Rolls-Royce lifts outlook again as demand soars for engines
It earned more from selling engines for widebody planes, military hardware and artificial intelligence
Published Thu, Jul 30, 2026 · 03:59 PM
[LONDON] Rolls-Royce Holdings raised its full-year guidance for a second time as the UK’s largest manufacturer earned more from selling engines for widebody planes, military hardware and artificial intelligence.
The company expects adjusted operating profit of £4.7 billion (US$5.37 billion) to £4.9 billion and free cash flow of as much as £4 billion, Rolls-Royce said in a statement on Thursday (Jul 30).
“The first half of 2026 has been another period of strong strategic delivery, with a significant year on year improvement across all underlying financial metrics,” the company said in the release.
In February, the company guided to a profit range of £4 billion to £4.2 billion. The new guidance for free cash flow compares with a previous top-end of as much as £3.8 billion.
The nation’s biggest manufacturer is benefiting from increasing demand for jet engines, a ramp-up in European defence spending amid political fractures within Nato, and an almost-unbridled rush to build data centres that serve AI.
Rolls-Royce has said that its cash guidance also includes an outflow of as much as £200 million tied to supply chain issues, which it said would be gone “by the mid-term,” therefore reducing cash burn.
In the first half, underlying operating profit rose by almost half to £2.5 billion, beating analyst estimates of £1.7 billion. Revenue of £11.28 billion also exceeded estimates.
Rolls-Royce said it received a total of 254 large engine orders in the first half, including deals for freighters, and an accord with Latam Airlines Group for Trent 1000 XE engines. That model is used on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner but has struggled to assert itself against General Electric’s competing turbine, making the Latam deal an important win for the UK company.
Rolls-Royce is in the midst of a three-year transformation under chief executive officer Tufan Erginbilgic, who is cutting costs and revitalising once-stalled projects.
Since Erginbilgic took over in 2023, company shares have soared. They’ve jumped by more than a third in the past year, boosting Rolls-Royce’s market capitalisation past £115 billion. BLOOMBERG
