Imperial Brands (LON: IMB) Share Price on 28 November 2025: Ex‑Dividend, Analyst Upgrades and New ‘Zone’ Nicotine Pouch Launch

Imperial Brands PLC stock is back in focus on Friday 28 November 2025 as the FTSE 100 tobacco group trades close to 12‑month highs, digests a fresh dividend, and rolls out its latest nicotine pouch brand in the UK. At the same time, a run of analyst upgrades and a larger share buyback are reshaping the investment case around one of London’s highest‑yielding blue chips. ^[1]

Below is a full rundown of what’s moving Imperial Brands shares today and what the latest news means for investors.

Imperial Brands share price today, 28 November 2025

In early London trading on Friday, Imperial Brands PLC (LON: IMB) was quoted around 3,218p per share at about 08:03 UTC, modestly higher than Thursday’s close of 3,200p. That puts the stock up roughly 0.6% on the day and values the group at about £25.8 billion. ^[2]

Key trading metrics this morning:

Previous close: 3,200p
Intraday range so far (28 Nov): 3,204p–3,218p
52‑week range: 2,521p–3,279p
Trailing P/E ratio: about 12.9x
Dividend yield: data providers cluster in the low‑5% range, based on the new full‑year dividend and current share price. ^[3]

Over the last year, Imperial Brands has delivered roughly 25% share price appreciation, significantly ahead of many defensive peers, with the stock trading near the top of its 52‑week range. ^[4]

Imperial Brands remains a classic “income plus value” name in the FTSE 100: a mature business, relatively low earnings multiple, and a large cash return programme.

Today’s key catalyst: ex‑dividend mechanics and record date

London‑listed shares (LON: IMB)

This week’s main scheduled event has been the latest interim dividend in Imperial Brands’ new quarterly payout pattern.

Following November’s full‑year results, the board declared a third interim dividend of 40.08p per share for FY25 and proposed a final dividend of the same amount, taking the total FY25 dividend to 160.32p, a 4.5% increase on the prior year in line with adjusted profit growth. ^[5]

The timetable around this payment is crucial for 28 November:

Ex‑dividend date (London line): 27 November 2025
Record date:today, 28 November 2025
Payment date: 31 December 2025

Official RNS filings and the company’s FY25 results documentation confirm that shareholders on the register at the close of business on 28 November will receive the 40.08p third interim dividend, with the equal fourth payment following in March 2026 (subject to AGM approval). ^[6]

Dividend tracking sites show the same picture: the next Imperial Brands dividend “went ex” yesterday for 40.08p and is scheduled to be paid in about one month, with a typical four‑payment annual pattern and dividend cover around 1.4 times earnings. ^[7]

On Thursday 27 November, Imperial Brands shares fell around 2.5% to roughly 3,19x pence as they traded without entitlement to this latest payout, making the company one of the FTSE 100’s larger ex‑div-driven fallers on the day. ^[8]

US ADRs (IMBBY / IMBBF): ex‑dividend on 28 November

For investors holding Imperial Brands via US‑listed American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), today, 28 November 2025, is even more directly in the spotlight.

Multiple US news and data providers report that:

The Imperial Brands ADR (OTCMKTS: IMBBY) goes ex‑dividend on 28 November 2025.
The cash dividend is about $0.517–$0.53 per ADR, payable on or around 8 January 2026, with a record date near 1 December 2025. ^[9]

Another Imperial Brands line, IMBBF, is flagged by brokers as having gone ex‑dividend on 27 November, with shareholders of record on 28 November also in line for a roughly $0.525 cash payout payable at the end of December. ^[10]

A MarketBeat alert overnight highlighted that IMBBY set a new 52‑week high around $43.35 earlier this week following the dividend announcement, underlining how strongly the US‑traded line has reacted to the company’s capital‑return story. ^[11]

Bottom line for 28 November:

For London shareholders, today is the record date for the latest 40.08p instalment.
For US ADR holders, today is the ex‑dividend date that determines eligibility for the upcoming dollar payout.

Earnings backdrop: FY25 results delivered, guidance reiterated

The dividend being locked in today rests on a solid set of financial results.

