AER vs FTAI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: AER is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AER and FTAI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AER and FTAI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

AerCap Holdings N.V. is the largest aircraft leasing company in the world, owning and managing a fleet of commercial aircraft, engines, and helicopters that it leases to hundreds of airline customers across the globe. The company generates revenue primarily from lease payments, and it also books gains by selling aircraft into a tight secondary market. AerCap operates a scale-driven business: it orders new jets from Boeing and Airbus at volume, finances them with large amounts of debt, and earns a spread between lease income and its cost of capital. It became the clear industry leader after acquiring GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) in 2021.

Full AER guide

FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ: FTAI) owns and maintains commercial jet engines and aircraft, with a strategic focus on the maintenance, repair, and exchange (MRE) of CFM56-5B, CFM56-7B, and V2500 engines. These engine types power a large share of the global narrowbody fleet, including the Airbus A320ceo and Boeing 737NG families. The company operates in two reported segments: Aviation Leasing, which as of December 31, 2025 owned and managed 290 aviation assets including 47 commercial aircraft and 243 engines; and Aerospace Products, which develops, manufactures, repairs, and sells engine components through a proprietary Module Factory model. FTAI's differentiated approach is built around its ability to exchange overhauled engine modules faster and at lower cost than traditional full shop visits, providing pricing power rooted in scarcity and technical expertise rather than brand. A newer initiative, FTAI Power, converts surplus CFM56 engines into aeroderivative power turbines aimed at data centers and distributed energy customers, with the first Mod-1 product targeted for delivery by Q4 2026.

Full FTAI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AER drivers: Tight aircraft supply and rising lease rates; Scale and market leadership.
• FTAI drivers: Structural MRE demand from narrowbody supply constraints; Asset-light SCI model unlocks higher returns on capital.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: AerCap carries a very large debt load, about $42.8 billion with total debt-to-equity above 230%, so higher interest rates raise financing costs and can compress spreads; it keeps refinancing, as the $1.5 billion senior note pricing in September 2026 showed. For FTAI, fTAI's valuation still assumes a lot: about 37x trailing earnings as of October 2026 and EV/EBITDA near 21x, against forward earnings that analysts expect to more than double in 2027, so the multiple only looks modest (about 13x forward) if that growth arrives.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AER if you believe its drivers more; FTAI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AER and FTAI guides.

AER. As of October 16, 2026 AerCap traded around $146.52 per share, near where it started the year, with a trailing P/E near 7 against consistently strong earnings. The modest multiple reflects the market's discount for heavy leverage and aviation cyclicality rather than weak current results, and analysts expect EPS to drift lower in 2027. Enterprise value is far larger than market cap because the balance sheet carries about $43 billion of aircraft-backed debt. Q3 2026 results on October 28 carry a consensus of about $4.52 per share.

FTAI. FTAI's revenue has grown at a rapid pace, from about $708 million in 2022 to $2.51 billion in 2025 and $3.11 billion over the trailing twelve months, driven almost entirely by the Aerospace Products segment. The stock's fall in 2026 has pulled EV/EBITDA down to about 21x from roughly 29x earlier in the year, but the forward P/E of about 13x leans on 2027 EPS estimates near $13 that are more than double the ~$5.72 expected for 2026. Repeated EPS misses relative to estimates, even as revenue beats, show the tension between rapid scaling and margin control; consensus for the October 29 report is about $1.44 of EPS on roughly $1.02 billion of revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): AER shows share price / market cap ~$146.52 (Oct 16, 2026), ~$23.0B, revenue (ttm) ~$9.0B; Q2 2026 ~$2.17B, net income (ttm) ~$3.4B, diluted EPS ~$20.41; FY2025 ~$3.75B, q2 2026 eps $5.14 vs ~$4.14 consensus; FTAI shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.11 billion (Q2 2026 up ~41% y/y), revenue (q2 2026) ~$953 million (EPS $1.26 vs $2.09 est.), ebitda (ttm) ~$996 million, net income (ttm) ~$478 million (EPS ~$4.60).

AER and FTAI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AER and FTAI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.