Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Altria Group’s conference call:

• Altria grew adjusted diluted EPS by 4.4% in 2025 and returned about $8 billion to shareholders via $7B of dividends and $1B of buybacks, with $1B of repurchase capacity remaining.
• on! PLUS received FDA marketing-granted orders for select flavors/strengths, shipments resumed in initial states and a national rollout is planned in H1 2026, with Helix expected to remain profitable in 2026 and early consumer feedback favorable.
• Altria recorded a $1.3 billion non-cash impairment on its e-vapor intangible assets and goodwill after persistent illicit flavored disposable e-vapor products and slower-than-expected enforcement created significant headwinds for the e-vapor business.
• 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance is $5.56–$5.72 (2.5%–5.5% growth) with growth weighted to H2 as Altria invests $300–$375M in manufacturing/import-export (duty-drawback) capabilities that management says have strong payback potential but raise near-term costs.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $59.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.72.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management issued 2026 EPS guidance of 5.56–5.72, which sits around sell‑side expectations and signals confidence that price increases and cost discipline will support profit growth. Altria forecasts 2026 profit above estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: UBS lifted Altria’s price target and kept a buy rating, which can attract buyers and temper downside after the quarter. UBS lifts price target (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and capital return remain supportive: management reiterated dividend growth and continued buybacks; the company highlights on! pouch growth and integration of NJOY as potential offset to cigarette declines. This underpins income investor demand. Is Altria becoming more than an income stock? (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Top‑line was essentially stable: Q4 revenue (~$5.08B) was roughly in line with expectations even as EPS was flat year‑over‑year, suggesting resilient pricing but limited near‑term growth upside. Q4 and FY2025 results (BusinessWire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update: the board expanded and named Salvatore Mancuso as a director; this is notable but not an immediate earnings driver. Board expansion and new director (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed estimates by $0.02 and cigarette shipment volumes declined — smokeable revenue weakness remains the main headwind despite price increases. That volume trend is the key near‑term risk to organic growth. Earnings fall short amid lower cigarette sales (AP) Q4 earnings lag estimates (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet/metrics watch: company filings flagged leverage levels and public summaries showed a negative reported ROE (driven by accounting and capital returns), which may worry some investors focused on capital structure and credit metrics. Filings highlight leverage (TipRanks)

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $5,752,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.