MRO & Aftermarket Services

Fort Corporation Public Company Limited, or FORTH, announced that its board of directors meeting on 30 September 2026 approved a proposal to be submitted to the first extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of 2026 to consider and approve an increase in registered capital of not more than 13,565,891.50 baht, from existing registered capital of 467,687,350 baht to new registered capital of 481,253,241.50 baht, through the issuance of not more than 27,131,783 new ordinary shares with a par value of 0.50 baht per share, offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings at a price of 12.90 to 16.80 baht per share, at a ratio of 34.4752 existing shares to 1 new share. The final offering price will be determined at least 2 business days before the date on which purchasers of the securities are no longer entitled to subscribe for the new shares. The company expects to receive proceeds of approximately 350.00 to 455.81 million baht from this share issuance and offering, and plans to use the funds to support investment and business expansion under its commercial aircraft repair centre project, or MRO, by 2028. The first extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of 2026 is scheduled for 11 November 2026 at 2:00 p.m. on the 7th floor of the company's office building, and the record date for shareholders entitled to attend the meeting is set for 14 October 2026.

AAR Corp reported record fiscal first-quarter sales of $918 million, up 24% year over year including 11% organic growth, with adjusted diluted EPS of $1.49 per share, up 38%, and adjusted EBITDA margin expanding 100 basis points to 12.7%. Alongside the results, the company agreed to acquire a 65% controlling interest in MRO Holdings at an implied enterprise value of approximately $4 billion, a 10.7 times adjusted EBITDA multiple net of tax benefit synergies. MRO Holdings is expected to generate approximately $1 billion in adjusted sales, $285 million in adjusted EBITDA at a 27% margin, and more than $200 million in adjusted operating cash flow in calendar 2026. The combined company would have roughly $4.3 billion in annual sales and nearly $700 million in adjusted EBITDA, lifting the adjusted EBITDA margin to 16% before synergies from about 12%, with a new medium-term target of 19% to 20% over the next three to four years. AAR expects approximately $75 million in run rate cost synergies within three to four years, funded by about $1 billion of AAR equity, including roughly $780 million to MRO Holdings shareholders at $135 per share and about $230 million via a PIPE, plus approximately $2.1 billion of new debt, taking net leverage to about 3.6 times at close before declining toward its 2 to 2.5 times target range.

Boeing has secured a $13.8 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for cargo ramp lock actuators for the C-17 fleet. The award is structured as a mix of firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee terms, meaning some work is reimbursed with an agreed-upon fee while other work is paid at a predetermined price. The work will be performed in Long Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by May 30, 2030. The contract includes $11.1 million in Air Force operations and maintenance funds and $2.6 million in FMS funds. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity.

Chancellor John Healey has set out plans to reindustrialise Britain, announcing a £100 million fund for local mayors to boost apprenticeships, a £300 million investment by Rolls-Royce in British factories, and confirmed support for British shipbuilding. In his speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Healey said the new Local Apprenticeship Service would see teams acting like football scouts to link young people with firms, describing it as a down payment on work to tackle the almost one million young people not in employment, education or training. He also confirmed previously trailed plans for £6 billion of government contracts for British shipyards, and said Rolls-Royce would invest £300 million in factories in Derby, Bristol, Glasgow and Rotherham. Healey, who will deliver his first Budget next month, acknowledged he did not have the money available to his predecessor Gordon Brown and sought to reassure markets that fiscal discipline would be at the core of his Budget. The speech came as diesel hit a record 199.18p a litre and the Confederation of British Industry said firms across the private sector expect activity to fall in the three months to December, though CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said Healey had set out a strong vision with many of the right signals.

Acron Aviation announced a five-year extension of its Authorized Repair Center agreement with Thales Singapore to cover its ACSS surveillance product line. Operating from Singapore, the facility will serve operators and MROs across the Asia-Pacific region, establishing in-region capability for customers previously served from outside Asia-Pacific. Under the extended agreement, Thales Singapore will continue to perform repair and overhaul on all ACSS surveillance products, including T3CAS. Ronald Nye, President of Avionics at Acron Aviation, said Singapore gives the company the right footprint and Thales is the right partner, adding that extending the relationship to surveillance puts local presence behind more of its products. Thomas Mouveaux, General Manager APAC for Aviation Global Services at Thales, said Thales will leverage its strategic presence in Singapore to deliver the highest standards of service, reliability and performance, and noted Thales is the only Acron Aviation authorized repair partner for Surveillance products in the Asia-Pacific region.

