Rolls-Royce Reports 26% Revenue Rise and Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance for 2026

Rolls-Royce Holdings reported first-half results to 30 June showing adjusted revenues up 26% to £11.3 billion and underlying operating profit up 46% to £2.5 billion. The company raised its full-year 2026 underlying operating profit guidance to £4.7–4.9 billion, up from a previous forecast of £4.0–4.2 billion.

Rolls-Royce declared an interim dividend of 6p per share, compared with 4.5p in the prior year, and said it had completed £1.4 billion of a planned £2.5 billion 2026 share buyback programme. The company is continuing to pursue total share buybacks of £7–9 billion between 2026 and 2028. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the transformation of the company continued to deliver, adding that Rolls-Royce had "unlocked new growth opportunities across the Group" and created a "resilient and diversified portfolio."

Rolls-Royce, founded in 1906 and employing around 43,000 people, operates across three divisions: Civil Aerospace, Defence, and Power Systems. Civil Aerospace generated 52% of profits in 2025, Power Systems 30%, and Defence 18%. The United States accounted for 27% of sales last year, followed by the UK at 14%, and China and Germany at 7% and 6% respectively. The former New Markets division is now concentrated on nuclear Small Modular Reactors and hydrogen-powered engines, with the UK government having previously announced Anglesey in Wales as the site for its first SMR.

Stronger engine-maker earnings and an expanded buyback programme signal a supplier base with more room to invest in production capacity, spares support and new technology programmes even as its airframe customers work through their own backlogs. Civil Aerospace still carries more than half of group profit, so the engine maker's fortunes stay tied to how quickly Boeing and Airbus can ramp deliveries and how much aftermarket flying hours those in-service fleets generate.

Supply chains for large civil engines run on long lead times and shared bottlenecks with airframers, so improved profitability at one tier does not by itself remove the delivery constraints analysts flagged at Boeing and Airbus. Diversification into Power Systems and Defence, and the shift of New Markets toward nuclear SMRs and hydrogen engines, gives the group additional profit sources outside the civil aerospace cycle.

The next dated signal will be whether the £7–9 billion 2026–2028 buyback pace holds alongside continued investment, and whether the raised guidance range proves durable as Boeing and Airbus supply chain conditions evolve through the rest of the year.