Altria misses profit and revenue expectations as inflation weighs on tobacco spending, stock slips

Shares of Altria Group Inc. fell 0.2% in premarket trading Thursday, after the Marlboro cigarette and heated tobacco company missed earnings expectations, as elevated gas prices and high inflation weighed on spending trends by adult tobacco consumers (ATCs). The company swung to net income of $224 million, or 12 cents a share, from a loss of $2.72 billion, or $1.48 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.28 from $1.22 but missed the FactSet consensus of $1.30. Revenue net of excise taxes fell 2.2% to $5.41 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $5.59 billion, and total revenue declined 3.5% to $6.55 billion to miss expectations of $6.89 billion. Total cigarette shipments fell 9.2% to 21.85 billion sticks, as Marlboro shipments fell 8.8% to 19.48 billion sticks. Oral tobacco shipments increased 1.3%. Separately, the company announced a strategic partnership with Japan Tobacco on its expanded heated tobacco portfolio. The stock has gained 5.1% over the past three months through Wednesday while the S&P 500 has lost 4.8%.

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