GE Aerospace has agreed to acquire Consolidated Precision Products, one of the world's largest makers of precision sand castings, for $11.75 billion in its biggest deal since becoming a standalone company in 2024. The company plans to use $7 billion of cash and fund the remainder with new debt, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2027. CPP supplies components for GE's LEAP and GEnx commercial engines, and about 70% of its revenue comes from commercial and defense engines; it is expected to generate roughly $2 billion in revenue in 2027. The deal values CPP at about 26 times its expected 2027 core profit before expected synergies, or roughly 18 times including them. CEO Larry Culp said investment in casting capacity is needed to support simultaneous demand across commercial engines, aftermarket and defense, and GE expects its demand for airfoils to rise more than 30% by 2030 compared with 2026 levels. Vertical Research analyst Robert Stallard told Reuters the deal makes strategic sense given tight engine casting supply, but said it remains to be seen how it will affect CPP's non-GE customers such as RTX's Pratt & Whitney; GE shares were little changed after the announcement while casting rival Howmet Aerospace fell about 8%.

Boeing has secured a commitment from Turkish Airlines covering as many as 150 737 Max jets, the carrier's biggest single-aisle order from the manufacturer. The agreement, announced in a Wednesday press release, consists of 100 firm orders for 737-8 aircraft plus options for 50 additional jets, and Turkish Airlines can replace some of those selections with the larger 737-10 model. The single-aisle commitment follows a 2025 widebody deal covering as many as 75 787 Dreamliners. Turkish Airlines and its AJet subsidiary operate more than 200 Boeing aircraft spanning 737 Max, 737 Next-Generation, 777 and 787 models, along with 777 freighters, and the airline's fleet of 567 passenger and cargo aircraft serves 358 destinations in 133 countries. The 737-8s are intended for domestic and international routes, and Boeing said the agreement includes industrial participation in Turkiye's aviation sector, though financial details and the scope of that work were not provided. Discussions over the purchase began in 2025.

GE Aerospace raised its full-year 2026 operating profit guidance to a range of $10.55-$10.75 billion, up from a previous forecast of $9.85-$10.25 billion, even as second-quarter operating margin fell 130 basis points to 21.7%. The company reported second-quarter 2026 operating profit of $2.75 billion, an increase of 18% year over year, but cost of sales surged 26.7% to $8.7 billion, selling, general and administrative expenses rose 10.9% to $1.1 billion, and research and development expenses climbed 28.1% to $460 million, with the margin decline attributed to growth investments and inflation. The updated guidance implies year-over-year growth of 17.6% at the midpoint, and GE expects 2026 top-line and margin performance to benefit from higher LEAP engine deliveries, with high-teens growth in LEAP deliveries expected this year, along with strong aftermarket services demand and operational execution. Among peers, Textron's second-quarter cost of sales rose 4.2% to $3.09 billion and its gross profit margin declined 100 basis points to 17.8% on reduced margin in the Bell segment, while RTX Corporation's total costs and expenses increased 12.8% to $22 billion yet its adjusted operating profit margin expanded 150 basis points to 11.4%.

Pratt & Whitney Canada, an RTX business, has signed a four-year maintenance, repair, and overhaul agreement with Malaysia's AirBorneo Airways covering the PW127M engines powering its ATR 72-500 regional turboprop fleet through 2030. AirBorneo uses its ATR 72-500 aircraft to support the Rural Air Services network, providing regional air connectivity to remote communities across East Malaysia. Engine maintenance work under the agreement will be centered at Pratt & Whitney Canada's facility in Singapore, following recent infrastructure investments designed to expand the site's turboprop MRO capacity across the Asia-Pacific region. Pratt & Whitney Canada's PW100/PW127 engine family has accumulated over 200 million flight hours across more than 40 years of regional turboprop operations globally.

