Rolls-Royce posted an underlying operating profit of £2.53 billion for 1H26, up 46% year over year and ahead of a £2.37 billion consensus. Revenue rose 24% to £11.28 billion, also beating estimates. Underlying operating margin expanded to 22.5%, from 19.1% a year earlier, with every division contributing to the improvement. Shares rose as much as 5.6% on the news.
The company raised full-year guidance across the board: underlying operating profit now targeted at £4.7-4.9 billion, up from £4.0-4.2 billion; free cash flow at £3.8-4.0 billion, up from £3.6-3.8 billion.
One Number That Looks Bad and Isn’t
Reported net profit fell 63%, to £1.615 billion. Read in isolation, that looks like a warning sign sitting inside an otherwise strong release. It isn’t — 1H25 included a one-time gain from the deconsolidation of Rolls-Royce
SMR that doesn’t repeat this year, plus a currency effect. Strip that comparison-year noise out and adjusted net income actually rose 27.4% to £2.034 billion, with adjusted EPS up 40% to 22.17 pence. The headline decline is an accounting artifact of what happened a year ago, not a signal about what happened this year.
Rolls-Royce posted an underlying operating profit of £2.53 billion for 1H26, up 46% year over year and ahead of a £2.37 billion consensus. Revenue rose 24% to £11.28 billion, also beating estimates. Underlying operating margin expanded to 22.5%, from 19.1% a year earlier, with every division contributing to the improvement. Shares rose as much as 5.6% on the news.
The company raised full-year guidance across the board: underlying operating profit now targeted at £4.7-4.9 billion, up from £4.0-4.2 billion; free cash flow at £3.8-4.0 billion, up from £3.6-3.8 billion.
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