London, Feb 20, 2026, 09:25 GMT — Regular session
- British American Tobacco edged 0.2% higher at the open in London.
- Disclosures of buyback activity followed a 3% gain in the previous session.
- Investors sifted through management’s CAGNY remarks and noted the reaffirmed FY26 targets.
British American Tobacco shares ticked up 0.2% to 4,483 pence by 0914 GMT in London’s early session on Friday, adding to Thursday’s gains. Investors parsed a new buyback announcement and comments from management regarding growth targets for 2026.
It’s significant: BAT now says 2026 is shaping up to hit the low end of its targeted growth ranges, as the company works to defend profits in a U.S. nicotine market rocked by regulation and fresh competition. Even minor shifts in sentiment can hit a stock like this, popular with investors for its steady cash payout.
Conference season is in full swing, and tobacco companies are busy fine-tuning their pitch around “smokeless” lines: vapes, heated tobacco, oral nicotine. They’re also eager to show just how much cash they can hand back without pinching investment. BAT, for its part, has doubled down on buybacks to drive the point home.
BAT finished Thursday’s session up 3.0% at 4,473 pence, pulling ahead of the broader London market, MarketWatch data showed.
BAT disclosed in a Friday regulatory filing that it snapped up 97,709 shares on Feb. 19 through Banco Santander, part of its March 2024-announced buyback plan. Those shares are headed for cancellation. According to the filing, the company paid a volume-weighted average of 4,400.8371 pence per share.
This week, the company stuck to its outlook, still guiding to the low end of its 2026 constant-currency targets—3%-5% revenue growth, 4%-6% growth in adjusted profit from operations, and 5%-8% for adjusted diluted earnings per share. As always, constant currency removes the impact of FX moves; “adjusted” numbers back out certain items not seen as part of core trading. BAT
Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco, speaking at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference, put BAT’s shift toward non-cigarette offerings front and center for future growth. “BAT is transforming, driven by our ambition to be a predominately Smokeless business by 2035,” Marroco said in his prepared remarks. BAT
His comments zeroed in on the U.S., calling it the main battleground. BAT, which markets nicotine pouches as Velo and vapes under the Vuse brand, has maintained that tighter enforcement on illegal products would help the prospects for regulated players.
Barclays is sticking with its “buy” call on the stock and left its 4,900 pence price target unchanged, according to MarketScreener’s Thursday report. MarketScreener
Still, plenty could shift. Should crackdowns on illegal vapes fall short, or if regulators decide to get tougher on flavours, marketing, or product approvals, U.S. numbers might stay under pressure and end up near the lower end of management’s guidance. Cigarette volumes dropping more steeply would drag results too.
Looking ahead, income-focused investors have their eyes on BAT’s 2026 quarterly payout calendar. According to the company’s dividend schedule, London-listed shares go ex-dividend on March 26, and the payment hits accounts on May 7.
