London, June 30, 2026, 15:09 BST
- BAE Systems was quoted at 1,834p at 13:52 BST, up 1.44%, while the FTSE 100 was at 10,548.90; the London Stock Exchange’s regular session runs from 0800 to 1630 BST.
- Britain’s new defence plan puts £298 billion into defence over four years, including more than £5 billion for drones, more than £8 billion for GCAP and £11 billion for weapons and munitions.
- At 1,834p, BAE’s £500 million third buyback tranche would retire about 27.3 million shares, 29% more than it would have bought at the 2,360p year high, based on market and company data.
BAE Systems plc (LON:BA) rose in London trade on Tuesday, but the cleaner number for shareholders was in the buyback, not just the UK government’s new spending line. The stock was last quoted at 1,834p at 13:52 BST, up 26p, or 1.44%, after opening at 1,810.50p.
The stock is still about 22% below its 2,360p year high. That gives the new buyback more force. BAE began the third tranche of its up to £1.5 billion programme on June 22, telling J.P. Morgan Securities plc to buy up to £500 million of shares by June 30, 2027 for cancellation.
The table uses the latest quote, AJ Bell’s market data and BAE’s RNS buyback figures.
| BAE buyback measure | Figure | Market read |
|---|---|---|
| Share price at 13:52 BST | 1,834p | Above the first-week buyback average |
| Year high | 2,360p | Stock is about 22% below that level |
| Third tranche size | Up to £500m | About 0.93% of a £53.55bn market value |
| Shares implied at 1,834p | About 27.3m | About 6.1m more than at the year high |
| First-week purchases | 564,908 shares | Bought at 1,801.75p VWAP |
BAE bought 564,908 shares between June 22 and June 26 at a volume-weighted average price of 1,801.75p, equal to about £10.2 million. That is only about 2% of the £500 million tranche, leaving most of the programme to run while the shares trade well below the March high.
The spending read-through is mixed, but it is hard to ignore. The government put more than £8 billion over four years into the Global Combat Air Programme, more than £5 billion into drones, £790 million into air, drone and missile defence, £11 billion into weapons and munitions, and more than £63 billion into nuclear deterrent work. Reuters said GCAP is led by BAE and partners.
| UK spending line | Amount | BAE read-through |
|---|---|---|
| GCAP fighter jet | More than £8bn / Reuters cited £8.6bn | Direct air-sector exposure |
| Drones and autonomous systems | More than £5bn | BAE owns Malloy Aeronautics and its T-Series heavy-lift UAS |
| Weapons and munitions | £11bn | Fits BAE’s missile, air-defence and weapons order flow |
| Air, drone and missile defence | £790m | Potential systems work; award split not confirmed |
| Nuclear deterrent and submarines | More than £63bn | Long-cycle maritime exposure; timing will matter |
The drone line is more than a policy slogan for BAE. Malloy Aeronautics, owned by BAE and part of FalconWorks, designs all-electric heavy-lift uncrewed aircraft systems with payloads from 68 kg to 300 kg. The prime minister announced the plan at Malloy Aeronautics, according to the government.
BAE already had a full order book before Tuesday’s plan. It reported 2025 sales of £30.66 billion, order intake of £36.8 billion and an order backlog of £83.6 billion, equal to about 2.7 times 2025 sales. In May, the company kept 2026 guidance for sales growth of 7% to 9%, underlying EBIT growth of 9% to 11% and free cash flow of more than £1.3 billion.
Chief Executive Charles Woodburn said in May that BAE was “well positioned for both current and future opportunities in defence.” The May trading update also listed a roughly £2.5 billion Türkiye Typhoon support contract, about £1.1 billion of MBDA air-defence orders and more than $200 million for ARCHER artillery systems.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “Every pound in this plan will work twice.” Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said he had “secured more money and made different choices for defence,” and said most of the extra £15 billion was for training and improving ship and aircraft availability. Gov
The risk for BAE holders is that a plan is not an order. General Richard Barrons, formerly chief of Joint Forces Command, told BBC Radio that “more has to be done sooner,” Reuters reported. Matt Roberts, national officer of the GMB union, said the plan offered “some stability for a sector besieged by insecurity.” Reuters
The next test is BAE’s half-year report. The company said it will publish results for the six months ending June 30 on July 30.
