Jan 8, 2026, 09:00 (GMT)
Rolls-Royce shares rose again on Thursday, pushing further into a strong start to 2026 for the UK aero-engine maker. The stock hit 1,286 pence and was up 1.15% at 1,273.5 pence on delayed London market data.
The move is pulling in retail attention as well as bigger money. A Motley Fool column estimated a £10,000 stake bought a week ago would now be worth about £10,850, after an 8.5% gain in the first week of the year, and said the average 12-month target among analysts sat around 1,258p — close to where the shares have been trading. https://www.fool.co.uk/2026/01/08/10000-invested-in-rolls-royce-shares-just-1-week-ago-is-now-worth/
The timing matters because defence-linked stocks across Europe are running hot, giving the sector a tailwind. An index of aerospace and defence companies was up around 2% by 0816 GMT after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a $1.5 trillion military budget next year, Reuters reported.
A separate Yahoo Finance piece argued the shares could be “gearing up” for another big move, pointing to what it called still-building earnings momentum after a sharp two-year rise. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/rolls-royce-share-price-gearing-074000525.html Yahoo Finance UK
Not everyone is comfortable with the price. Simply Wall St said the shares had risen 2.9% in a day, 8.3% over a week and 13.6% over a month at the time it reviewed the stock on Jan. 6, and put a “narrative” fair value at about £11.98 versus a £12.32 last close. It noted Rolls-Royce trades on a price-to-earnings ratio — a common measure that compares the share price to profit — of 17.8 times, and cited analyst targets ranging from £14.4 to £2.4. https://simplywall.st/stocks/gb/capital-goods/lse-rr./rolls-royce-holdings-shares/news/assessing-rolls-royce-holdings-lserr-valuation-after-strong
Rolls-Royce’s own story is still anchored to cash and delivery. In its last trading update in November, Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said performance “builds further confidence” in 2025 guidance for underlying operating profit of £3.1 billion to £3.2 billion and free cash flow — cash left after running costs and investment — of £3.0 billion to £3.1 billion, despite “continued supply chain challenges”. The company also said it had completed £0.9 billion of a planned £1 billion share buyback by end-October and will announce full-year results on Feb. 26, 2026. Rolls-Royce
