AerCap Returns More Capital as Shares Rally – Buyback Wednesdays

Last month witnessed the largest buyback authorization increase in history in dollar terms when NVIDIA (NVDA) added a whopping $150 billion to its share repurchase plan, bringing the total to $235 billion. For a company with a $5.5 trillion market cap, the increase represented barely 3% of its market value. With so much cash on hand, the announcement made sense. My excitement vanished when I looked at the actual pace of execution and found it mediocre. The company has retired only about 3.5% of its shares over the last four years.

Contrast this with AerCap (AER), which also approved a $1 billion share buyback plan but has executed aggressively, repurchasing 35% of its shares over the same period.

We had written about AerCap in the context of buybacks nearly three years ago, in November 2023. The company has only grown stronger since then. Its stock price has more than doubled, and the company has consistently executed share buybacks while reducing leverage. 

The company was also a spotlight idea in our March 2024 Special Situations newsletter, found its way into our model portfolio for almost 14 months and generated a gain of 22.44% during the period. I sold the position prematurely from the model portfolio during the tariff tantrum of 2025 but continue to hold a position in a personal portfolio.

For those unfamiliar with AerCap, the company is a global aviation lessor that owns and leases aircraft, engines, and helicopters to airlines and other operators.

Only plus or premium subscribers can access this post. Subscribe today.