Willis Lease Finance Corporatio WLFC

Competitive advantage analysis · industrials

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
53/100
Moderate

About Willis Lease Finance Corporatio

Willis Lease Finance Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a lessor and servicer of commercial aircraft and aircraft engines worldwide. It operates in two segments, Leasing and Related Operations, and Spare Parts Sales. The company engages in the acquiring and leasing commercial aircraft, aircraft engines, and other aircraft equipment, as well as the purchase and resale of commercial aircraft … Full WLFC analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Scale Supporting Profitability Profitability at scale is strong (score 0.73), demonstrating competitive advantages.
  • Operating Leverage in Effect Operating leverage is evident (score 0.88), with margins expanding over time.

Key risks

  • ROIC Below WACC or Peers ROIC at 20.0th percentile suggests inefficient capital deployment.
  • Volatile Margins Suggest Cyclicality Margin volatility is high (stability score 0.27), suggesting cyclical exposure or competitive pressure.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

Upgrade to unlock the signals and evidence behind each defense.

Premium access

Unlock full defense analysis

Get key signals, strengths, and risks for every moat dimension.

Upgrade to Premium Unlock all moat defenses and evidence.

Pricing Power

Moderate
53

Where WLFC ranks in Rental & Leasing Services

Willis Lease Finance Corporatio ranks #16 of 28 scored companies in Rental & Leasing Services by moat score — the top 57%. The widest moat in the group is Global Ship Lease Inc New (GSL) at 79/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near WLFC in Rental & Leasing Services
# Company Moat score Rating
12 FlexShopper, Inc. FPAY 56/100 Moderate
13 U-Haul Holding Company Series N UHAL-B 56/100 Moderate
14 U-Haul Holding Company UHAL 56/100 Moderate
15 Air Lease Corporation AL 55/100 Moderate
16 Willis Lease Finance Corporatio WLFC 53/100 Moderate
17 Herc Holdings Inc. HRI 50/100 Developing
18 Vestis Corporation VSTS 46/100 Developing
19 WillScot Holdings Corporation WSC 45/100 Developing
20 Custom Truck One Source, Inc. CTOS 39/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How WLFC scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 53 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 33 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 57 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 35 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 59 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 80 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding WLFC's moat

What is Willis Lease Finance Corporatio's moat score?

Willis Lease Finance Corporatio (WLFC) scores 53 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #16 of 28 scored companies in Rental & Leasing Services, the top 57%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 27 companies in Rental & Leasing Services. Its strongest defense is Scale & Market Position (80/100) and its weakest is Cost Advantage (33/100).

How does Willis Lease Finance Corporatio compare with other Rental & Leasing Services companies?

Willis Lease Finance Corporatio ranks #16 of 28 scored companies in Rental & Leasing Services by moat score. The widest moat in Rental & Leasing Services is Global Ship Lease Inc New (GSL) at 79/100. The companies ranked closest are Air Lease Corporation (AL) at 55 just above it and Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI) at 50 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 27 companies in Rental & Leasing Services. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Willis Lease Finance Corporatio scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Willis Lease Finance Corporatio?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and WLFC scores: Pricing Power (53), Cost Advantage (33), Customer Stickiness (57), Capital Efficiency (35), Resilience (59), Scale & Market Position (80). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

Send Feedback
Please select a category.
0/1000