London, Jan 7, 2026, 09:17 GMT — Regular session
Shares in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BATS.L) slid 1.4% to 3,978 pence by 0848 GMT, after opening at 4,007 pence, according to market data. The stock traded between 3,967 and 4,017 pence and sits about 10% below its 52-week high. 1
BAT said it bought back 128,000 shares on Jan. 6 at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of 4,056 pence — a measure that weights trades by size — and plans to cancel them. Share buybacks, where companies repurchase and retire stock, can lift earnings per share by shrinking the share count. 2
The timing matters because investors are heading into BAT’s full-year results in February, when they will look for guidance on 2026 trading and the pace of further buybacks. The company lists Feb. 12 as the next scheduled event in its financial calendar. 3
A day earlier, BAT said it repurchased 146,615 shares bought on Jan. 5 at an average price of 4,101 pence, also earmarked for cancellation. The filings show the company stepping through daily purchases during the first full trading week of the year. 4
BAT’s early dip comes after London’s FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Tuesday, helped by gains in heavyweight healthcare names and a weaker pound. The blue-chip index has notched four records in five sessions, Reuters reported. 5
In a pre-close trading update in December, BAT said it expected 2026 performance at the lower end of its mid-term targets and outlined a £1.3 billion buyback for 2026. Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco told Reuters he was “trying to be cautious for 2026”, while Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile wrote that the update was “perhaps not quite what the share price needed”. 6
Still, the downbeat scenario for the stock is tied less to the buyback and more to regulation and competition in nicotine alternatives, especially in the United States. BAT paused a pilot plan to launch an unlicensed disposable vape there after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stepped up action on illicit products, and Philip Morris has played down similar plans, Reuters reported in October. 7
Income remains a key support: BAT’s latest declared quarterly dividend of 60.06 pence is due to be paid on Feb. 4, and the stock was trading ex-dividend, meaning new buyers do not get that payout. Hargreaves Lansdown data shows the shares carried a dividend yield of about 6%. 8
