London, Jan 28, 2026, 07:46 GMT — Premarket
- Rolls-Royce shares ended the day at 1,240p, rising 0.36%
- Company announced fresh share repurchases as part of its £200 mln buyback programme
- CEO Tufan Erginbilgic and CFO Helen McCabe revealed they had shares vesting, selling part of their stock to cover tax withholding
Rolls-Royce shares look poised to open higher in London, following the company’s announcement of another round of share buybacks. On Tuesday, the stock closed at 1,240 pence, gaining 0.36%, after fluctuating between 1,234.5p and 1,249p.
The daily buyback activity is crucial as Rolls-Royce remains engaged in an interim repurchase program, a key pillar supporting the stock amid shaky risk appetite. In a buyback, a company purchases its own shares, usually to retire them and reduce the total number outstanding.
Investors are turning their attention to the group’s full-year 2025 results, due Feb. 26, when management will likely update guidance and cash return plans. That date falls within the current buyback window, sharpening scrutiny on the pace of the share repurchase programme.
Rolls-Royce revealed in a Wednesday filing that it repurchased 429,409 shares on Jan. 27 via UBS, paying between 1,235p and 1,248.5p per share across different platforms. The volume-weighted average price on the London Stock Exchange was roughly 1,242.2p. The company intends to cancel these shares and has bought back a total of 8.76 million since the start of the programme.
The £200 million buyback kicked off on Jan. 2 and should wrap up by Feb. 24 at the latest, the company said when announcing the plan. Rolls-Royce also noted that the total buyback amount for 2026 hasn’t been finalized yet and will likely be decided with the full-year results.
A separate director-dealings filing revealed that CEO Tufan Erginbilgic and CFO Helen McCabe had shares vest on Jan. 26 under the Rolls-Royce Incentive Plan. Erginbilgic was granted 10,322 shares and sold 4,862 at £12.32 each to cover statutory withholding. McCabe received 3,990 shares and sold 1,880 at the same price for withholding, according to the filing.
These transactions are subject to PDMR reporting rules, which mandate disclosures from senior executives and directors. The company noted they relate to incentives and withholding, not open-market sales.
Traders are keeping an eye on whether the buyback keeps soaking up shares on higher-volume days, and if the company drops any new announcements before the 0800 GMT open.
But buybacks won’t mask weak results. Any unexpected dips in cash flow, short-term civil aerospace demand, or spikes in engine servicing costs could still rattle the stock, despite a steady repurchase program humming along.
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