London, Feb 9, 2026, 08:18 GMT — Regular session
- British American Tobacco slipped roughly 0.5% in early London trading, trailing the wider market.
- The company reported it had bought back another small batch of shares as part of its continuing buyback programme.
- Investors are eyeing Thursday’s preliminary full-year results, hunting for clues on the 2026 outlook and any signals on cash returns.
British American Tobacco (BATS.L) slipped 0.5% to 4,588 pence out of the gate in London on Monday, putting it roughly 6% off its 52-week top. The move came after the company issued a regulatory update tied to its buyback programme. Down 21 pence from Friday’s finish, the stock shifted in a narrow 4,585–4,600 pence band just after the open. 1
Timing is key here. BAT stands out as one of London’s more reliable dividend-payers, and buybacks have played a part in supporting the stock ahead of results season—when investors typically focus less on headline profits and more on what the guidance says.
The latest filing on Monday extends that streak, though markets barely budged. Some traders hesitate to push the stock higher when it’s already brushing the upper end of its 12-month range and there’s still no new read on 2026 cash flow or capex.
BAT disclosed it acquired 131,297 ordinary shares on Feb. 6, using UBS AG London Branch, paying a volume-weighted average price of 4,587.5114 pence each. (That figure factors in the size of each trade.) BAT plans to cancel these shares, according to the company. 2
The group said these repurchases form part of the buyback programme announced March 18, 2024, following shareholder approval at the April 16, 2025 annual meeting. After completing the transaction and cancelling shares, BAT reported 2,176,273,303 ordinary shares with voting rights remaining in issue, plus 132,976,327 shares in treasury. 2
Major indexes ticked higher. The FTSE 100 in London added 0.4%, reaching 10,407 shortly after the open. 3
Still, buybacks don’t answer everything. Tobacco investors are fixated on cash: pricing, volumes, and whether management can juggle dividends, buybacks, and outlays for next-gen nicotine products all at once.
Still, there’s a clear risk here. Should management sound cautious about 2026, traders might brush off the buyback entirely and zero in on volume headwinds, regulatory threats, or margin compression. Those pressures have a way of hitting the sector fast, buyback announcements or not.
BAT’s next move comes this Thursday: preliminary 2025 results hit at 0700 GMT. CEO Tadeu Marroco and interim CFO Javed Iqbal will lead a webcast at 0930 GMT, according to the company. More details are at 4 .