On 18 November 2025, Imperial Brands reported figures for the year to 30 September 2025 that were broadly in line with guidance: ^[12]

Tobacco & next‑generation product (NGP) net revenue grew in the low‑single‑digit range at constant currency, with reported revenue slightly lower due to excise and other non‑operating items.
NGP net revenue (vapour, heated tobacco and oral nicotine) rose at a double‑digit rate, underpinned by growth in modern oral brands such as Zone and Skruf. ^[13]
Adjusted operating profit increased by mid‑single digits, while adjusted earnings per share advanced about 9%, helped by both margin progression and a reduced share count from buybacks. ^[14]
Free cash flow of roughly £2.7 billion once again demonstrated the cash‑generative nature of the core combustibles business. ^[15]

Management used the results to reiterate a medium‑term plan of:

Low‑single‑digit growth in tobacco net revenue;
Double‑digit growth in NGP revenue;
3–5% adjusted operating profit growth in FY26; and
At least high‑single‑digit adjusted EPS growth next year, supported by ongoing buybacks and stable leverage in the 2.0–2.5x net debt/EBITDA range. ^[16]

This earnings profile, combined with the 4.5% dividend hike to 160.32p and significant share repurchases, is central to the bullish narrative around the stock in late November. ^[17]

Share buybacks: £10bn already returned, £1.45bn more authorised

Alongside dividends, Imperial Brands continues to rely heavily on share buybacks to return surplus capital.

Key milestones and current activity:

Between FY21 and FY25, the group returned about £10 billion to shareholders, largely via buybacks, according to its FY25 results commentary. ^[18]
A £1.25 billion FY25 buyback programme has now been completed. ^[19]
On 7 October’s pre‑close trading update and again with the full‑year release, the board confirmed a larger £1.45 billion share repurchase for FY26, the first instalment of an “evergreen” buyback framework planned through 2030. ^[20]

Daily regulatory filings show this buyback is already under way. For example, on 20 November 2025 Imperial Brands reported the purchase and cancellation of a further block of ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange, contributing to the ongoing reduction in shares in issue and total voting rights. ^[21]

Data providers now estimate shares outstanding at just over 800 million, implying that buybacks are materially shrinking the equity base over time. ^[22]

For investors, this means:

Earnings per share can grow faster than underlying profits;
Dividend increases can be sustained with less absolute cash outlay; and
Per‑share ownership of the company’s cash flows rises as the share count falls.

New ‘Zone’ nicotine pouches: UK launch adds to NGP momentum

Alongside the ex‑dividend headlines, a notable product development has landed just ahead of today’s record date.

On 27 November 2025, trade title Scottish Grocer reported that Imperial Brands has launched its “Zone” nicotine pouch brand in the UK, expanding a line previously rolled out in the US and other markets. ^[23]

Key details from the UK launch:

Format: each Zone pack contains 20 modern oral nicotine pouches in a slimmer format designed for more discreet use.
Flavours: five variants – typically including Sweet Mint, Cool Mint, Watermelon Ice, Juicy Peach and Berry‑style fruit options – aimed at covering the dominant mint segment while tapping into growing demand for fruit flavours. ^[24]
Strengths: most flavours are offered around 10 mg nicotine, with some also available in a slightly stronger 11 mg range, placing Zone squarely in the popular 9–12 mg bracket for UK pouch users. ^[25]
Price point: recommended retail pricing of roughly £6.50 per pack, positioning Zone as a mainstream premium product. ^[26]

Imperial’s UK market team has highlighted industry forecasts that modern oral nicotine volumes could more than triple (over 200% growth) in the next five years, framing Zone as a significant business‑building opportunity for retailers and part of the group’s wider “challenger brand” strategy in newer nicotine formats. ^[27]

The UK launch builds on:

A successful US debut of Zone in 2024, where the brand has been rolled out to more than 100,000 stores and has captured a few percent of the modern oral category. ^[28]
Rapid NGP revenue growth in the Americas, where Zone is credited with nearly 70% constant‑currency NGP net revenue growth in FY25. ^[29]

Imperial’s own brand literature positions modern oral products like Zone as tobacco‑free nicotine pouches that avoid combustion and are marketed as a potentially less harmful, discreet alternative for adult smokers, with the company also active in vapour (blu) and heated tobacco (Pulze, iD, iSenzia). ^[30]

For investors looking at today’s stock move, the Zone news matters because it reinforces the message from the FY25 results: NGP is no longer a side‑note, but a growing contributor to revenue and an important pillar of Imperial’s post‑2030 strategy.

Analyst sentiment: upgrades cluster around the ex‑dividend date

One striking feature of the last few days has been the run of bullish analyst commentary landing just as Imperial Brands goes ex‑dividend.

