diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/42647-win_updates.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/42647-win_updates.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6dfd252323
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/42647-win_updates.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+- win_updates - fixed module return value is lost in error in some cases (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/42647)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_updates.ps1 b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_updates.ps1
index 374b82ef8c..0962d36669 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_updates.ps1
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/windows/win_updates.ps1
@@ -355,6 +355,8 @@ $update_script_block = {
         }
         
         Write-DebugLog -msg "Return value:`r`n$(ConvertTo-Json -InputObject $result -Depth 99)"
+
+        return $result
     }
 
     $check_mode = $arguments.check_mode