Altria 8-K

Summary

Q3 and nine-month 2026 results, raised FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance, and a $1B expansion of Altria’s share-repurchase program. Q3 adjusted diluted EPS rose 4.8%, driven by higher operating companies income and earnings from Altria’s investment in ABI; smokeable products grew, while oral tobacco volume declined. Helix plans another Q4 expansion of on! PLUS, its oral nicotine pouch portfolio, with Watermelon Mint in select retail locations. The expanded repurchase authorization expires 12/31/2027 and remains subject to Board discretion and market conditions.

Key Figures

• Smokeable products net revenues rose 0.8% in Q3 to $5.43B; adjusted operating companies income rose 3.9%, with a 64.5% margin. Higher pricing and tax refunds helped offset higher promotional investment, lower shipments, discount mix and manufacturing costs. Domestic cigarette volume fell 2.9% (an estimated 4% decline after adjusting for trade inventory); Marlboro’s total-category retail share fell 1.0 percentage point to 39.5%, though its premium-segment share rose 0.3 point.
• Oral tobacco volume fell 4.3% in Q3 and adjusted operating companies income declined 3.7%, as lower volume, higher costs and promotions partly offset higher pricing. on! shipments increased 13.3%, but its nicotine-pouch-category share was 13.5%, down 1.3 points Y/Y; nicotine pouches grew to 61.2% of the oral tobacco category, up 5.8 points.
• Altria repurchased 5.9M shares for $400M in Q3 at an average $68.52 per share; nine-month repurchases totaled 11.2M shares for $735M. Weighted-average diluted shares fell 0.7% in Q3 and 0.8% for the nine months. Dividends paid were $1.7B and $5.3B, respectively; the annualized dividend rate is $4.44 per share after an August increase of 4.7%.

Guidance

Guidance changes, derived from earlier filings

Metric	Period	Earlier guidance	Guidance now	Change
Adjusted diluted EPS (non-GAAP)	FY2026	$5.61-$5.72; 3.5%-5.5% growth from FY2025 base of $5.42	$5.66-$5.74; 4.5%-6.0% growth from the 2025 base of $5.42	raised

Investor Takeaways

• FY2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $5.66-$5.74 would meet the raised outlook; performance outside that range would not.
• Watch on!’s share of the growing nicotine-pouch category as Helix adds Watermelon Mint in Q4; stabilizing or rising share from 13.5% would indicate whether new flavors are helping address its recent share decline.
• Future repurchase execution is a measure to track against the expanded authorization, alongside the continuing decline in cigarette shipments and Marlboro’s total-category retail share.