Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) are trading higher on Wednesday after the cigarette company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.44, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.39.
Quarterly sales of $6.102 billion (down 1.7% year over year) outpaced the Street view of $5.208 billion.
Revenues from smokeable products decreased 2.5%, primarily driven by lower shipment volume, partially offset by higher pricing. Revenues net of excise taxes decreased 0.4%.
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Oral tobacco products net revenues increased 5.9%, primarily driven by higher pricing, partially offset by a higher percentage of on! shipment volume relative to MST versus the prior year (mix change) and lower shipment volume. Revenues net of excise taxes increased 6.0%.
Adjusted OCI margins for Smokeable products increased by 2.9 percentage points to 64.5%, while that for Oral tobacco products increased by 3.1 percentage points to 68.7%.
Quarterly gross profit rose 4.8% year over year to $3.85 billion, while operating income jumped 27.5% to $3.23 billion.
The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $1.287 billion, and inventories worth $1.016 billion.
“We returned significant value to our loyal shareholders during the first half of the year, with more than $4 billion delivered through dividends and share repurchases,” said Altria CEO Billy Gifford.
Outlook: Altria Group has raised its full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $5.35 to $5.45, up from the prior $5.30 to $5.45, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39.
Price Action: MO shares are trading higher by 2.44% to $60.80 at last check Wednesday.
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