Altria Lifts 2026 EPS Floor After Q2 Earnings Rise 2.8% to $1.48
Updated
Updated · Trefis · Jul 31
Altria Lifts 2026 EPS Floor After Q2 Earnings Rise 2.8% to $1.48
3 articles · Updated · Trefis · Jul 31
Summary
Altria narrowed its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.61-$5.72 after second-quarter adjusted diluted EPS rose 2.8% to $1.48 and revenue edged up 1.2% to $5.4 billion.
Smokeable products drove the quarter: adjusted operating companies income rose 2.4% to $3 billion at a 65% margin as 4.5% price increases offset a 4.5% drop in inventory-adjusted domestic cigarette volumes.
Oral tobacco remained a drag, with adjusted operating income down 8% and on! shipment volume falling 4.2% to 49.9 million cans, which Altria tied to on! PLUS launch spending and trade inventory movements.
on! retail share still reached 8.6%, up 0.8 percentage point sequentially, while on! PLUS expanded to 120,000 stores and flavor extensions are planned for the fourth quarter.
The results underscore Altria's dependence on cigarette pricing and margins to sustain cash generation, with $3.6 billion in first-half dividends paid and debt at 1.9 times EBITDA.