One of Britain’s most iconic engineering giants, Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE: RR), is poised to unveil a substantial new share buyback program valued at up to £1.5 billion (approximately $2 billion) when it releases its full-year 2025 financial results later this week, according to a report from Sky News.
The anticipated announcement, expected alongside the company’s annual earnings on Thursday, February 26, would mark a bold escalation in shareholder returns following a string of strong performances.
It comes just over a year after Rolls-Royce launched a £1 billion buyback program around the time of its previous annual results, signaling continued confidence from management in the company’s cash generation and balance sheet strength.
Rolls-Royce, the world-leading manufacturer of aircraft engines, power systems, and defense technologies, has been on a remarkable rebound trajectory under CEO Tufan Erginbilgic. The company upgraded its full-year guidance as recently as last July at the half-year mark, lifting the upper end of its underlying operating profit forecast by £300 million to £3.2 billion and boosting free cash flow guidance by £200 million to £3.1 billion.
These revisions reflected robust demand in civil aerospace—particularly large-engine flying hours—as global air travel has surged post-pandemic, coupled with disciplined cost management and operational improvements.
The proposed £1.5 billion buyback would represent a significant step up from the prior year’s £1 billion initiative and build on an interim £200 million repurchase program that began in early January 2026 and is set to conclude shortly before the full-year results. That interim effort, executed through UBS on a non-discretionary basis, was explicitly positioned as a bridge ahead of the broader capital allocation decisions to be detailed with the 2025 results.
Market watchers interpret the rumored move as a clear vote of confidence in the “spectacular scale” of the company’s turnaround, as described in some reports. Having emerged from the depths of the COVID-19 crisis—when aviation groundings hammered revenues and forced a painful balance sheet repair—Rolls-Royce has delivered consistent upgrades, reinstated dividends, and shifted decisively toward rewarding shareholders.
The buyback, if confirmed, would involve repurchasing and canceling ordinary shares on the open market, a mechanism designed to enhance earnings per share and support stock price stability by reducing the number of shares outstanding. With the company’s shares having performed strongly in recent months amid optimism over sustained aerospace recovery, such a program could provide further tailwind.
However, the final quantum and details remain subject to board approval and will be confirmed in the official results statement. Investors will also be scrutinizing whether Rolls-Royce exceeds or meets its guided ranges for operating profit (£3.1–3.2 billion) and free cash flow (£3.0–3.1 billion), as well as updates on ongoing supply chain pressures in the aviation sector and progress in high-growth areas like defense and new propulsion technologies.
For a company once burdened by debt and uncertainty, this potential £1.5 billion return to shareholders caps a multi-year transformation story that has restored Rolls-Royce to a position of financial firepower and investor favor. Thursday’s results are shaping up to be a pivotal moment—not just for the numbers, but for what they signal about the group’s long-term trajectory in a resurgent global aviation market.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Rolls-Royce is set to announce a major £1.5 billion share buyback alongside its 2025 full-year results this week—the clearest signal yet of its powerful financial turnaround, strong cash generation, and restored shareholder confidence after years of recovery.
