Sole Source, and What It Is WorthNarrow moat

GE Aerospace (GE) — moat facet

On some aircraft the airline chooses an engine. On others there is only one, and that is worth far more.

Not all installed base is equal, and the distinction GE Aerospace draws in its own filing is the one that matters most: depending on the aircraft model, airline customers may have a choice between its engines and those of other manufacturers or, as in the case of some Boeing models, its engines may be the sole source engine for a particular aircraft1.

Commercial engines delivered in 2025: 2,386LEAP 1,802 — 76%All other platforms 584 — 24%LEAP is exclusive on the Boeing 737 MAX and holds more than 55% of the A320neo family.
Three quarters of the equipment flow depends on the narrowbody production rates of two airframers.

The difference is enormous. On a dual-source aircraft the airline chooses between engine makers when it orders, which means the manufacturers compete on price at the point of sale — and, given that engines are already sold below cost, that competition comes out of the discount rather than the margin. On a sole-source aircraft there is no such moment. The customer who wants the aircraft takes the engine.

The flagship case is the LEAP on the Boeing 737 MAX, where it is the exclusive powerplant2. The A320neo family is the counter-case: CFM holds more than fifty-five per cent of it and Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan holds the rest3. And the GE9X on the Boeing 777X is sole source again.

Sole source converts an engine franchise into a claim on an airframe programme. That is a better position when the programme succeeds and a much worse one when it does not, because there is no second aircraft to fall back on. It also concentrates the risk in a single airframer's production rate, certification schedule and reputation — none of which GE Aerospace controls.

The defence is that GE Aerospace holds sole-source and shared positions across narrowbody, widebody and regional aircraft, and across both airframers4, so no single programme decides the company.

Look at where the deliveries actually come from. LEAP was 1,802 of 2,386 commercial engines delivered in 2025 — seventy-five per cent5. A franchise that concentrated is a strength while the 737 MAX and A320neo are the world's aircraft, and a concentration risk on any day that changes.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The sole-source positions — LEAP on the 737 MAX, GE9X on the 777X — are fixed for the life of those programmes and cannot be improved or eroded within them. What varies is the production rate, which belongs to the airframer.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
LEAP share of commercial deliveries
1,802 of 2,386, about 75%

The LEAP is the exclusive powerplant on the Boeing 737 MAX and holds more than 55% of the A320neo family. Sole source converts an engine franchise into a claim on an airframe programme, which is better when the programme succeeds and much worse when it does not.

Source: Moat Explorer calculation from GE Aerospace's filings ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
The Airframer Decides Who Is on the Wing
The most consequential decisions in this company are taken once a decade, in rooms it does not control.
References
  1. ReportedNot all installed base is equal, and the distinction GE Aerospace draws in its own filing is the one that matters most: depending on the aircraft model, airline customers may have a choice between its engines and those of other manufacturers or, as in the case of some Boeing models, its engines may be the sole source engine for a particular aircraft.
    GE Aerospace Form 10-K, FY2025 - Item 1 general and Item 2 Properties — the installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military engines and the statement that it supports an aftermarket representing approximately 70% of revenue, the FLIGHT DECK operating model, customers in approximately 120 countries, the facility count, human capital and employee numbers, the intellectual property discussion, the research and development table splitting company-funded from customer- and partner-funded spending, and the engine testing milestones. — FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  2. Third-party estimateThe flagship case is the LEAP on the Boeing 737 MAX, where it is the exclusive powerplant.
    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 ↗
  3. Third-party estimateThe A320neo family is the counter-case: CFM holds more than fifty-five per cent of it and Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan holds the rest.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedThe defence is that GE Aerospace holds sole-source and shared positions across narrowbody, widebody and regional aircraft, and across both airframers, so no single programme decides the company.
    GE Aerospace Form 10-K, FY2025 - Item 1 Business — segment descriptions for Commercial Engines & Services and Defense & Propulsion Technologies, the CFM International 50-50 non-consolidated joint venture with Safran Aircraft Engines, the commercial engine platforms (LEAP, CFM56, GEnx, GE9X, CF6, GE90), the defence platforms (F110, F404, F414, T408, T700, T901, LM2500), the Propulsion & Additive Technologies brands, the CFM RISE programme, the customer description including airframers and sole-source positions, and the segment revenue and services shares. — FY2025 · publ. January 2026 · source ↗
  5. Moat Explorer calcLEAP was 1,802 of 2,386 commercial engines delivered in 2025 — seventy-five per cent.
    Moat Explorer calculation from GE Aerospace's reported figures. Equipment gross margin: sales of equipment less cost of equipment sold was $(314)M in 2022, $(582)M in 2023, $(67)M in 2024 and $(223)M in 2025, about $1.2 billion cumulatively, and about -1.8% of equipment sales in 2025 against -0.7% in 2024. Services gross margin: (18,345-10,836)/18,345 = 40.9% in 2022, 42.4% in 2023, 43.8% in 2024 and (30,163-16,586)/30,163 = 45.0% in 2025. Services RPO of $163,029M against services revenue of $30,163M is 5.4 years, and $163,029M of $190,564M is 86%. LEAP deliveries of 1,570 + 1,407 + 1,802 + 1,030 in the first half of 2026 total 5,809 since the start of 2023. LEAP was 1,802 of 2,386 commercial engines in 2025, 75.5%. — FY2022-FY2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026