LONDON, July 2, 2026, 09:27 BST
- London cash stocks traded at the dateline, with the LSE on its usual 0800 to 1630 BST schedule.
- Rolls-Royce last traded at 1,455.20p, slipping 0.4%. That’s roughly 5% under its 52-week high of 1,532.60p.
- July 1 buyback filing states 74.6 million shares repurchased since start of programme, with an average price of 1,212.92p; daily filings for June 23-29 show about 4.0 million shares.
- Rolls-Royce picked up a 40-engine order for its Trent 7000 after SAS locked in 20 A330neo jets. Rolls-Royce reports first-half results July 30.
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR) goes into its July results with a clear share buyback figure on the books. By looking at daily data in its July 1 filing, the company bought 4,007,376 shares between June 23 and June 29 at an average price of about 1,409p, or around £56.5 million. Shares traded near 1,455p on Thursday morning, so that means last week’s buys were roughly 3.3% under the market price.
Rolls-Royce’s buyback gap has widened. The company said it has bought 74,601,999 shares so far in its active programme at a weighted average price of 1,212.92p. That price is almost 20% under Thursday’s level, and the buybacks total about £905 million, or 39% of the £2.3 billion programme outlined in its filing.
| Market measure | Latest figure |
|---|---|
| Share price | 1,455.20p |
| Day change | -0.40% |
| Day range | 1,440.40p to 1,464.80p |
| 52-week range | 927.00p to 1,532.60p |
| Market value | £121.61 billion |
| P/E ratio | 21.05 |
| Analyst median target | 1,415p |
| Analyst target range | 1,101p to 1,740p |
Price, day range, market cap, and P/E all come from delayed Google Finance data. Analyst target range uses LSEG data as shown in Investors Chronicle.
The shares are now sitting just past the midpoint of analyst price targets. Investors Chronicle data showed 18 analysts with a 1,415p median 12-month target, which is below the latest price in that set. The highest target was 1,740p. Latest recommendations kept a positive slant: three called it a “buy”, 13 “outperform”, two “hold” and one “sell” as of June 25. Investors Chronicle
| Buyback measure | Figure | Investor math |
|---|---|---|
| Shares repurchased, June 23-29 | 4.01 million | Roughly £56.5 million |
| Weekly average buy price | 1,409p | About 3.3% lower than Thursday’s price |
| Shares repurchased since programme began | 74.60 million | Close to £904.9 million |
| Cumulative average buy price | 1,212.92p | About 20% under Thursday’s quote |
| Total buyback programme | £2.3 billion | Used up about 39% |
| Voting rights after cancellation | 8.35 billion | Repurchased shares make up roughly 0.9% of that |
The filing said the purchased shares are set to be cancelled, putting total voting rights at 8,353,234,622.
The capital return is big compared to this year’s cash goal, but not when you look at the market cap. Rolls-Royce in February set out plans for £7 billion to £9 billion in buybacks over 2026-2028, aiming for £2.5 billion this year. Based on Thursday’s share price, the 2026 buyback is about 2.1% of current equity value. The 2026 free cash flow forecast is £3.6 billion-£3.8 billion, or about 3.0% at the midpoint.
Another data point on demand: Rolls-Royce said June 30 that SAS ordered 20 A330neo jets with 40 Trent 7000 engines. SAS also took 10 purchase rights for the A330neo. All A330neo jets run only Trent 7000 engines, so Rolls-Royce gets the whole engine order with the deal.
SAS is looking at a fleet plan for up to 40 long-haul jets, Reuters said, with a price tag topping $10 billion. Rolls-Royce skipped giving out an engine contract value in its statement. For the aircraft tally, Reuters quoted Airbus SE EPA:AIR at 18 A330neo jets, while Rolls-Royce put the number at 20 aircraft and purchase rights.
Rob Watson, who heads Rolls-Royce’s Civil Aerospace unit, said the Trent 7000 brings “efficiency and sustainability benefits” for SAS. SAS President and CEO Anko van der Werff called it “an exciting new chapter.” Rolls-Royce said the A330neo and Trent 7000 together deliver 14% better fuel burn per seat over the previous generation, with the jet passing five million flying hours. Rolls-Royce
The order lands in the part of Rolls-Royce that draws the closest investor focus. In its April 30 update, the company said Civil Aerospace large-engine flying hours climbed 5% to 115% of 2019 in the first quarter. Rolls still sees 2026 flying hours at 115% to 120% of 2019. The firm also maintained its 2026 underlying operating profit goal of £4.0 billion to £4.2 billion, along with £3.6 billion to £3.8 billion in free cash flow.
Next up is the half-year report on July 30. If the company uses the rest of the £1.40 billion buyback and pays 1,455.20p per share, that buys roughly 95.9 million shares. That’s about 1.1% of voting rights after the latest round of cancellations.
