Why Shares of AerCap Are Plunging Today
AerCap (NYSE: AER) reported its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday morning and beat estimates on the top line. However, it failed to meet analysts' bottom-line expectations. This was likely the driver of the stock's initial loss of altitude in early trading, but as investors delve deeper into the aircraft leasing company's results, it seems that they're finding less cause for disappointment.
After having lost as much as 11.8% earlier in the trading session, as of 12:05 p.m. ET, AerCap's stock was down by just 6%.
While analysts' consensus expectation was that AerCap would book revenue of $1.27 billion in Q4, it reported sales of $1.44 billion. While that was a 40% year-over-year gain, it's worth noting that management attributed the increase not to organic growth, but to its acquisition of GECAS. The bottom line, however, is likely the cause of the stock's turbulence. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings per share of $1.95, but AerCap undershot that significantly, booking earnings per share of $1.04.
Source Fool.com
