Rolls-Royce Share Price: A Rocky Ride — What’s Next?

Rolls-Royce Holdings (LON: RR.) shares are trading at around 1,259p, having staged a remarkable recovery, but the stock faces fresh headwinds that investors should not ignore.

The FTSE 100 aerospace and defence giant has surged roughly 115% from its April 2025 trough, fuelled by record profits, a sweeping turnaround under CEO Tufan Ertekin, and robust demand across its civil aerospace and defence divisions. Reports of a potential £1.5 billion share buyback ahead of upcoming annual results have also stoked retail interest, reinforcing the bull case.

Yet the picture has grown more complicated in recent weeks. Shares have pulled back from a 2026 high of around 1,420p and remain rangebound, struggling to reclaim recent peaks. The stock has returned a modest ~7% year-to-date in 2026 — underwhelming relative to its explosive 2024–2025 run.

Adding to the pressure, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby caused a stir at the IATA Annual General Meeting, publicly blasting Rolls-Royce for “a lack of support” over an Airbus A350 engine contract dispute. “Rolls doesn’t care,” Kirby said bluntly — a damaging rebuke at a time when airlines are already shifting widebody engine orders toward GE’s GEnx platform, citing reliability concerns. British Airways and Air New Zealand have notably selected GEnx for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets, a trend that underscores the reputational risk facing Rolls-Royce in civil aerospace.

Analysts at Zacks maintain a Buy (Rank #2) rating, pointing to improving earnings estimate revisions, while Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division continues to win clean energy contracts — most recently for 490MWh battery storage projects in Latvia.

For now, the stock sits at a crossroads. Bulls point to buyback momentum and defence tailwinds; bears flag reputational risk and airline customer erosion. The next major catalyst will be the full-year results, where management’s response to the United Airlines fallout will be closely watched.