On the NYSE, AerCap's own ordinary shares trade as AER with no depositary receipt involved, so any broker with NYSE access can buy them. AerCap owns the jets, engines and helicopters that airlines and operators rent, and as an Irish tax resident it pays dividends subject to a 25% Irish withholding tax unless an exemption applies. Below: the leasing business, the purchase, and the risks its 20-F flags, from Russia to Boeing delays.
What Does AerCap Do?
AerCap buys aviation assets and rents them out. Its 20-F calls it "the industry leader across all areas of aviation leasing," with 3,500 aircraft, engines and helicopters owned, on order or managed at the end of 2025.
The company was incorporated in the Netherlands on 10 July 2006 as a naamloze vennootschap, the Dutch form of a public company. It is run from Dublin and has been tax resident in Ireland since 1 February 2016. It grew by acquisition: Genesis Lease in 2010, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in 2014 and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) in 2021, the last two being, in the filing's words, "the two largest transactions in the history of aviation leasing."
Four businesses sit under one roof. Aircraft: at the end of 2025 AerCap owned 1,501 aircraft, managed 148 more and had 283 new ones on order. Its owned passenger jets averaged 7.3 years of age, weighted by book value, and owned aircraft were on lease 99% of the time. AerCap Cargo adds about 120 freighters, flown for customers led by Kalitta Air and Amazon.
Engines: the filing calls AerCap "the world's largest lessor of spare engines," with more than 1,200 owned, managed and on order, including those of Shannon Engine Support, a joint venture with Safran. Most are new-technology engines from GE and CFM International.
Helicopters: Milestone Aviation Group owned or had on order 335 helicopters, flown for offshore oil and gas, offshore wind, search and rescue and medical missions.
Parts: AerCap Materials, founded as the Memphis Group in 1971, distributes airframe and engine components and dismantles retired aircraft.
Most assets go out on operating leases. The airline flies and maintains the jet, then hands it back; AerCap keeps the upside and the danger of what it is worth at that point: "we receive the benefit, and assume the risks, of the residual value of the equipment." Initial terms run up to about 16 years, across around 300 customers. The 20-F names no rivals beyond "other major aircraft leasing companies." Two of its suppliers are covered in our Boeing stock guide and our GE Aerospace stock guide.
How AerCap Makes Money
AerCap reports a single segment, commercial flight equipment, so the income statement is the breakdown. The 2025 lines:
| Revenue line, 2025 | Share of total revenues and other income | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Basic lease rents | 78% | Rent on leased aircraft, engines and helicopters |
| Net gain on sale of assets | 10% | Profit on assets sold, among them owned aircraft averaging 15 years old |
| Maintenance rents and other receipts | 8% | Usage-based maintenance payments and end-of-lease compensation |
| Other income | 4% | Everything else |
Shares are calculated from the 2025 income statement; rent and maintenance receipts together, the lease revenue line, came to 87%.
Total revenues and other income rose 6.5% in 2025. Net income attributable to shareholders jumped about 79%, largely on recoveries over aircraft and engines lost in Russia: a London Commercial Court judgment against AerCap's insurers on 11 June 2025, plus cash settlements.
Two other lines weigh almost as much as rent. Interest expense equalled about 23% of 2025 revenues, since debt funds most of the fleet. And AerCap times the sale of older jets: in the third quarter of 2026 its sales earned an unlevered gain-on-sale margin of 45%. Chief executive Aengus Kelly said in October 2026: "This business is not simply about buying, leasing and selling aircraft. It is about actively managing aviation assets throughout their lifecycle."
Lessees are spread out. Those based in the United States produced 15.3% of 2025 lease revenue and those in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau 13.8%; no other country, and no single lessee, reached 10%.
AER Stock at a Glance
| Feature | AER |
|---|---|
| Exchange | New York Stock Exchange |
| Ticker | AER |
| Security | Ordinary shares, one vote each; the sole class on the 20-F cover |
| Depositary receipt | None: the ordinary shares trade directly |
| Sector | Aviation leasing: aircraft, engines, helicopters, cargo and parts |
| Incorporated | Netherlands, 10 July 2006 (N.V.) |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland; Irish tax resident since 2016 |
| Reporting | Form 20-F under US GAAP; quarterly results on Form 6-K |
| Fiscal year | Calendar year, to 31 December |
| Dividend | Quarterly cash dividend, policy adopted in May 2024 |
| Credit ratings | BBB+ from all three major agencies |
| SEC identifier | CIK 1378789 |
None of these rows tells you today's quote. The AerCap stock page on Bitbase tracks price and market value as they move.
How to Buy AerCap Stock
AerCap is foreign, yet New York trades its ordinary share itself, priced in US dollars. The order takes six steps:
1. Find a broker with NYSE coverage. Check which regulated entity holds your shares.
2. Open the account and record your tax residence. For AER this decides which dividend tax you pay (see below).
3. Deposit money. If your cash is not in dollars, the broker converts it; the spread on that conversion is a cost alongside commission.
4. Look up AER. The listing should read AerCap Holdings N.V., NYSE.
5. Set the order. A market order fills at whatever the next price is; a limit order names your maximum and may sit unfilled, useful on results days.
6. File the paperwork. Keep confirmations and statements for your cost, dividends and any tax withheld.
The dividend tax step. Because AerCap is tax resident in Ireland, its dividends carry Irish dividend withholding tax at 25% unless an exemption applies. US residents holding through the Depository Trust Company, with a US address on their broker's records, are exempt under a simplified procedure that the Irish Revenue Commissioners confirmed until 25 July 2029. Residents of other countries with an Irish tax treaty, EU members included, can usually claim the exemption by giving their broker an Irish declaration form before the record date. Dutch residents face a separate 15% Dutch withholding tax, and AerCap says it will presume that holders who skip the paperwork are Dutch residents. Tax may still be due at home.
