London, February 4, 2026, 07:59 GMT — Premarket
- BAT revealed it completed another batch of share buybacks on Feb. 3
- Shares ended Tuesday at 4,506p, rising 1.7% and hitting a 52-week peak during the session
- Investors are turning their attention to the Feb. 12 results to gauge 2026 growth and cash return prospects
British American Tobacco repurchased 117,545 shares on Tuesday under its ongoing buyback programme, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,475.9562 pence per share—a figure that factors in the number of shares traded at each price. The company intends to cancel these shares, which will leave 2,176,662,435 shares outstanding after the cancellation, not counting treasury shares.
Shares ended Tuesday at 4,506 pence, rising 74 pence, or 1.67%, with the session hitting a year peak of 4,514 pence. A quarterly dividend of 60.06 pence per share is set for Wednesday, following the stock’s ex-dividend date on Dec. 29.
With steady buybacks, cash hitting shareholder accounts, and earnings just under two weeks away, the stock remains active on trading desks well before London opens. Investors are seeing it once again as a yield play, but it also tests whether BAT’s newer nicotine products can grow quickly enough to counteract the slow decline in cigarettes.
BAT disclosed in a filing the previous day that it purchased 108,725 shares on Feb. 2, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,429.4654 pence per share, with the top price reaching 4,457 pence. The company added that it plans to cancel these shares.
On Monday, BAT provided an update on its voting stock, reporting 2,177,145,903 shares with voting rights outstanding as of Jan. 30. The company also holds 132,976,327 shares in treasury.
The company flagged its 2025 preliminary results release for Feb. 12 at 0700 GMT. A webcast and Q&A session with CEO Tadeu Marroco and Interim CFO Javed Iqbal will follow at 0930 GMT, it said.
BAT has warned investors to expect a more cautious outlook for 2026. In its Dec. 9 trading update, the company flagged that performance next year is likely to land at the lower edge of its mid-term targets, citing challenges from illicit vaping and tightening regulations in markets like Bangladesh and Australia. Marroco insisted then that “Full-year delivery remains on track.” BAT
But the risk remains. Reuters reported in December that Marroco said about 70% of the U.S. vape market still consists of unregulated products, and he’s “trying to be cautious for 2026.” At the same time, Panmure Liberum’s Rae Maile commented: “This is perhaps not quite what the share price needed.” Reuters
Investors are keeping an eye on whether buybacks hold firm amid the earnings, and if BAT maintains its targets for growth and cash returns. The company’s update is due Feb. 12, ahead of the London market open.
