News about tobacco

A $1,000 investment in Altria over 10 years, with reinvested dividends, grew to $2,312.10, a total return of 131.21% and an annualized return of 8.74%, versus 261.25% for the S&P 500. Excluding dividends, the share price gain was only 15.9% from $63.70 in October 2016, and reinvested dividends made up about 88% of the total gain. The company wrote down its JUUL stake and NJOY acquisition, leading to $2.2B in non-cash impairments in 2025, while domestic cigarette volumes fell 10.0%. The quarterly dividend rose from $0.61 in late 2016 to $1.11 in September 2026, and the stock at $73.90 sits above the $70 average analyst target. The article presents Altria mainly as an income stock that may lag the broader market.

Philip Morris International reported third-quarter 2026 reported diluted EPS of $2.12, down 4.9% mainly due to a non-cash fair value adjustment on equity investments, while adjusted diluted EPS rose 5.4% to $2.36. Net revenues grew 5.5% (7.1% organically) to $11.4 billion, a quarterly record, with operating income up 14.1% and smoke-free products making up more than 40% of revenue. Shipments rose 0.6%, supported by a 2.7% increase in smoke-free products, with IQOS heat-not-burn shipments up 1.5% to 41.5 billion units. Oral smoke-free volumes turned positive, rising 0.5%, as modern oral grew 20.6%, and VEEV e-vapor shipments jumped 61.6%.