London, June 8, 2026, 09:17 (BST)
Rolls-Royce Holdings shares dropped at the open in London on Monday. United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby took aim at the British engine maker, giving a fresh jolt to what was already a softer FTSE 100 morning.
The stock last traded at 1,237.60 pence, off from 1,260.00 pence at the prior close. Session range was 1,203.61 to 1,245.40 pence, according to market data. Shares were down roughly 1.8% after dropping more earlier.
Rolls-Royce is under a spotlight again because the stock has been one of London’s best comeback plays. Investors don’t want new doubts about deliveries, relationships with customers or engine performance. Reuters said in April the shares had jumped over 600% since CEO Tufan Erginbilgic started his push for profit in 2023.
Rolls-Royce is the only engine supplier in his “doghouse”, Kirby told an industry event in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Financial Times. He called out GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney for doing better coping with supply pressures. Rolls-Royce supplies engines exclusively for the Airbus A350-1000, which adds competitive pressure as the dispute plays out. Financial Times
That’s a direct hit to Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace business. The company gets paid by airlines for both engines and long-term servicing, usually linked to engine flying hours. More hours flown means more aftermarket revenue for Rolls-Royce, since it earns money each time an engine is in use after the initial sale.
Airlines are feeling the strain. Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar told Reuters the company is budgeting for high fuel costs through its 2027 financial year. He said compensation from Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney has only partly covered the hit from aircraft problems. “You can’t just infinitely keep raising prices,” Ravishankar said. Reuters
FTSE 100 slips early as tech stocks and Middle East fears weigh London’s FTSE 100 slipped at the open as tension in the Middle East and a tech selloff sapped risk appetite. Rolls-Royce fell 4.3% to lead early losses, according to the Guardian, while Brent crude pushed higher toward $100 a barrel. “Things could get a bit hairier today,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. The Guardian
Rolls-Royce told investors in April it is keeping attention on cash and margins. The company said Moody’s and Fitch both raised its credit ratings in the latest trading update, and that it’s finished over 750 million pounds of a planned 2.5 billion-pound share buyback for 2026. In a buyback, companies purchase back their own shares.
Rolls-Royce in February set out its guidance for 2026, looking for underlying operating profit of 4.0 billion to 4.2 billion pounds and free cash flow between 3.6 billion and 3.8 billion pounds. CEO Erginbilgic at the time said the company’s “transformation continues with pace and intensity.” Rolls-Royce
Analysts are mostly positive but sticking with some warnings. Investors Chronicle numbers from June 4 put the median 12-month price target at 1,400 pence out of 17 analysts, with forecasts running from 1,101 pence up to 1,740 pence. The split: three buys, 12 outperforms, three holds, and one sell.
But the risks are there. If the dispute with United drags on, fuel prices jump again, or long-haul demand slips, the market may question whether Rolls can keep growing profit without new issues over customer payouts or missed deliveries.
Rolls-Royce’s next events for investors are coming up soon. The company is on the agenda for the J.P. Morgan European Industrials Conference on June 16 and then posts its half-year numbers for 2026 on July 30.
