Commercial Aircraft: The equipment market? Good - But, engines are better!

The purpose of this Research Call is to examine the equipment portion of the commercial aircraft industry. Aircraft equipment comprises systems and components on aircraft that lie outside the engine, including flight controls, avionics, landing gear, wheels/brakes, environmental control systems, nacelles and interiors. The largest players in the aircraft equipment space are RTX, Safran, Thales and Honeywell Aerospace, which compete across the majority of equipment markets. Most commercial aircraft supplier stocks have seen strong performance over the last two years, but by far the greatest upside has been for the engine-oriented companies, particularly Carpenter, Rolls-Royce, ATI, Howmet and GE. Engine companies lead in revenue and earnings growth, including forward estimates, and command higher valuations. The major difference between the engine and equipment markets is the character of the aftermarket: engines benefit from a higher relative value of the aftermarket versus OE, MRO tie