Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) Share Price Rises as Quantum Breakthrough and Dubai Orders Offset New Lawsuit

London, 26 November 2025 – Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LSE: RR.) is ending November on a volatile but broadly positive note. The FTSE 100 aerospace group’s share price edged up again today even as investors digested a fresh wrongful‑death lawsuit in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a new quantum‑computing milestone for jet‑engine design, and ongoing fallout – mostly positive – from a blockbuster Dubai Airshow. ^[1]

Share price today: modest bounce after a 12% pullback

By late afternoon trading in London, Rolls-Royce shares were changing hands around 1,054p, up about 0.9% on the day and extending Tuesday’s gain. That puts the stock roughly 12% below its late‑October high of 1,181.5p, but still up around 95% over the past 12 months, according to data from Investing.com. ^[2]

The recent slide has prompted questions about whether the multi‑year rally is finally running out of steam. A new column by Christopher Ruane for The Motley Fool – syndicated via Yahoo Finance under the headline “Down 12% in weeks, has the Rolls-Royce share price started a downwards slide?” – notes the pullback but argues that, given the group’s strong business performance, the valuation “doesn’t look unjustifiable.” ^[3]

Broker sentiment remains supportive. RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage last week with an “outperform” rating and a 1,275p price target, implying mid‑teens upside from recent levels. RBC’s note cites a much more stable, cash‑generative business and the strength of Rolls-Royce’s wide‑body engine franchise as reasons the stock could still climb from here. ^[4]

New wrongful‑death lawsuit over 2021 helicopter crash

The most clearly negative headline for Rolls-Royce today comes from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A wrongful‑death lawsuit has been filed against Rolls-Royce Corporation and several other companies by Nicolas Van Heurck, the widower of helicopter pilot Maria Rodriguez, who died along with three passengers in a 2021 crash near Botany Bay, St. Thomas. ^[5]

According to reporting by The Virgin Islands Consortium:

The Caribbean Buzz helicopter went down on 17 February 2021, killing Rodriguez and three passengers after witnesses saw a “large cloud of black smoke” followed by a sudden loss of engine noise.
Toxicology reports found no alcohol or non‑prescription drugs in the pilot’s system, and the complaint states there is “no evidence that pilot error contributed to the crash.”
A preliminary investigation instead pointed to a “contained failure within the compressor section of the helicopter’s engine.”
The Rolls‑Royce engine was originally installed in 1981 and overhauled in 2008–09. The suit alleges that new compressor‑wheel designs – described as less prone to casting defects – were available two years before the overhaul, but that Rolls-Royce did not recommend replacing older compressor wheels until 2023. ^[6]

The lawsuit, which also names Boeing Distribution, Aviall and others, accuses the companies of negligence in the design, servicing and inspection of the engine and seeks damages for funeral expenses, “pre‑impact terror,” and the losses suffered by Rodriguez’s family and business. As of publication time, none of the defendants had filed a response. ^[7]

For investors, the case highlights the legacy‑product and liability risks that sit alongside Rolls-Royce’s much‑discussed growth story. The engine involved is several decades old, so any financial impact is unlikely to be transformational, but the allegations could still lead to reputational and legal costs if the court finds against the defendants.

Quantum‑computing leap for jet‑engine airflow simulations

Balancing that legal overhang, Rolls-Royce this week also featured in one of the more futuristic aerospace headlines.

In a joint announcement yesterday, Xanadu, Rolls-Royce and Riverlane said they had completed a collaborative project applying quantum computing to jet‑engine airflow simulations. ^[8]

The partners report that, by combining:

Xanadu’s PennyLane software and Catalyst compiler,
Riverlane’s quantum algorithms, and
Rolls-Royce’s industrial use case,

they were able to cut certain prototyping simulation runtimes from weeks to less than an hour – a reduction “by orders of magnitude.” ^[9]

Leigh Lapworth, Rolls-Royce Fellow in Computational Science, described the project as a “hugely successful collaboration” that significantly advances the firm’s quantum applications capability, particularly around fault‑tolerant algorithms for the coming “error‑corrected era” of quantum hardware. ^[10]

For shareholders, the immediate financial impact is limited. But if quantum‑accelerated simulations let Rolls-Royce design and optimise engines faster and more cheaply than rivals, it could reinforce the company’s moat in wide‑body and business‑jet engines over the coming decade.

Power Systems spotlights mtu Series 2000 engines and sustainable fuels

Another piece of fresh content today comes from the company’s Power Systems division. A new article, “Series 2000 – powering progress with purpose,” republished on MarketScreener, highlights the versatility of mtu Series 2000 diesel engines, which are used across yachts, commercial vessels, distributed power, construction and mining equipment. ^[11]

The piece emphasises:

the platform’s long track record in demanding applications,
its high power density, and
growing ability to run on sustainable drop‑in fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), aligning with Rolls-Royce’s wider energy‑transition strategy. ^[12]

While Civil Aerospace grabs most headlines, Power Systems remains an important profit contributor and a key part of the company’s plan to decarbonise complex and critical systems over time.

