Aircraft Lessor Annualized Net Spread

Aircraft lessor annualized net spread measures the adjusted lease margin earned on the asset base before depreciation and amortization.

AerCap defines the metric as:

annualized net spread = adjusted net interest margin ÷ average lease assets

For 2025, AerCap reported $4.827B of adjusted net interest margin, $61.907B of average lease assets, and a 7.8% annualized net spread.

The 7.8% can be reconstructed

The reported relationship is visible in the numbers:

$4.827B ÷ $61.907B ≈ 7.8%

Adjusted net interest margin starts with basic lease rents, removes the purchase-accounting effect of lease premium or deficiency amortization, and subtracts interest expense excluding mark-to-market effects on interest-rate derivatives.

That numerator makes the measure narrower than total lease revenue. Maintenance rents, gains on aircraft sales, and other income aren't the core spread being measured.

Spread combines lease pricing and funding cost

A lessor can improve net spread through better contractual rent economics, lower funding costs, or a change in asset mix. Those drivers can move in different directions, so a higher spread doesn't by itself tell you whether lease rates improved.

The denominator matters too. AerCap's average lease assets include more than aircraft held for operating leases.

Depreciation materially changes the picture. Annualized net spread is intentionally a pre-depreciation measure. AerCap also reports net spread after depreciation and amortization, which was 3.5% in 2025.

For an asset-heavy lessor, the difference between 7.8% before D&A and 3.5% after D&A is economically important. The aircraft generate lease income, but their cost is also consumed over time.

Primary source: AerCap full-year 2025 results and metric reconciliation.

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