Pratt & Whitney: The Only Head-to-Head ContestNarrow moat

GE Aerospace (GE) — moat facet

The only high-volume aircraft on which an airline actually chooses, and the scoreboard is fifty-five to forty-five.

On the highest-volume commercial aircraft where an airline picks between engine makers, Pratt & Whitney is the other choice.

The one contest, and how GE is answering it55%+CFM share of A320neo %~45%Pratt share %1,802LEAP deliveries 2025+41%LEAP H1 2026 growth %GE Aerospace is answering on durability: the LEAP-1B kit delivers about 2x time-on-wing from 2027.
The only high-volume aircraft where an airline genuinely chooses, and the split is fifty-five to forty-five.

On the Airbus A320neo family, CFM holds more than fifty-five per cent through the LEAP1 and Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan holds the remainder. Both engines were certified in the same period, offered to the same customers at the same time, and selected on their merits. That is the only genuine market test either company's narrowbody product has faced.

The geared turbofan is a different architecture: a reduction gearbox lets the fan and the low-pressure turbine each run at their optimal speed, which is more efficient in principle and mechanically more demanding in practice. Its entry into service was difficult, and those difficulties are a large part of why CFM's share is above fifty-five per cent rather than nearer half.

The contest is far from over, and the reason is structural. Every A320neo family selection made from here runs for the twenty-five-year life of the aircraft, so share won in the next few years is aftermarket owned in the 2040s. A rival that resolves a durability problem arrives at those selections with an efficiency argument and a customer base with a reason to listen.

GE Aerospace's answer is durability rather than efficiency. The LEAP-1B durability kit, certified in 2026, is expected to deliver roughly two times the time-on-wing, with full cutover from the beginning of 20272 — aimed squarely at the ground on which the competitor stumbled.

There is no selection scoreboard published by either company. The available measure is the delivery ratio: 1,802 LEAP engines of 2,386 commercial engines delivered in 20253, with LEAP deliveries up forty-one per cent in the first half of 20264. That is a production statistic and a proxy, and it is the best one there is.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

CFM holds more than fifty-five per cent of the A320neo family and GE Aerospace is answering on durability rather than efficiency. The rival's problems are being addressed and neither side has moved decisively. This one is genuinely undecided.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Commercial Engines & Services orders, latest quarter
$12,932M in Q2 2026, up 18%

Head-to-head wins arrive as orders; a run of falling commercial orders while airframe backlogs grow would mean the contest is being lost.

Source: GE Aerospace second-quarter 2026 earnings release ↗
References
  1. Third-party estimateOn the Airbus A320neo family, CFM holds more than fifty-five per cent through the LEAP and Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan holds the remainder.
    Aviation and market coverage of GE Aerospace's narrowbody position and delivery ramp - the LEAP as the exclusive powerplant on the Boeing 737 MAX and holding more than 55% of the Airbus A320neo family through the CFM joint venture, the target of about 2,000 LEAP deliveries in 2026, first-half deliveries up 41%, and CFM RISE described as a technology demonstrator rather than a product for sale. — 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe LEAP-1B durability kit, certified in 2026, is expected to deliver roughly two times the time-on-wing, with full cutover from the beginning of 2027 — aimed squarely at the ground on which the competitor stumbled.
    GE Aerospace second-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K of July 16, 2026) — total company GAAP and non-GAAP results, segment revenue, orders and operating profit, free cash flow, the raised full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted revenue growth, operating profit, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow, the LEAP-1B durability kit certification, the XA102 and GE426 defence programmes, the NASA hybrid-electric ground tests, and the chief executive's commentary. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe available measure is the delivery ratio: 1,802 LEAP engines of 2,386 commercial engines delivered in 2025, with LEAP deliveries up forty-one per cent in the first half of 2026.
    GE Aerospace Form 10-K, FY2025 - Segment Operations — Commercial Engines & Services: segment revenue, profit and margin, commercial engine and LEAP unit deliveries, internal shop visit revenue growth, the CES remaining performance obligation, the 2025 engine commitments from Qatar Airways, Emirates, International Airlines Group, ANA Holdings, Malaysia Aviation Group, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific and Pegasus, and commercial departures growth. — FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe available measure is the delivery ratio: 1,802 LEAP engines of 2,386 commercial engines delivered in 2025, with LEAP deliveries up forty-one per cent in the first half of 2026.
    GE Aerospace second-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K of July 16, 2026) — total company GAAP and non-GAAP results, segment revenue, orders and operating profit, free cash flow, the raised full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted revenue growth, operating profit, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow, the LEAP-1B durability kit certification, the XA102 and GE426 defence programmes, the NASA hybrid-electric ground tests, and the chief executive's commentary. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026