Philip Morris Gains on Earnings Beat, Raised Outlook

Philip Morris International (PM) shares rose Tuesday to their highest level in more than two years after the tobacco giant posted better-than-expected results and raised its full-year outlook on growing demand for its smokeless products.

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes and the IQOS tobacco heating system reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.59, with revenue advancing 9.6% from a year ago to $9.47 billion. Both exceeded analyst estimates. 

The company’s sales of smoke-free products jumped 23.5% to 243.8 million cans. Nicotine pouch sales soared 50.6% to 149.9 million cans, boosted by its Zyn brand, which had a 50.3% gain in cans delivered.

Heated tobacco items had a 13.1% gain in shipment volume, and cigarette shipment volume was 0.4% higher.

CEO Jacek Olczak said “the excellent momentum of our smoke-free business continued.”

Philip Morris lifted its outlook for full-year adjusted EPS growth, excluding currency impacts, to 11% to 13%, up from the earlier 9% to 11%. It anticipates shipment volume of nicotine pouches in the U.S. to be 560 million to 580 million cans, compared with the previous forecast of about 560 million cans for 2024.

Philip Morris shares closed 2.2.% higher Tuesday at $109.56 and have added about 16.5% since the start of the year.