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The Moat Index

WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORP

WLFC · Industrials · FY2025 filings · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

30/ 100
No moat

The four filters

Pricing power48

Median gross margin 45.8% over 4y, variable.

Returns on capital0

Median ROIC 2.0%, above the 9% hurdle in 0% of years.

Balance-sheet safety0

Net debt/EBITDA 12.4x, interest coverage 1x.

Capital discipline77

Owner earnings +10.5%/yr, share count shrinking (buybacks).

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale
No price data
Owner earnings (normalized)
$129.6M
Est. intrinsic value / share
—
Recent price
$191.65
Discount to value
No price data

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 4% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

18 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $150.4M (FY2009) to $730.2M (FY2025) — about 10.4% a year compounded over 16 years.

It earned 2.2% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of 1.5% across 17 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 0/100.

The balance sheet carried $2.7B of total debt in FY2025 against $194.2M of owner earnings — roughly 13.9 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 0/100.

The share count fell 30.8% between FY2010 and FY2019 — management has been retiring shares, which concentrates each remaining owner's claim. Capital Discipline scores it 77/100.

Put together: Capital Discipline is the strongest of the four filters (77/100) and Returns on Capital the weakest (0/100), which is how WLFC lands at 30/100 — a None moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2008–FY2025 · 18 fiscal years, normalized from WLFC’s SEC filings

RevenueSales, as filed$730.2M FY2025
$0$500M2008201420202025
Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods42.5% FY2019
0%50%2008201420202025
Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed2.2% FY2025
0%5%10%2008201420202025
Owner earningsCash an owner could take out$194.2M FY2025
$0$100M$200M2008201420202025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in WLFC’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

3 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale29.7 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 17, 2026

Score history begins Jul 17, 2026 — the record builds from here and can’t be backfilled.

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — WLFC has read No moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Industrials context

#200 of 309 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #198ASH ASHLAND INC.30.2No moat
  2. #199SKYW SKYWEST INC29.7No moat
  3. #201WRAP WRAP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.29.7No moat
  4. #202ASLE AerSale Corporation29.7No moat

Compare WLFC with its nearest peers →All Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about WLFC

Does WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORP have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORP (WLFC) 29.7 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 48, returns on capital 0, balance-sheet safety 0, capital discipline 77.
How has WLFC's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 3 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 29.7 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.
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Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell WLFC. See the disclaimer.

WILLIS LEASE FINANCE CORP (WLFC) Moat Score — The Moat Index · Buy Like Buffett