AGB 2021.3 - HEICO (HEI/HEI-A)

The Berkshire Hathaway of Aerospace

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HEICO

HEICO is a leading aerospace parts manufacturer and distributor that has a very unique angle on aftermarket parts and repairs. Over half of its business (51% of revenues in FY20) is categorized under the Flight Support Group (FSG), the main part of which consists of selling FAA approved functional equivalent parts that are otherwise sold by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). These parts are categorized as PMA (Parts Manufacturer Approvals) and typically are priced below that of the OEMs. You can almost think of PMA as generic versions of branded pharmaceuticals, without the IP protection of the formulary.

Customers (airlines and defense contractors) like that there is a second source for many of these highly priced aftermarket parts, which keeps prices in check, and OEMs live with it because HEICO aims to only take 30% market share with its PMA products. HEICO claims to have saved its customers over $2B since…