Altria Group Inc. MO posted third-quarter 2026 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year.
Adjusted earnings increased 4.8% year over year to $1.52 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51. Higher adjusted operating companies income (“OCI”) and improved adjusted earnings came from its investment in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.
Altria Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Altria Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Altria Group, Inc. Quote
Altria's net revenues increased 1% year over year to $6,132 million, primarily benefiting from higher revenues in the smokeable products business. Revenues, net of excise taxes, rose 3.6% to $5,441 million. The metric beat the consensus mark, which was pegged at $5,303 million.
Decoding Altria’s Segment-Wise Results
Smokeable Products: Net revenues in the category increased 0.8% year over year to $5,432 million. Higher pricing supported growth, partially offset by increased promotional investments, lower shipment volumes and an unfavorable shift toward discount products. Revenues, net of excise taxes, advanced 3.7% to $4,762 million.
Adjusted OCI rose 3.9% to $3,072 million, benefiting from higher pricing and increased refunds of taxes and duties paid on imported cigarettes. These gains outweighed higher promotional spending, manufacturing costs and volume pressure. The adjusted OCI margin expanded 10 basis points to 64.5%.
Domestic cigarette shipment volumes declined 2.9% to 15,725 million sticks. Excluding trade inventory movements, management estimated a 4% decline in domestic cigarette shipments, compared with an estimated 5% contraction for the overall industry. Reported cigar shipment volumes increased 0.9% to 457 million units.
Oral Tobacco Products: Net revenues in the segment slipped 0.1% year over year to $688 million. Lower shipment volumes and higher promotional investments largely offset pricing gains. Revenues, net of excise taxes, increased 0.3% to $667 million.
Adjusted OCI declined 3.7% to $443 million, reflecting higher costs, promotional spending and lower volumes. The adjusted OCI margin contracted 280 basis points to 66.4%.
Domestic oral tobacco shipments fell 4.3% to 170.6 million cans, as Copenhagen and Skoal volumes declined 10.1% and 12.6%, respectively.
Altria's Nicotine Pouch Position Shows Mixed Trends
Shipments of on! nicotine pouches increased 13.3% year over year to 47.8 million cans. The brand's retail share of the overall oral tobacco category improved 10 basis points to 8.3%, although it declined 30 basis points sequentially.
The nicotine pouch category represented 61.2% of the oral tobacco market, up 580 basis points year over year. However, on!'s share within the nicotine pouch category declined 130 basis points to 13.5%.
Altria Stock: Other Updates
The company ended September with cash and cash equivalents of $2,697 million and total debt of $24,061 million. Long-term debt stood at $22,886 million, while the total stockholders' deficit attributable to Altria was $2,225 million.
During the third quarter, Altria repurchased 5.9 million shares for $400 million and paid $1.7 billion in dividends.
The board also authorized a $1 billion expansion of the existing share repurchase program, which expires on Dec. 31, 2027.
What to Expect From MO in 2026
Altria raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $5.66-$5.74 per share from the prior range of $5.61-$5.72. The updated outlook implies growth of 4.5-6% from adjusted earnings of $5.42 per share in 2025.
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has gained 7.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 4% growth.
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