LONDON, April 7, 2026, 12:15 BST
Rolls-Royce Holdings said on Tuesday it bought 385 shares on April 2 at 1,172.5 pence each under its £2.3 billion 2026 buyback programme, with the stock set to be cancelled. The filing landed as London trading resumed after the Good Friday and Easter Monday market shutdown. 1
The update matters because Rolls-Royce has turned buybacks into a central part of its shareholder return story after February’s annual results. The company said then it aimed to return up to £2.5 billion through buybacks in 2026, the first leg of a £7 billion-£9 billion plan through 2028, with the main tranche due to run no later than Dec. 23. 2
Since the programme began, Rolls-Royce said it has repurchased 28.2 million shares at an average 1,218.09 pence each, equal to roughly £344 million and about 14% of this year’s target. After the latest trade, it had 8,399,632,003 ordinary shares in issue and no shares in treasury. 1
The British aero-engine maker, whose engines power Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 twin-aisle jets, unveiled the larger return plan after 2025 underlying operating profit — its preferred measure that strips out some one-off items — rose 40% to £3.46 billion. It also raised 2026 guidance, helped by stronger airline engine performance and power-systems demand tied to data centres and defence. 3
Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said in February that Rolls-Royce’s “transformation continues with pace and intensity,” and said the stronger balance sheet gave the group confidence to launch the multiyear buyback. He also told Reuters that a return to the narrow-body, or single-aisle, jet market could need public backing for the UltraFan programme, adding: “It is natural that government will look to support that.” 4
Reuters reported at the time that Rolls-Royce’s new margin goals would move it closer to GE Aerospace, its main rival in large commercial jet engines. Rolls-Royce paired the buyback with higher 2026 guidance and tougher mid-term targets, saying stronger cash generation could fund both returns and growth. 3
Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter called the February numbers “sparkling” and said Rolls-Royce still had “unfulfilled ambitions to maintain the momentum.” The stock has cooled since then: quoted around 1,159 pence on Tuesday, it stood about 18% below its year high of 1,420 pence. 3
But the return plan is not risk-free. Rolls-Royce said its 2026 free-cash-flow guidance still assumes a £150 million-£200 million hit from supply-chain constraints, and the buyback agreements with Morgan Stanley and UBS allow the company to terminate the programme in limited circumstances. 4
For now, investors have another marker ahead. Rolls-Royce is due to go ex-dividend on April 23, with the final 5.0 pence 2025 dividend scheduled for June 3, subject to shareholder approval at the April 30 annual meeting. 5
