Why Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) is Surging in 2025

We recently published a list of Why These 15 Consumer Defensive Stocks Are Surging in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) stands against other consumer defensive stocks that are surging in 2025.

The stock market has taken a sharp turn after two years of blockbuster gains, and many investors have felt uneasy. These investors are now turning to consumer defensive stocks due to growth stocks sputtering amid a new wave of tariffs rattling global trade.

Consumer defensive stocks provide essential goods and services that people rely on regardless of economic conditions and are more insulated during market downturns. Investors have piled into consumer defensive stocks for that reason, and it’s a good idea to look into the biggest winners in this sector.

Even during bear markets, there are pockets of the market that perform exceptionally well. For example, I identified Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 in another article.

Methodology

For this article, I screened the best-performing consumer defensive stocks year-to-date.

I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 102

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is an American multinational tobacco company that sells products in over 180 countries, specializing in cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches under brands like Marlboro, L&M, IQOS, and ZYN.

The stock is up significantly so far in 2025 due to its exceptional first-quarter results announced on April 23, showing a 24.6% increase in reported diluted earnings per share to $1.72 and a 5.8% increase in net revenues to $9.3 billion.

PMI has had remarkable growth in its smoke-free business segment, which now accounts for 42% of total net revenues and 44% of total gross profit, with shipment volumes increasing by 14.4%.

The company has raised its full-year adjusted diluted EPS forecast for 2025 to a range of $7.01 to $7.14, representing a substantial increase from $4.52 in 2024.

The consensus price target of $163 implies 3.85% downside.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) stock is up 41.81% year-to-date.

Overall, PM ranks 6th on our list of consumer defensive stocks that are surging in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of PM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.