Dubai Airshow deals still underpinning the investment story

Much of the positive narrative around Rolls-Royce this month stems from a string of announcements at the Dubai Airshow 2025, which investors are still digesting:

Etihad Airways plans to expand its wide‑body fleet with a mix of Airbus A330neo and A350 aircraft powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce engines (Trent 7000 and Trent XWB‑97). ^[13]
Air Europa signed a memorandum of understanding for up to 40 Airbus A350‑900s powered by Trent XWB‑84 engines, deepening Rolls-Royce’s position on one of the most efficient long‑haul aircraft in service. ^[14]
Emirates agreed to join Rolls-Royce’s global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) network from 2027, a deal that should lock in high‑margin service revenue on its Rolls‑powered wide‑body fleet for years to come. ^[15]
Rolls-Royce also announced AviLease as the second customer for its new LessorCare+ programme, which offers aircraft lessors integrated engine support, data and technical services. The AviLease contract was signed at the show and follows the October launch of LessorCare+ with Avolon. ^[16]

Taken together, these announcements underpin multi‑decade service revenues in Civil Aerospace and reinforce the thesis – popular with bulls – that Rolls-Royce is as much a long‑term recurring‑revenue business as it is an engine‑seller.

LibertyWorks milestone underscores defence R&D muscle

On the defence side, Rolls-Royce’s LibertyWorks advanced research unit in Indianapolis hit a milestone this month, celebrating 30 years of support for U.S. national security. ^[17]

LibertyWorks develops propulsion, power and thermal‑management technologies for U.S. military and government customers, and has long been a key source of innovation feeding into both defence and civil programmes. The anniversary is partly symbolic, but it dovetails with:

the group’s improving credit profile – Moody’s last week upgraded Rolls-Royce’s long‑term issuer rating to Baa1 from Baa2 with a positive outlook, citing strong operating performance, broad growth prospects and a commitment to maintaining balance‑sheet strength, ^[18]
and ongoing Western rearmament that is supporting demand for transport, tanker and combat‑air engines.

Ratings upgrades and growing institutional interest

The Moody’s upgrade follows a series of bullish takes from the sell‑side:

As noted, RBC Capital Markets started coverage on 18 November with an “outperform” rating and a 1,275p price target, arguing that management has “turned around performance” and that the current wide‑body engine portfolio alone could justify a large portion of the company’s market value. ^[19]

On the buy‑side, 13F‑style disclosures suggest U.S. institutional investors are quietly adding to positions:

A recent summary by Somos Hermanos reports that L & S Advisors Inc. increased its position in Rolls-Royce by 16.4% last quarter to 288,058 shares, while firms like Bowen Hanes & Co. established new stakes. ^[20]

The article notes that, measured against Rolls-Royce’s global share count, these holdings still represent a tiny fraction of the total, but the direction of travel indicates growing institutional confidence in the turnaround.

Fresh research coverage: Morningstar quant report and ongoing valuation debate

Adding to the information flow for investors, Morningstar today published a new Quantitative Equity Research Report on Rolls-Royce, dated 26 November 2025 (10:54 UTC) and covering the LSE‑listed shares in sterling. ^[21]

The document – like other Morningstar quant reports – provides model‑driven valuation and quality metrics, but comes with heavy caveats: it is not personalised investment advice and is “subject to change without notice,” reminding investors to consider their own objectives and risk tolerance. ^[22]

Meanwhile, The Motley Fool’s latest article about the stock, widely picked up by Yahoo Finance and Google Finance, frames the question many private investors are asking: after such a huge run and a recent 12% retreat, is the Rolls-Royce share price finally rolling over – or simply pausing for breath? ^[23]

Fundamentals: transformed from pandemic lows

Behind all this news flow is a company that looks very different from the one that almost collapsed during the pandemic:

Rolls-Royce generated underlying revenue of £17.8bn and underlying operating profit of £2.46bn in 2024, according to its latest corporate profile. ^[24]
Interim 2025 figures and a mid‑November trading update (which reaffirmed strong profit and cash‑flow guidance) have shown further improvements in margins and free cash flow across Civil Aerospace, Defence and Power Systems, providing the backdrop for Moody’s upgrade and RBC’s bullish initiation. ^[25]

From a low point near the 500p level a year ago, the shares have nearly doubled, and they have risen many‑fold from their 2022 crisis lows, when investors fretted about survival rather than dividends. ^[26]

What to watch next

For anyone following Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.), the key questions after today’s news are:

Legal risk – How will the St. Thomas helicopter lawsuit progress, and will other plaintiffs follow? The case involves a decades‑old engine, but any adverse findings could prompt broader scrutiny of legacy fleets. ^[27]
Execution on Dubai Airshow wins – Investors will want detail on the timing and margins of the Air Europa, Etihad and Emirates deals, plus the take‑up of LessorCare+ among other lessors. ^[28]
Cash‑flow delivery – With Moody’s now rating the group Baa1 and RBC highlighting cash generation, the bar for free cash flow in 2025–27 is high. Any wobble here could hit the rich valuation. ^[29]
Technology edge – Will quantum‑enabled simulations and sustainable‑fuel‑ready mtu engines translate into tangible competitive advantage and new contracts, or remain more of a long‑term optionality story? ^[30]

For now, the share price is drifting higher again, suggesting the market is giving more weight to cash‑flow momentum, ratings upgrades and big‑ticket orders than to the new lawsuit. But after such a remarkable rally, volatility is unlikely to vanish any time soon.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.