Rolls-Royce stock rises in London as defence shares lead the first trading day of 2026

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is heading into the final stretch of 2025 with its share price still hovering near multi-year highs—after a year that has turned the company’s long-running turnaround story into a market darling’s victory lap.

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc goes into the final weeks of 2025 as one of the standout names on the FTSE 100, with the share price still close to record highs and debate intensifying over how much upside is left.

On 18 November 2025, the London‑listed aero‑engineer is trading slightly lower despite a new “outperform” rating from RBC Capital Markets, a higher price target from Morgan Stanley and confirmation that Etihad Airways will power a significant Airbus wide‑body order with Rolls-Royce Trent engines. At the same time, Emirates has again delayed a potential Airbus A350‑1000 order, saying it wants to see improvements in Rolls-Royce’s upgraded engines before committing. Rolls-Royce+2TradingView+2

Rolls-Royce’s stock has been on fire in 2025. The share price has climbed ~124% over the past 12 months, far outpacing the broader marketts2.tech. After languishing below £1 in 2020’s crisis, the stock took flight as global air travel rebounded and defence spending surged. By late September this year, Rolls-Royce shares hit approximately 1,196p, which TS2.tech notes is a multi-year high for the companyts2.tech. This remarkable rally – about +100% year-to-date – has elevated Rolls-Royce into the top tier of London-listed companies, with a market capitalization near £99–100 billionts2.tech. It’s now among the five most valuable firms on the FTSE 100 index, an almost unthinkable turnaround from October 2020 when the stock traded under 40p during the pandemic crisistheguardian.com.