 13, 2025.

Flight Equipment Portfolio

As of December 31, 2024, the net book value of our fleet increased to $28.2 billion, compared to $26.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024, we owned 489 aircraft in our aircraft portfolio, comprised of 355 narrowbody aircraft and 134 widebody aircraft, and we managed 60 aircraft. The weighted average fleet age and weighted average remaining lease term of flight equipment subject to operating lease as of December 31, 2024 was 4.6 years and 7.2 years, respectively. We had a globally diversified customer base comprised of 116 airlines in 58 countries as of December 31, 2024.

The following table summarizes the key portfolio metrics of our fleet as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:

December 31, 2024

December 31, 2023

Net book value of flight equipment subject to operating lease

$

28.2 billion

 $

26.2 billion

Weighted-average fleet age(1)

4.6 years

4.6 years

Weighted-average remaining lease term(1)

7.2 years

7.0 years

Owned fleet(2)

489

463

Managed fleet

60

78

Aircraft on order

269

334

Total

818

875

Current fleet contracted rentals

$

18.3 billion

 $

16.4 billion

Committed fleet rentals

$

11.2 billion

 $

14.6 billion

Total committed rentals

 $

29.5 billion

 $

31.0 billion

(1) Weighted-average fleet age and remaining lease term calculated based on net book value of our flight equipment subject to operating lease.

(2) As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our owned fleet count included 30 and 14 aircraft classified as flight equipment held for sale, respectively, and 15 and 12 aircraft classified as net investments in sales-type leases, respectively, which are all included in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

The following table details the regional concentration of our flight equipment subject to operating leases:

December 31, 2024

December 31, 2023

Region

% of Net Book Value

% of Net Book Value

Europe

41.4

%

37.7

%

Asia Pacific

35.8

%

39.8

%

Central America, South America, and Mexico

9.5

%

9.0

%

The Middle East and Africa

7.0

%

7.9

%

U.S. and Canada

6.3

%

5.6

%

Total

100.0

%

100.0

%

The following table details the composition of our owned fleet by aircraft type:

December 31, 2024

December 31, 2023

Aircraft type

Number of

Aircraft

% of Total

Number of

Aircraft

% of Total

Airbus A220-100

7

1.4

%

2

0.4

%

Airbus A220-300

22

4.5

%

13

2.8

%

Airbus A319-100

—

—

%

1

0.2

%

Airbus A320-200

23

4.7

%

28

6.0

%

Airbus A320-200neo

23

4.7

%

25

5.4

%

Airbus A321-200

19

3.9

%

23

5.0

%

Airbus A321-200neo

108

22.1

%

95

20.6

%

Airbus A330-200(1)

13

2.7

%

13

2.8

%

Airbus A330-300

5

1.0

%

5

1.1

%

Airbus A330-900neo

28

5.7

%

23

5.0

%

Airbus A350-900

17

3.5

%

14

3.0

%

Airbus A350-1000

8

1.6

%

7

1.5

%

Boeing 737-700

2

0.4

%

3

0.6

%

Boeing 737-800

61

12.5

%

73

15.8

%

Boeing 737-8 MAX

59

12.1

%

52

11.2

%

Boeing 737-9 MAX

30

6.1

%

29

6.3

%

Boeing 777-200ER

1

0.2

%

1

0.2

%

Boeing 777-300ER

24

4.9

%

24

5.2

%

Boeing 787-9

26

5.3

%

25

5.4

%

Boeing 787-10

12

2.5

%

6

1.3

%

Embraer E190

1

0.2

%

1

0.2

%

Total(2)

489

100.0

%

463

100.0

%

1) As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, aircraft count includes two Airbus A330-200 aircraft classified as freighters.

(2) As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, our owned fleet count included 30 and 14 aircraft classified as flight equipment held for sale, respectively, and 15 and 12 aircraft classified as net investments in sales-type leases, respectively, which are all included in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet

Debt Financing Activities

We ended the fourth quarter of 2024 with total debt financing, net of discounts and issuance costs, of $20.2 billion. As of December 31, 2024, 79.0% of our total debt financing was at a fixed rate and 97.3% was unsecured. As of December 31, 2024, our composite cost of funds was 4.14%. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $8.1 billion.

As of the end of the periods presented, our debt portfolio was comprised of the following components (dollars in millions, except percentages):

December 31, 2024

December 31, 2023

Unsecured

Senior unsecured securities

$

16,047

$

16,330

Term financings

3,629

1,628

Revolving credit facility

170

1,100

Total unsecured debt financing

19,846

19,058

Secured

Term financings

354

101

Export credit financing

190

205

Total secured debt financing

544

306

Total debt financing

20,390

19,364

Less: Debt discounts and issuance costs

(180

)

(181

)

Debt financing, net of discounts and issuance costs

$

20,210

$

19,183

Selected interest rates and ratios:

Composite interest rate(1)

4.14

%

3.77

%

Composite interest rate on fixed-rate debt(1)

3.74

%

3.26

%

Percentage of total debt at a fixed-rate

79.00

%

84.71

%

(1) This rate does not include the effect of upfront fees, facility fees, undrawn fees or amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs.

Conference Call

In connection with this earnings release, Air Lease Corporation will host a conference call on February 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing 1 (800) 715-9871 domestic or 1 (646) 307-1963 international. The passcode for the call is 7572001.

The conference call will also be broadcast live through a link on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website at www.airleasecorp.com. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the broadcast will be available on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website.

For your convenience, the conference call can be replayed in its entirety beginning on February 13, 2025 until 11:59 PM ET on February 20, 2025. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please dial 1 (800) 770-2030 domestic or 1 (647) 362-9199 international and enter passcode 7572001.

.