What Moves AER Stock
Scarce aircraft. The 20-F cites IATA: global passenger traffic grew 5.3% in 2025 and is forecast to grow 4.9% in 2026, with limited aircraft availability and labour shortages holding back supply. In October 2026 Kelly noted that higher fuel prices are hurting airline profits.
Boeing and Airbus deliveries. AerCap relies on "a small number of manufacturers." The 737 MAX grounding in 2019 and 2020 and the halt in 787 deliveries in 2020 and 2021 delayed its orders. In 2025 it agreed to take 52 Airbus A320neo Family jets from the former Spirit Airlines order book, with options for 45 more.
Funding costs. Only 1% of 2025 basic lease rents came from leases tied to floating interest rates. AerCap's average cost of debt was 4.2% in the third quarter of 2026, against 4.0% a year earlier.
Buybacks. AerCap repurchased 22.1 million shares in 2025. By the third quarter, 2026 repurchases equalled about 10% of the shares outstanding at the end of 2025, and the share count fell about 11% in the year to 30 September 2026.
Russia claims. The 2025 recoveries lifted one year's profit; the adjusted figures in AerCap's earnings releases leave them out.
What Could Go Wrong for an Aircraft Lessor
Capital needs. "We require significant capital resources and cash flows to fund our business and service our debt." At the end of 2025, 283 aircraft, 35 engines and 12 helicopters were on order.
Airline credit. "Our financial condition depends, in part, on the financial strength of our lessees." Airline bankruptcies can delay rent and "depress flight equipment market values."
Geography. AerCap faces "concentrated political and economic risks" where lessees cluster, "particularly the United States and China," and tariffs could have a material impact. Russia showed the cost: the company "was only able to recover a small minority of the assets and in 2022 wrote-off the rest of our flight equipment which remained in Russia."
Older aircraft values. New types such as the A320neo and 737 MAX may lower the residual value and lease rates of older ones, and a sale below book value forces an impairment or a loss.
Structure and tax. As a Dutch company, AerCap warns it "may be difficult to obtain or enforce judgments against us" in the United States. The dividend is not guaranteed: "We may not be able to continue, or may elect to discontinue, paying dividends." And a single stock ties your money to one company.
How to Research AER Yourself
As a foreign private issuer, AerCap files no 10-K or 10-Q. Look it up on SEC EDGAR under CIK 1378789: the 20-F arrives each February (the 2025 report on 12 February 2026) and quarterly results come on 6-K, most recently on 28 October 2026.
Inside the 20-F, Item 3.D holds the risk factors, Item 4 the fleet, engines, helicopters and cargo, Item 5 the results, buybacks and Russia recoveries, Item 7 the major holders and Item 10 the Irish and Dutch dividend taxes. The geographic note shows where lessees are based. For quotes on other companies, browse every US stock page on Bitbase.
AerCap Stock FAQ
Can I buy AerCap stock with crypto?
Not directly. AER is sold through brokers for US dollars, so you would first convert crypto to cash, possibly a taxable event at home, and then send the money to the broker. Owning the share brings votes and dividends, one of several points in how shares and crypto assets differ.
Is AER an ADR?
No. The 20-F cover lists one class, AerCap's ordinary shares, and those are what change hands on the NYSE under AER.
Is AerCap a Dutch or an Irish company?
Both, in different senses. It is incorporated in the Netherlands as an N.V., but it is managed from Dublin and has been tax resident in Ireland since 1 February 2016, which is why its dividends fall under Irish withholding tax.
Does AerCap pay a dividend?
Yes. Under a policy adopted in May 2024 the board declares a quarterly cash dividend, most recently in October 2026. Irish withholding tax of 25% applies unless you qualify for an exemption, and the 20-F warns that payments could stop.
Who are AerCap's largest shareholders?
At the end of 2025 the 20-F listed Eagle Capital Management with 8.1% and BlackRock with 6.6%, based on their public filings.
Conclusion
AerCap is a bet on the scarcity of modern aircraft and on a lessor that earns from selling older jets as well as renting them, financed largely with debt. Its 2025 profit was flattered by the Russia recoveries, so compare rent, interest cost and gains on sale over several years. Read the latest 20-F and 6-K, check how Irish withholding tax will treat your dividends, and decide how much one aircraft lessor should weigh in your portfolio.
Related reading
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Disclaimer: This article is educational content from Bitbase Academy, provided for information only. It explains what a company or fund does and how the instruments referenced here differ from one another; it does not constitute investment, trading, tax, or financial advice, and it is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of any security, token, or trading strategy. A tokenized stock is issued by a third party and is designed to give economic exposure to an underlying asset: it is not a share, it carries no shareholder rights, and it depends on the issuer's structure, eligibility rules, and redemption terms, which the issuer can change. Perpetual futures are leveraged derivatives that hold no underlying asset and can be liquidated, and trading hours, product availability, and eligibility differ by instrument and by jurisdiction and can change at any time. Written as of November 2026; verify everything yourself through company filings, the issuer's own documentation, and the product pages of the venue you trade on.
References
[1] AerCap, Form 20-F for 2025 (SEC EDGAR) www.sec.gov
[2] AerCap 2025 Form 20-F, XBRL cover page (SEC EDGAR) www.sec.gov
[3] AerCap 2025 Form 20-F, consolidated income statements (XBRL) www.sec.gov
[4] AerCap 2025 Form 20-F, geographic information (XBRL) www.sec.gov
[5] AerCap, third quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 6-K (SEC EDGAR) www.sec.gov
[6] AerCap, Form 6-K of 28 October 2026: dividend and withholding tax (SEC EDGAR) www.sec.gov
