NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 09:15 ET — Premarket
- Shares slipped about 0.5% premarket after a sharp prior-session rally.
- FTAI launched FTAI Power to convert CFM56 jet engines into 25-megawatt power turbines for data centers.
- Jefferies flagged the new platform as a potential high-earnings lever if it scales in 2026 and beyond.
FTAI Aviation Ltd shares were down about 0.5% at $196.72 in premarket trading on Wednesday after the aircraft-engine maintenance group launched a new data-center power initiative. The stock ended the prior session up about 14.4% at $197.68.
The move follows FTAI’s launch of FTAI Power, which the company said will convert widely used CFM56 jet engines into aeroderivative gas turbines for data centers. “Aeroderivative” is industry shorthand for a turbine derived from an aircraft engine. FTAI said it expects production to begin in 2026 for 25-megawatt units and that it sees capacity to deliver more than 100 turbines annually, drawing on more than 1,000 engines it already owns and a broader CFM56 engine population of more than 22,000 produced. GlobeNewswire
Why it matters now is simple: electricity has become a gating factor for the fastest-growing slice of the tech buildout. Operators running artificial-intelligence workloads want steady power, and they want it on a timetable that does not always match traditional grid upgrades.
FTAI is effectively trying to turn its engine supply, parts agreements and maintenance footprint into a second growth lane that sits adjacent to its aviation aftermarket business. Investors will judge the plan on execution speed and whether customers sign up before the first units roll off the line.
Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said the conversion architecture has been in development for more than a year and that “Production is expected to begin in 2026.” In the same note, she modeled the business at more than $750 million of annual EBITDA at full production, assuming average selling prices above $20 million and margins similar to its aerospace products segment. Investing.com
EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — is a common yardstick investors use to compare operating earnings across businesses with different capital structures.
FTAI’s core franchise sits in the aircraft-engine aftermarket, where it owns and maintains engines and offers Maintenance, Repair and Exchange, or MRE — a program that lets customers swap in modules or engines to reduce downtime.
The pivot also drops FTAI into a market dominated by established turbine suppliers, with GE Vernova and Siemens among the big names investors track when demand for gas-turbine generation tightens. Investors Business Daily said the data-center power scramble has helped drive interest in alternative supply options such as engine-based turbines.
For investors, the next key signals are commercial: orders, partner announcements, and a clearer view of manufacturing throughput and service obligations once deployments begin.
Traders will also watch whether the stock can hold near the $200 level once regular trading begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, after the outsized move in the prior session.
Any incremental disclosure on pricing, capital needs and grid-connection requirements could reshape expectations quickly, given the stock’s recent volatility.
Wall Street calendars currently peg FTAI’s next earnings report for late February, with some services listing an estimated Feb. 25 date. That report is likely to be the next major checkpoint for management commentary on timelines and early demand for FTAI Power.