According to MarketBeat’s round‑up of broker research:

Jefferies Financial Group has raised its price target from 3,600p to 3,700p and reiterated a “buy” rating, implying roughly 13% upside from recent levels. ^[31]
Citigroup has lifted its target to 3,650p with a “buy” stance, while Panmure Gordon has talked about a target as high as 4,200p and RBC has moved from 2,400p to 2,700p with a “sector perform” view. ^[32]

MarketBeat’s data now show:

Four “Buy” ratings and one “Hold” on the stock;
An average recommendation of “Moderate Buy”; and
A consensus price target around 3,562p, still comfortably above today’s roughly 3,218p quote. ^[33]

Separately, investor‑focused platforms such as Seeking Alpha and factor‑based screeners like Validea have continued to flag Imperial Brands as an attractive high‑yield consumer staples stock, citing the combination of solid cash generation, relatively low valuation versus global peers and a long runway for buybacks. ^[34]

Together, these upgrades and endorsements have helped drive Imperial’s share price close to its 52‑week high in the days leading up to the ex‑dividend date, even as the broader London market has been buffeted by Budget‑related tax changes and renewed volatility. ^[35]

Regulatory and tax headwinds: the other side of the story

No discussion of Imperial Brands stock on 28 November would be complete without acknowledging the policy backdrop.

Recent UK Budget measures have included:

Further above‑inflation increases to tobacco duty, with cigarette and other tobacco products facing RPI plus an additional two percentage points.
Plans for a flat‑rate excise duty on vaping liquids (around £2.20 per 10ml) from 2026, adding to regulatory costs for next‑generation products. ^[36]

Market commentary today notes that tobacco stocks, including Imperial Brands, have come under pressure as investors digest the combined effect of higher duties and ex‑dividend adjustments. Proactive Investors, for example, highlighted that Imperial Brands fell around 3% on Thursday as part of a wider drag from tobacco names on the FTSE 100. ^[37]

Beyond the UK, the company still faces:

Evolving rules on advertising, packaging and flavour restrictions for vapour and oral nicotine products;
Litigation and public‑health pressure across multiple jurisdictions; and
Ongoing ESG concerns that keep many institutions structurally underweight tobacco stocks, regardless of valuation.

These factors are key reasons why Imperial Brands continues to trade at a discount to many consumer staples peers, even as earnings and dividends grow.

What 28 November 2025 means for Imperial Brands investors

Pulling the strands together, here is how today’s moving parts fit for shareholders and prospective investors:

Income locked in, yield still attractive
- With the third interim dividend of 40.08p going ex‑div yesterday and the record date today, investors have now effectively secured a full‑year FY25 payout of 160.32p per share. At current prices, that still equates to a yield in the roughly 5% area, even after a strong year for the share price. ^[38]
Total‑return story: dividends plus buybacks
- Imperial Brands is pairing that yield with an aggressive £1.45bn FY26 buyback, on top of the £10bn already returned since FY21. The result is a powerful total‑return profile, with per‑share earnings and dividends supported by a shrinking share count. ^[39]
Operationally, a steady but not spectacular growth outlook
- Core combustibles continue to deliver strong pricing, offsetting gradual volume decline, while NGP revenue is growing at double‑digit rates from a relatively small base. Management’s guidance for 3–5% operating profit growth and high‑single‑digit EPS growth feels realistic but depends on continued regulatory stability and disciplined capital allocation. ^[40]
NGP and ‘Zone’ are increasingly material to the narrative
- The UK launch of Zone nicotine pouches is a timely reminder that Imperial’s future is not only about cigarettes. Rapid category growth, combined with the brand’s foothold in the US and other markets, offers a potential long‑term offset to declining combustible volumes – though regulation of pouches is likely to tighten over time. ^[41]
Valuation vs risk trade‑off
- Analyst targets suggest high‑single‑ to low‑double‑digit upside from today’s price, on top of the chunky dividend yield. But investors must weigh this against persistent regulatory, taxation and ESG risks that could compress valuations or constrain NGP growth. ^[42]

For income‑focused investors comfortable with tobacco risk, 28 November 2025 underlines why Imperial Brands remains a core candidate: an ex‑dividend day, a new nicotine pouch launch, more evidence of NGP momentum, and a reinforced commitment to returning cash via dividends and buybacks.

For others, especially those constrained by ESG mandates or wary of regulatory shifts, today’s news may simply reinforce the view that Imperial Brands is a structurally cheap stock that will likely stay that way—highly cash‑generative, but permanently controversial.

Either way, Imperial Brands is very much in the news on 28 November 2025, sitting at the intersection of high yield, policy risk and the fast‑evolving landscape of smoke‑free nicotine.

Imperial Brands (IMB) Analysis | Is This the UK’s Stable Dividend King?