Start here if you're new
what it is
Altria sells cigarettes and oral tobacco in the U.S., and owns a 10.0% stake in AB InBev.
how it gets paid
Last year Altria made $23.3B in revenue. Smokeable Products was the main engine at $20.5B, or 88% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 3.1% last year on a full-year view. In the latest quarter narrative on this page, Smokeable Products were about 89% of sales and shipment volumes fell ~8%—quarterly mix can sit a point away from the ~88% FY split in the segment table.
what just happened
One quarter showed about $6.07B in sales (down ~3% vs. prior year), while EPS landed at $1.33—not the full $23.3B FY line in the table above.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
100/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
10.6x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
7.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
58.5% return on capital — a money-printing machine
xvary composite: 76/100 — average
What they do
Altria sells cigarettes and oral tobacco in the U.S., and owns a 10.0% stake in AB InBev.
You are buying a legal nicotine toll booth. Smokeable Products were 88% of 2024 revenue, and Oral Tobacco was 12%. That 88% versus 12% split keeps the cash machine tied to brands like Marlboro, Parliament, and Virginia Slims.
How they make money
$23.3B
annual revenue · their business grew -3.1% last year
Smokeable Products
$20.5B
−3.1%
Oral Tobacco
$2.8B
−3.1%
Other / corporate
$0.0B
0.0%
The products that matter
manufactures and sells cigarettes
Smokeable Products
~88% of FY sales
it's still the center of gravity: about 88% of full-year revenue in the table above (quarterly mix can print a point higher). Shipments fell 8%. if that decline starts outrunning pricing, the whole investment case tightens fast.
core engine
sells oral nicotine products
Oral Tobacco Products
segment detail is thin here
the company produced $6.07B in quarterly sales, and management said oral tobacco revenue also declined. this page does not give enough segment detail to fake precision, so the honest read is simple: the non-cigarette offset still looks thin.
needs more disclosure
Key numbers
10.6x
trailing p/e
You pay 10.6 times earnings for a business with a 42.5% operating margin. That is the whole debate in one number.
7.6%
dividend yield
Your cash payout is 7.6% a year. That is why MO screens like an income stock, not a growth story.
42.5%
operating margin
Altria keeps 42.5 cents of each sales dollar before interest and taxes. A 3.1% revenue decline does not crush that overnight.
58.5%
return on capital
For every $100 invested in capital, Altria earns $58.50 in operating profit. That is why the dividend looks sturdy.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 1 — safer than 95% of stocks
- price stability 95 / 100
- long-term debt $24.1B (20% of capital)
- net profit margin 42.8% — keeps 43 cents of every dollar in revenue
A with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in MO 3 years ago → it's now worth $15,990.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
$6.07B in sales slipped 3%, while EPS landed at $1.33 (q).
Smokeable Products were 89% of quarterly sales, and shipment volumes fell 8%. That makes the pricing engine look strong and the volume trend look weak.
$6.07B
rev (q)
$1.33
eps (q)
62.6%
gross margin (q)
shipment volume
The 8% shipment drop mattered most, because it shows the core cigarette business is shrinking faster than a dividend story likes.
-
altria group reported mixed 2025 third-quarter results.
-
sales of $6.07 billion were slightly lower than our estimate and decreased 3% compared to the previous-year tally.
-
the decline was due to lower revenues at both the smokeable products and oral tobacco divisions.
-
the former group, which accounted for 89% of sales in the period, was hurt by an 8% decline in shipment volumes.the drop was due to ongoing pressure in the broader smokeable tobacco sector and continued growth of competitors, including flavored disposable e-vapor products.
-
these factors were only partially offset by higher prices.
source: Altria Group Q3 2025 reporting / commentary on this page
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is cigarette volume decline inside a business still 89% tied to smokeables.
med
smokeable volume decline stops looking orderly
smokeable products were 89% of sales in the latest period, and shipments fell 8%. if that pace holds or worsens while pricing weakens, altria's main earnings engine starts shrinking in plain sight.
this touches almost the entire current revenue base because the cigarette business still funds the dividend, the margin profile, and most of the valuation case.
med
regulation or litigation hits the highest-margin pool
new rules on tobacco, nicotine, or flavored products would pressure both pricing and volumes. with a 40.0% net margin, there is a lot of profit available for regulators or courts to compress.
the danger is direct: the same cash flow supporting a 7.6% yield sits in the category most exposed to policy risk.
med
the non-smokeable offset stays too small
management said oral tobacco revenue also declined, and this snapshot does not have enough segment detail to claim a clean handoff from cigarettes to newer products. that absence is part of the problem.
if the replacement categories do not scale, you are left owning a melting cash flow stream with a good yield and a shorter runway than the market expects.
89% of sales still come from smokeables, so an 8% shipment decline is not a segment issue. it's a company issue.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
smokeable shipment declines
the last reported drop was 8%. if that number worsens again, pricing has to work even harder just to keep earnings flat.
calendar
next quarterly report
you want to see whether revenue can hold near the current $6.1B quarterly level while EPS stays near $1.41 or better. if both slip together, the debate changes.
risk
fda and nicotine regulation
watch US rules on tobacco, nicotine, and flavored products. altria's margins are high enough that regulatory pressure would show up fast in earnings power.
trend
price increases versus unit declines
management said higher prices only partially offset recent weakness. that's the balance you track if you own MO for the yield instead of the story.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts see a stock acting normally, not one running on excitement.
risk profile
safest 5%
stability score 1 — lower risk of permanent capital loss than almost any stock in the dataset.
chart momentum
top 20%
technical score 2 — the chart has been better than most, even though the business case is still about defense and income.
earnings predictability
100 / 100
management's earnings profile is unusually steady. you buy MO knowing surprises usually come from regulation or volumes, not wild execution swings.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 1,206 buyers vs. 846 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 1.0B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$49
$74
$58
current price
$62
target midpoint · +8% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+40% · 14% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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