Richmond, Virginia, April 25, 2026, 17:04 (EDT)
Altria Group Inc. heads into first-quarter earnings with shares hovering just below $67. Investors are watching to see if the Marlboro maker can squeeze out more profit as cigarette volumes in the U.S. slip. On Friday, Altria closed at $66.88, off 0.4%. The company’s market cap sits near $114.9 billion. U.S. markets were shut Saturday.
Timing is key here. Altria plans to post its first-quarter earnings around 7 a.m. Eastern on April 30. A webcast follows at 9 a.m., where CEO Billy Gifford and CFO Sal Mancuso will field questions from both investors and the press.
The timing is notable: that report arrives just a few weeks before the scheduled leadership change. Gifford steps down May 14, clearing the way for Sal Mancuso—Altria’s CFO since 2020 and a company veteran—to move into the CEO slot. Board chair Kathryn McQuade pointed to Mancuso’s “deep industry knowledge” and his grasp of Altria’s current hurdles. Altria Investor Relations
Wall Street isn’t asking for the moon in the short run, but expectations aren’t in the basement either. Analysts polled by MarketBeat are looking for Altria to deliver first-quarter earnings of $1.25 per share, with revenue pegged at around $4.58 billion. The company’s $1.06 quarterly dividend lands April 30 for those on record by March 25.
Altria’s outlook for 2026 earnings remains the bigger question. Back in January, the company put out an adjusted diluted EPS forecast of $5.56 to $5.72, a rise of 2.5% to 5.5% off the 2025 base of $5.42. The company expects most of that growth to show up later in the year, as cigarette import and export trends pick up speed. Gifford pointed to “continued momentum” for 2025 along with “significant cash returns” for shareholders. Altria Investor Relations
The tax angle plays a role here. Back in January, Reuters noted that Altria is eyeing a second-half profit boost thanks to the “double duty drawback”—a U.S. regulation allowing firms to recover federal excise taxes on cigarettes sold domestically if comparable goods get shipped abroad. “It would be ‘foolish’ not to use it and remain at a competitive disadvantage,” Mancuso told Reuters. Reuters
Legacy products are still bearing most of the load. For 2025, Altria posted $17.44 billion in smokeable-products revenue, net of excise taxes—a 1.6% dip. Domestic cigarette shipment volume slumped 10%. Marlboro’s retail share slipped to 40.5% for the year, down from 41.7%. Consumers feeling income strain boosted discount brands, Altria said.
Altria is ramping up its effort in the nicotine pouch space. Back in March, the company said its Helix Innovations arm had started shipping on! PLUS nicotine pouches to wholesalers on March 16, with national retail rollout following soon after. Helix Managing Director Nick MacPhee described the move as a “meaningful step forward” for Altria’s smoke-free ambitions. Altria Investor Relations
Regulators have offered some support for the push, though far from unconditional. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared six Helix on! PLUS pouches for sale, grouping them with Zyn pouches produced by Swedish Match USA, but stresses that authorization doesn’t signal safety or “FDA approval.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration
It’s a tight, tangled race. Earlier this month, Reuters noted FDA reviews for some nicotine pouch brands have bogged down over worries about appeal to youth and first-time users. That’s affected industry heavyweights, including Philip Morris International—Zyn’s on top in this space—and British American Tobacco, which markets Velo. According to Jefferies analyst Andrei Andon-Ionita, how much PMI and BAT are tied to pouches has become central to their valuations.
There’s a risk Altria isn’t pivoting fast enough. The company logged $2.13 billion in non-cash impairment charges for 2025, driven mostly by hits to its e-vapor division. Its annual report flags illicit flavored disposable e-vapor products as a drag on that segment. Steep drops in cigarette volumes, or on! PLUS failing to chip away at Zyn and Velo’s market share, could mean share buybacks and tax perks won’t be enough to shift Altria’s growth narrative.
