British American Tobacco share price barely budges after buyback update as South Africa plant closure hits focus

British American Tobacco p.l.c. entered mid-December with its share price near multi-year highs, and the news flow on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 is very “capital allocation meets governance”: the company disclosed another daily share repurchase under its ongoing buyback programme and filed a director declaration under UK listing rules. Meanwhile, investors are still digesting BAT’s early-December FY2025 pre-close trading update, where management reaffirmed its medium-term growth algorithm but signaled that 2026 performance is likely to land at the lower end of its target range—largely because the U.S. vaping market remains distorted by illicit competition and uneven enforcement. Reuters+4Investing.com+4Moneyweb+4