Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) were down over 1% on Monday. The stock has gained over 10% in the past three months. The tobacco company is scheduled to report its earnings results for the first quarter of 2025 on Tuesday, April 29, before market open. Here’s a look at what to expect from the earnings report:
Revenue
Analysts are projecting revenue of $4.62 billion for Altria in Q1 2025. The company’s net revenues decreased 2.5% year-over-year to $5.57 billion in Q1 2024 and remained flat YoY at $5.97 billion in Q4 2024.
Earnings
The consensus estimate for earnings per share in Q1 2025 is $1.18, which compares to $1.15 reported in the year-ago quarter. In Q4 2024, adjusted EPS rose over 9% YoY to $1.29.
Points to note
Altria is expected to benefit from stable demand for nicotine. A rising number of nicotine consumers are moving towards smoke-free alternatives, with particularly high demand in the e-vapor and oral tobacco categories. The company is now seeing smoke-free volume growth more than offset cigarette industry declines. This increasing adoption of smoke-free products is expected to boost its smoke-free business.
E-vapor is the largest smoke-free category that consumers are opting for in transitioning away from cigarettes. Altria is expected to gain from the strong performance of its product NJOY in this category. In Q4 2024, NJOY consumables shipment volume increased over 15% while NJOY devices shipment volume increased over 22% versus the previous year.
The company is also seeing growth in the oral tobacco category, led by nicotine pouches. Last quarter, revenue from oral tobacco products grew nearly 3% YoY. Within nicotine pouches, on! continues to see growth. In Q4, on!’s volume grew more than 40% YoY.
Altria’s smokeable products segment continues to face challenges from declines in domestic cigarette shipment volume. The cigarette industry is facing headwinds from economic pressures on consumers and a rise in illicit e-vapor products. Despite these pressures, the company’s Marlboro brand maintained its leadership position.
