LONDON, March 25, 2026, 11:04 GMT
- Rolls-Royce shares were up about 2.1% at 1,190.5 pence in London trade as the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%. 1
- The company disclosed a 1.01 million-share purchase for cancellation on March 24, taking total repurchases under its current programme to 21.46 million shares. 2
- Rolls-Royce also announced a £19.3 million investment in a Rotherham turbine-blade plant that it said would double output by 2030. 3
Rolls-Royce Holdings shares rose about 2% on Wednesday as the engine maker disclosed another day of buybacks and broader UK stocks rallied on hopes that fighting in the Middle East could ease. The stock traded around 1,190.5 pence in London, up about 2.1% from Tuesday’s close. 2
The move matters because Rolls-Royce has stayed in focus since late February, when the company reported a 40% jump in annual profit, raised guidance and set out up to £2.5 billion of buybacks in 2026 — buybacks are company purchases of their own shares. Even after Wednesday’s rebound, the stock remained about 16% below its 1,420-pence high. 4
A filing on Wednesday showed Rolls-Royce bought 1,007,064 shares on March 24 for cancellation under its £2.3 billion repurchase programme. Since the programme began, it has bought back 21.46 million shares at an average 1,246.3 pence. 2
A day earlier, the group said it would invest £19.3 million in its Advanced Blade Casting Facility in Rotherham after securing a £2 million grant from South Yorkshire’s mayoral authority. The added machines should double output by 2030 at a site that makes turbine blades for engines used on Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787 aircraft, the company said. 3
Nigel Bird, Rolls-Royce’s executive vice president for turbine systems, called the spending “a vote of confidence” in the workforce. It also gives the market a fresh, concrete sign that Rolls-Royce is still putting money into civil-aerospace capacity while returning cash to shareholders. 3
The broader market did some of the work. The FTSE 100 was up 1.1% by 1028 GMT, with banks and miners leading gains, while Shell slipped as crude eased on reports Washington had floated a 15-point plan to end the Iran war. Sector names BAE Systems and Leonardo were also higher, up 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively, according to Investing.com data. 5
“The market is trading the headlines,” Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said. Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said investors were “running on optimism” coming from the U.S. side. 6
Sell-side backing has held up. Goldman Sachs maintained a buy rating and a 1,400-pence target on Mar. 24, while analyst tracking on Investing.com showed an average 12-month target of about 1,395.9 pence across 13 analysts. 1
But the rebound still looks fragile. If ceasefire efforts fail and oil turns back up, airlines face another cost squeeze, inflation worries could return and rate expectations may harden again; BlackRock’s Larry Fink warned oil at $150 could trigger a global recession, and Marc Velan of Lucerne Asset Management said investors were reluctant to chase moves that can reverse quickly. 7
