Little Excitement Around Air Lease Corporation's (NYSE:AL) Earnings

Air Lease Corporation's (NYSE:AL) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 9.5x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 17x and even P/E's above 32x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

Recent times have been pleasing for Air Lease as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, possibly more than the market, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Air Lease

Keen to find out how analysts think Air Lease's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Is There Any Growth For Air Lease?

Air Lease's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 20%. As a result, it also grew EPS by 26% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 3.3% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 9.9% growth per annum, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Air Lease is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Final Word

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Air Lease's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Air Lease (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you're unsure about the strength of Air Lease's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com