S&P 500 earnings for the third quarter are expected to rise 23.9% from a year earlier on 11.4% higher revenues, according to Zacks Investment Research, with 14 of 16 Zacks sectors posting positive earnings growth and 6 sectors producing double-digit growth. The double-digit gainers are Aerospace at 159.5%, Energy at 111.8%, Tech at 41.9%, Basic Materials at 29.8%, Transportation at 14.9% and Industrial Products at 13.0%. Excluding the Tech sector, Q3 earnings for the rest of the index would be up 14.3%; excluding Energy, aggregate growth would fall to 19.9%; excluding both Tech and Energy, the rest of the S&P 500 would grow 7.4%. Within Tech, excluding Nvidia, Micron and Alphabet, Q3 earnings for the rest of the sector would be 20.5% versus 41.9% otherwise, while the Zacks Semiconductor industry is expected to post 85.4% earnings growth on 62.8% revenue growth. Since the start of Q3, Energy has seen the largest upgrade to its earnings outlook on elevated oil prices tied to the Persian Gulf situation, with Aerospace, Industrial Products, Tech, Autos, Transportation, Finance and Utilities also enjoying positive revisions.

Qantas, Australia's largest airline, announced on the 23rd that it will launch direct flights linking Sydney, the country's largest city, with New York on the US East Coast in mid-2028. The direct route will be its second ultra-long-haul service, following the planned Sydney–London direct flight scheduled to begin in October 2027. Qantas currently connects Sydney and New York via Auckland, New Zealand. The new direct service will use Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft fitted with additional fuel tanks, covering just over 16,000 kilometers in about 18 hours, cutting more than three hours off the connecting route. Ticket sales will begin in August 2027.

PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk, known as GMF and part of Garuda Indonesia Group, and FTAI Aviation Ltd. have strengthened their strategic collaboration to expand GMF's engine and APU maintenance capacity and market presence across Asia-Pacific. The partnership, formalized during MRO Asia-Pacific 2026 at Singapore EXPO, will initially cover CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines and GTCP131-9 series APUs, with guaranteed capacity for FTAI over the next five years. Building on an existing relationship in which GMF provides engine maintenance services for FTAI, the collaboration provides a foundation to progressively expand into deeper module and piece-part capabilities and next-generation engines, including CFM LEAP. GMF CEO Andi Fahrurrozi said the collaboration responds to growing engine maintenance demand from FTAI, its customers, and the broader aviation market across the region, while FTAI President David Moreno said bringing committed engine volumes to GMF puts maintenance capacity closer to Asia-Pacific customers with faster turnaround times. The collaboration is also expected to strengthen the engine MRO supply chain by improving access to materials, spare parts, and components while creating opportunities to enhance availability and cost.

Eaton announced two strategic expansions at MRO Asia-Pacific 2026, including a new FAA certification for Eaton Aero Services and EDB-supported investments in Singapore. Eaton Aero Services, Eaton's joint venture with SIA Engineering Company, received FAA Part 145 Repair Station certification, authorizing it to perform FAA-approved maintenance, repair and overhaul services and issue FAA airworthiness release certificates. That certification joins existing approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, expanding the joint venture's ability to support regional customers. Separately, Eaton is expanding its engineering and innovation capabilities in Singapore with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board, spanning aerospace product innovation, retrofit, modification and upgrade programs, engineering solutions and MRO process innovation. Ian Lam, managing director of Eaton's Aerospace Group for Asia-Pacific, said the investments strengthen the company's engineering and MRO capabilities and position it to serve customers with greater speed, flexibility and proximity.

RTX CEO Chris Calio highlighted the company's record $289 billion backlog, or remaining performance obligations, at the Morgan Stanley 14th Annual Laguna Conference last week, pointing to potential growth toward a Wall Street consensus of $460.5 billion by the end of 2028. Calio said the $289 billion RPO at the end of the second quarter does not include the recently awarded $22.9 billion seven-year Tomahawk cruise missile order or the five framework agreements RTX made with the Department of Defense in February, of which he said volumes will rise anywhere from 2 to 4x. The current RPO is split between $170 billion in commercial aerospace and $119 billion in defense, with only 25% set to be recognized in the next 12 months, and Calio noted that approximately 45% of the RPO relates to long-term commercial aerospace maintenance contracts at Pratt & Whitney expected to be realized over a span of up to 20 years. Calio also cited strength in orders across commercial aerospace original equipment, commercial aerospace aftermarket, and defense, noting that Boeing and Airbus have a 15,000 aircraft backlog to execute on and that demand for integrated air and missile defense is top of mind for every country around the world.

