Tobacco and nicotine are products used by more than one billion people worldwide. The tobacco industry includes companies that grow tobacco, sell cigarettes, and manufacture and sell e-cigarettes. In particular, the large and well-known companies in the industry have recognized that the "classic" cigarette is being replaced by e-cigarettes and other alternative products by an ever-widening mass due to the health risks. We present a selection of interesting tobacco stocks in this article.
Altria
- Company: Altria Group
- Symbol (TWS): MO
- ISIN: US02209S1033
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 76.03 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 21.05 billion
The Altria Group is one of the world's best-known tobacco companies and is headquartered in Richmond in the US state of Virginia. Altria is the manufacturer of Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims, among others, and generates almost all of its sales in the USA. Outside the U.S., Philip Morris distributes many of Altria's brands. The long-term decline in tobacco use is a challenge for all tobacco companies. Altria has therefore taken steps to diversify and reduce its reliance on traditional cigarettes. This includes investments in other companies such as e-cigarette maker Juul Labs and Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group.
Philip Morris
- Company: Philip Morris International Inc
- Symbol (TWS): PM
- ISIN: US7181721090
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: 139.79 billion USD
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 31.57 billion
Philip Morris is one of the world's leading tobacco companies and is headquartered in New York. The company sells cigarettes and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the USA. The management's vision is to completely replace cigarettes with alternative products. The main hope lies in HNB (heat-not-burn) tobacco products. The main offering in this category is the devices and cartridges sold under the IQOS brand, which is an acronym for "I Quit Original Smoking". Since the spin-off from Altria in 2008, Philip Morris has raised its dividend every year, increasing it by over 200 % by 2021. The dividend yield is currently 8.6 %, although the payout ratio has already been between 80 and 90 percent in recent years. The Philip Morris share price also fell at the beginning of 2022 as part of the overall market correction, but recovered relatively quickly and is currently trading around % 10 below its highs for the year.
Japan Tobacco
- Company: Japan Tobaco Inc
- Symbol (TWS): 2914 / JAPAY
- ISIN: JP3726800000 / US4711052054
- Stock Exchange: Tokyo Stock Exchange
- Country: Japan
- Currency: Japanese yen (JPY) / US dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: JPY 4.7 trillion / USD 33.93 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 17.03 billion
Japan Tobacco is the third largest tobacco company in the world and has an extensive portfolio of brands, including Winston (outside the USA), Camel (outside the USA) and Mevius. Japan Tobacco is active in other markets besides Japan, such as the UK and Russia. In addition to traditional cigarettes, the company also sells e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn products, including brands such as Logic and Ploom. In addition, Japan Tobacco is active in the pharmaceutical and food businesses. However, these are responsible for only a small portion of sales and profits.
RLX Technology
- Company: RLX Technology Inc
- Symbol (TWS): RLX
- ISIN: US74969N1037
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 2.86 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 7.84 billion
One company that focuses exclusively on alternative smoking products is RLX Technology. RLX researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells e-vapor products in China. The company has an offline distribution and "Branded Store Plus" retail model, supplying RELX branded partner stores and other retail stores through distributors. RLX Technology was founded in 2018 and is based in Beijing, China.
Swedish Match
- Company: Swedish Match AB
- Symbol (TWS): SWMA
- ISIN: SE0015812219
- Stock Exchange: Stockholm Stock Exchange
- Country: Sweden
- Currency: Swedish krona (SDK)
- Market capitalization: SDK 160.51 billion / USD 15.3 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 18.93 billion
Swedish Match is a Swedish tobacco company that manufactures and distributes cigars, moist snuff, snus, matches, nicotine pouches and other products. The company is mainly active in the Scandinavian and American markets. Recently, Swedish Match announced that it would suspend earlier plans to spin off its cigar business due to supply chain issues and weak cigar sales in the United States. Swedish Match was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Stockholm.