Further information concerning issues that could materially affect performance can be found in AerCap's earnings release dated July 29, 2026. A copy of the earnings release and conference call presentation are available on our website at aercap.com. We will shortly run through our earnings presentation and allow time at the end for Q&A. This was another strong quarter for AerCap, as reflected in our financial results, disciplined capital deployment, and increased full-year guidance.
We also completed $1.4 billion of asset sales during the quarter, generating a gain on sale margin of 20%. These operational highlights reflect both the resilience of our business model and the continued benefit of the supply-demand imbalance across our industry. Turning to our financial results, we delivered adjusted earnings per share of $5.14 in the second quarter, representing an adjusted return on equity of 18%. This strong cash generation continues to create significant financial flexibility, enabling us to invest in long-term accretive opportunities while also returning substantial capital to our shareholders.
Reflecting our strong first half performance and positive outlook for the business, we are raising our full-year earnings guidance to $16.80 per share, not including any additional gains on asset sales. That said, it is expected that the global airline industry will remain healthy in 2026 in aggregate, supported by good travel demand, strong load factors, and disciplined capacity growth. Overall, the trends we are seeing highlight the resilience of travel demand and the industry's ability to adapt to changing market conditions. Aircraft and engine availability remain constrained, while airline demand continues to exceed supply.