The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance announced commitments from its members to purchase sustainable aviation fuel certificates tied to Infinium Energy's Project Atlas, a Texas-based eSAF facility expected to produce approximately 100,000 metric tons of SAF annually. AVEVA, Bain & Company, Google, McKinsey and others backed the procurement, which SABA said is the first-ever application of its approach to drive new production of high-integrity SAF by focusing on projects moving toward final investment decision. Infinium submitted its winning proposal jointly with American Airlines, which will take physical delivery of the fuel and oversee logistics, and contracted volumes are expected to support greenhouse gas abatement of over 212,000 mtCO2e, equivalent to the emissions of over 3,500 JFK to LAX commercial flights. To date, SABA has aggregated $500 million in demand for SAFc from over 35 member companies, and with the binding multi-year offtake agreements in hand, Infinium said it is well positioned to advance to final investment decision and secure financing to build the facility. Infinium also plans to sell RFNBO compliant eSAF from the facility into European regulatory markets.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer said on the 21st that China is making progress toward fulfilling the plan it announced in May to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft. Speaking to Fox News, Greer said that of China's Boeing orders, "about 140 are proceeding smoothly. Order procedures are also moving forward for roughly 10 more." He did not say, however, whether China would place additional Boeing orders ahead of the meeting scheduled for the 24th between U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China's Commerce Ministry announced in May that it would buy 200 Boeing jets, the first time the Chinese government had officially confirmed a Boeing order. Trump later said the number of Boeing aircraft purchased could reach as many as 750.

Samart Aviation Solutions Public Company Limited, or SAV, is signalling a standout recovery in its operating results for the second half of 2026. Mr. Rattanun Wilailak, Senior Manager of Business Development and Investor Relations at Samart Corporation Public Company Limited, or SAMART, and its subsidiaries, told the Stock Vision news team that the third and fourth quarters of 2026 are trending better compared with the second quarter of 2026, driven by a recovery in flight numbers, lower oil prices, and easing conflict in some areas, especially overflight traffic passing through Cambodian airspace, where the Vietnam route has seen flight growth of more than 20%. The fourth quarter of 2026 will also get an additional boost from the arrival of the high season for tourism. SAV is currently monitoring progress on tender projects of Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited, or AOT, and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited, with a combined project value of more than 2.45 billion baht. The AOT project is expected to open for bidding in October 2026, while the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand project still requires clear details and policy from the relevant agencies. Meanwhile, Dao Securities (Thailand) Public Company Limited said SAV still holds a positive view on its operating direction for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, which are expected to return to growth both year on year and quarter on quarter. In July 2026, flight numbers returned to growth of 8% year on year, and in August 2026 they will accelerate to 20% year on year. It estimates flight numbers in the third quarter of 2026 will grow more than 10% both year on year and quarter on quarter, improving from the second quarter of 2026, which was down 2% year on year and 12% quarter on quarter. It maintained its 2026 profit forecast at 547 million baht, flat year on year, with first-half 2026 profit accounting for 48% of the full year. It preliminarily estimates third-quarter 2026 profit will improve to 130 to 140 million baht, from 128 million baht in the third quarter of 2025 and 122 million baht in the second quarter of 2026. Fourth-quarter 2026 profit will continue to improve and reach the highest level of the year. It maintained its Buy recommendation with a target price of 14.50 baht, based on DCF at a WACC of 9.5% and a terminal growth rate of 2.5%. It assesses that second-quarter 2026 profit marked the bottom and will return to accelerating growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2026 and in 2027, with catalysts from the tender projects of AOT and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, with a combined project value of not less than 2.45 billion baht, which will add upside to 2027 profit. Meanwhile, dividend yield remains high at around 8.5% per year.

