Altria Group reported mostly flat second-quarter net revenue of $6.1 billion, while adjusted diluted EPS rose 2.8% to $1.48. For the first half, revenue increased 1.6% to $11.5 billion and adjusted diluted EPS rose 4.9% to $2.80. Reported Q2 diluted EPS fell 2.8% to $1.37, reflecting litigation costs, USSTC facility-consolidation expenses, and ABI-related items.
The smokeable business remained the main revenue driver, with Q2 net revenue up 0.7% to $5.39 billion and adjusted operating company income up 2.4%. However, domestic cigarette shipments fell 3.2%, with Marlboro shipments down 7.4%, while discount cigarette shipments jumped 67.3% as consumers faced continued discretionary-income pressures. Marlboro’s total cigarette-category retail share fell 1.5% points to 39.5%.
Oral tobacco Q2 revenue was down 5.3% to $713 million and adjusted operating companies income down 8%. Segment shipments declined 8.5%, although the broader U.S. oral category grew an estimated 6% in the first half, driven primarily by nicotine pouches. Altria’s on! shipments increased 5.1% in the first half, and its Q2 retail share rose to 8.6%; the nicotine pouch category itself reached 59.9% of the oral tobacco category.
Altria said Helix expanded on! PLUS to 120,000 stores nationwide, with additional flavors and nicotine strengths planned for the fourth quarter. The company also returned nearly $3.9 billion to shareholders in the first half through dividends and share repurchases. It raised the lower end of its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, now expecting $5.61-$5.72, representing growth of 3.5%-5.5%, while increasing expected 2026 capital expenditures to $375 million-$450 million, primarily to support USSTC manufacturing consolidation.
