What Happened?
Shares of tobacco company Altria (NYSE: MO) fell 7.3% in the morning session after the company reported third-quarter results where revenues missed expectations, overshadowing an in-line result for earnings per share. The company announced adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.45 per share, an increase from $1.40 per share reported in the same quarter the previous year. Despite the growth in profit, total sales fell 1.7% year on year to $5.25 billion, short of market forecasts for $5.32 billion. The stock's sharp decline suggested that investors were more concerned with the revenue shortfall than the stable earnings, signaling worries about the company's future sales performance.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Altria’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 1 move greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 3.2% on the news that the company reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year profit guidance. The tobacco giant posted an adjusted earnings per share of $1.44, surpassing the consensus forecast of $1.38. While overall revenue saw a slight year-over-year decline, it also came in ahead of expectations. A key highlight from the report was the strong performance of its oral tobacco brand, *on!*, which was a primary driver of growth in its segment and helped to offset continued volume declines in traditional smokable products. Bolstering investor confidence, Altria narrowed and raised its full-year 2025 adjusted EPS forecast to a range of $5.35 to $5.45. This new guidance represented an expected growth of 3.0% to 5.0% over the previous year. The positive results and improved outlook signaled that the company's strategy to navigate the changing consumer landscape was proving effective.
Altria is up 10.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $57.86 per share, it is still trading 14.5% below its 52-week high of $67.68 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Altria’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,604.
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