Willis Lease Finance Corp. has acquired land in Malaysia to build a new Willis Engine Repair Center, its third such facility worldwide. The new WERC will join existing facilities in Florida and Wales, delivering storage, repair and maintenance services to third-party assets and the engine portfolio the company owns. CEO Austin C. Willis called the move an integral step in the company's pursuit of global expansion and evidence of its commitment to one of the most rapidly expanding segments of the aviation market. The company recently completed its acquisition of 13 aircraft engines and 12 commercial aircraft. Construction of the Malaysia facility is expected to conclude in early 2027, though the schedule faces risks including permit delays, supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages and unanticipated operational complications.

S&P 500 earnings are expected to increase by +24% from the same period last year in the third quarter, the 8th straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth for the index, according to Zacks Investment Research. Earnings are expected to be above the year-earlier level for 14 of the 16 Zacks sectors, with 5 sectors expected to enjoy double-digit growth: Aerospace up +159.3%, Energy up +111.9%, Tech up +41.9%, Basic Materials up +31.2%, and Transportation up +15.1%. The Conglomerates sector is the only one expected to have lower earnings in Q3 relative to the same period last year, down 35.4%, while Consumer Staples earnings are expected to be flat. Excluding the Energy sector, Q3 earnings growth for the S&P 500 drops to +20% from +24%, and excluding the Tech sector, growth for the rest of the index drops to +14.4%. Nvidia's Q3 earnings are expected to increase +90% year-over-year on +91.2% higher revenues, while Micron's year-over-year earnings and revenue growth rates are expected to be +938% and +348.6%, respectively, and Tech sector earnings growth gets cut by slightly more than half once contributions from Nvidia and Micron are excluded. The Q3 earnings season will get the spotlight when the big banks report on October 13th, but the reporting cycle actually got underway with the September 10th quarterly releases from Oracle and Adobe, followed by homebuilder Lennar as the third S&P 500 member to report such Q3 results, with an additional six index members on deck this week including Costco, AutoZone and Darden. Total Q3 earnings for the three S&P 500 members that have reported results already are up +22.6% from the same period last year on +14.9% higher revenues, with 33.3% beating EPS estimates and 66.7% besting revenue estimates.

TransDigm Group's defense revenues rose approximately 11% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, with year-to-date defense revenues up 10%, as healthy demand across the U.S. defense aerospace market lifted both original equipment manufacturing and aftermarket businesses. Aftermarket growth ran slightly ahead of OEM growth, reflecting continued demand for replacement parts and services across military aircraft. Defense bookings increased both year over year and sequentially in the quarter and exceeded sales, and management expects defense revenue growth to continue through fiscal 2026, with a strong backlog providing visibility into fiscal 2027. Shares of TransDigm have lost 9.7% over the past six months against a 13.5% decline for the industry, and the stock trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 5.25X versus an industry average of 7.23X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TransDigm's 2026 and 2027 earnings has moved higher over the past 60 days, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Tony Fernandes, founder and advisor of AirAsia Group, confirmed that the group has more than 1 billion US dollars in cash on hand and has no need to seek government assistance. He said the group is in the process of securing a loan of about 1 billion Malaysian ringgit from financial institutions, expected to be completed between December and January, with the financial support terms already signed. He stated that AirAsia has never defaulted on debt or undergone debt restructuring in any country, and over the past two years it has gradually repaid more than 240 million US dollars to Ares, clearing the debt on schedule. He also confirmed there is no risk of triggering the PN17 distressed criteria. As for the grounded aircraft, he said they are parked for routine periodic inspections, about 20 to 25 planes per month, not seized over unpaid debts, and the entire fleet is expected to return to full operations by the fourth quarter. At Asia Aviation Public Company Limited, or AAV, Fernandes said the company plans major investment in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul centers, or MRO, as well as cargo operations in Thailand and Indonesia, which will significantly reduce the operating cost structure of the group's airlines. AirAsia is meanwhile shifting its strategy back to core ASEAN markets and domestic routes in Thailand and Malaysia, while accelerating the procurement of highly fuel-efficient narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A321LR and XLR and the A220, even as average ticket prices have risen about 40 to 45 percent compared with 2019.