Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) shares fell nearly 4% after the tobacco company reported second-quarter earnings that came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, despite revenue exceeding forecasts. The company also narrowed its full-year earnings guidance, with the midpoint of the updated range falling just below analysts’ projections.
Management said it continued to make progress on its smoke-free strategy while maintaining shareholder returns through dividends and share repurchases.
Earnings Miss Expectations While Revenue Edges Higher
Altria reported adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share for the second quarter, falling short of analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.50.
Revenue totaled $6.11 billion, modestly higher than the $6.10 billion reported a year earlier and comfortably ahead of the market forecast of $5.35 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share increased 2.8% from $1.44 in the second quarter of 2025, supported by higher adjusted operating companies income and a lower share count.
During the quarter, the company returned $1.9 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
Smokeable Products Offset Weakness in Oral Tobacco
“In the second quarter, our operating companies continued to deliver against the priorities we outlined at the start of the year – advancing our smoke-free portfolio, strengthening our traditional tobacco businesses and delivering significant returns to shareholders,” said Sal Mancuso, Altria’s Chief Executive Officer.
The smokeable products business generated net revenue of $5.39 billion, an increase of 0.7% from the prior year, while adjusted operating companies income rose 2.4% to $3.02 billion.
Domestic cigarette shipment volumes declined 3.2%, largely reflecting continued contraction across the broader cigarette industry. Marlboro’s retail share of the total cigarette category slipped 1.5 percentage points year over year to 39.5%.
The oral tobacco segment was weaker, with net revenue declining 5.3% to $713 million and adjusted operating companies income falling 8.0% to $460 million.
Domestic shipment volumes in the segment dropped 8.5%, reflecting retail share losses and changes in trade inventory levels.
Company Updates Full-Year Guidance
For the first six months of 2026, Altria reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.80, up 4.9% from $2.67 a year earlier, while net revenue increased 1.6% to $11.54 billion.
The company revised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $5.61 to $5.72 per share, compared with its previous outlook. The midpoint of $5.665 is slightly below the current analyst consensus estimate of $5.69.
Altria said the updated guidance still represents projected earnings growth of between 3.5% and 5.5% over its 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $5.42.
The company also increased its capital expenditure forecast to between $375 million and $450 million, up from the previous range of $300 million to $375 million, primarily to support the consolidation of USSTC’s manufacturing operations.
Altria Group stock price
