Altria Nicotine Pouch Volumes Surge: Is Helix the Real Profit Driver?

Altria Group, Inc.’s (MO) nicotine pouch business, operated through Helix Innovations, is becoming a growing driver of the company’s oral tobacco segment. As traditional oral categories decline, nicotine pouches continue to gain momentum. In the third quarter of 2025, pouches were the fastest-growing part of the segment.

Helix shipped 42.2 million cans of on! in the third quarter. For the first nine months of 2025, shipments rose 14.8% to 133.6 million cans, significantly outperforming other oral tobacco categories and highlighting Helix’s expanding role in segment profitability.

What stands out is Helix’s contribution to earnings quality, not just volume. Its year-over-year performance helped stabilize adjusted operating income and expand margins, even as total segment volumes declined. Helix also recently launched on! PLUS in select states, offering multiple flavors and nicotine strengths, adding a premium, differentiated option that could further boost growth.

Pricing trends further highlight Helix’s position. While average nicotine pouch prices fell roughly 7% nationally, on! retail prices increased about 1.5% year over year in the third quarter. At the same time, on!’s retail share of total oral tobacco was 8.7%, unchanged sequentially and down 0.1 share point year over year, reflecting recent retail performance.

Overall, Helix’s results highlight how nicotine pouches are becoming a more visible part of MO’s oral tobacco business. As traditional oral categories continue to decline, Helix’s volume performance, pricing actions, and impact on margins help shape the segment’s current operating profile.

Where PM and TPB Stand Next to Altria

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) showed strong momentum in its modern oral portfolio in the third quarter of 2025, with global ZYN can shipments rising about 36% and U.S. ZYN offtake growing 39%, according to Nielsen estimates. Philip Morris International noted that ZYN was fully available to the trade and supported by a wide range of commercial activities, including select short-term relaunch promotions following earlier supply constraints. Philip Morris International also emphasized continued investments in capacity and commercialization to support rising demand in the nicotine pouch segment.

Turning Point Brands, Inc. (TPB) delivered exceptionally strong modern oral growth in the third quarter of 2025, with segment net sales surging 627.6% year over year to $36.7 million, now representing 30.8% of the company’s revenues. Turning Point Brands highlighted sequential modern oral growth of 22% and raised its full-year modern oral sales outlook to $125-$130 million. Management also noted progress toward qualifying its first U.S. white-pouch production lines in 2026, underscoring Turning Point Brands’ growing presence in the nicotine pouch category.

Altria’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Altria have lost 0.8% in the past month against the industry’s growth of 1.6%.

From a valuation standpoint, MO trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36X, down from the industry’s average of 14.47X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MO’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 6.3% and 2.3%, respectively.

Altria currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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