LONDON, March 30, 2026, 13:16 BST.
Rolls-Royce Holdings reported Monday it snapped up roughly 2.25 million shares for cancellation, part of its ongoing £2.3 billion buyback slated to run through 2026. Despite oil prices climbing and sparking new worries about airline appetite, the company is pushing ahead with cash returns. Rolls-Royce said the transactions took place March 27 across four venues, including the London Stock Exchange.
The filing is significant: buybacks are now central to Rolls-Royce’s approach to shareholder returns. Back on Feb. 26, during its full-year earnings, the engine maker mapped out a £7 billion to £9 billion buyback program for 2026–2028—including £2.5 billion lined up for this year—after posting a 40% profit jump and raising its guidance.
With Monday’s filing, Rolls-Royce’s total buybacks under the existing programme reached 26.1 million shares at an average price of 1,226.91 pence per share. The company picked up the latest portion slightly above 1,118 pence on average, topping out at 1,158 pence. That leaves 8.40 billion shares outstanding, and there are currently none held in treasury.
Back in February, chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic called Rolls-Royce’s balance sheet “strong” and talked up “significant growth for years to come” as the group unveiled its multi-year buyback. Rolls-Royce set its sights on underlying operating profit in 2026 of between £4.0 billion and £4.2 billion, with free cash flow projected at £3.6 billion-£3.8 billion. Rolls-Royce
Richard Hunter, an analyst at Interactive Investor, commented following the results that the company still had “unfulfilled ambitions to maintain the momentum.” According to Reuters, Rolls-Royce’s decision to raise its mid-term margin target puts it on par with GE Aerospace—Rolls’s chief competitor for widebody jet engines. Reuters
Civil aerospace and power systems led the turnaround. Rolls-Royce pointed to 2025 free cash flow gains, crediting more long-term service agreements and an 8% bump in large-engine flying hours. On the power systems front, stronger data-centre demand and higher government spending gave margins a boost.
March hasn’t been kind to aviation-related shares. Rolls-Royce ended Friday down 21.94% from its Feb. 26, 52-week peak, according to MarketWatch data. Reuters on Monday flagged a 0.9% drop in Europe’s oil-exposed travel stocks as Brent crude pushed past $115 a barrel.
Airlines are hiking ticket prices and cutting back on flights as jet fuel costs climb, Reuters reported. “The only way to get prices up is to reduce capacity,” said Barclays analyst Andrew Lobbenberg. That strategy could impact Rolls-Royce, since fewer flights may eat into the flying hours that underpin its service agreements. Reuters
Rolls-Royce is sticking with its forecast: by 2026, large-engine flying hours should reach 115% to 120% of what they were in 2019. Defence contracts and data-centre power sales could help offset any dip in airline demand. Monday’s regulatory filing was nothing unusual, but it did confirm that management is pressing ahead with the buyback as the market continues to gauge the strength of the aviation rebound.
