diff --git a/git/repo/base.py b/git/repo/base.py
index 7e918df8c..6ea96aad2 100644
--- a/git/repo/base.py
+++ b/git/repo/base.py
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ def iter_submodules(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Iterator[Submodule]:
         """
         return RootModule(self).traverse(*args, **kwargs)
 
-    def submodule_update(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Iterator[Submodule]:
+    def submodule_update(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> RootModule:
         """Update the submodules, keeping the repository consistent as it will
         take the previous state into consideration.