Cannabis, Caffeine Pouches Possible

Altria executives updated financial targets during its Investor Day event as well as highlighting several new product developments.

Company leaders touted Altria’s new SWIC heated-tobacco capsule product, which uses proprietary technology to heat tobacco-filled capsules to deliver a vapor similar to a combustible cigarette.

Altria executives also highlighted the company’s new On Plus! nicotine pouch product alongside broad statements on its long-term growth plans.

“We believe the international smoke-free and non-nicotine categories combined represent multi-billion-dollar opportunities for us,” Billy Gifford, CEO of Atria, said. “Our teams are evaluating these opportunities and expect to finalize strategies for these growth areas over the next 12 months. We intend to share specific goals for these areas once established.”

Altria said those non-nicotine offerings could include cannabis and caffeine.

Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs said she came away optimistic about Altria’s future and ability to pivot its portfolio to a smoke-free business following presentations at the event.

“Overall, we feel there is more visibility on (Altria’s) transformation as management spent the bulk of the time discussing its smoke-free efforts, which is clearly the next important phase of growth for (Altria) as it accelerates plans to move beyond smoking and eventually beyond nicotine,” Herzog wrote in an email. “To give shape and structure to its smoke-free vision, management introduced 2028 enterprise goals, which included growing its U.S. smoke-free volume by at least 35 percent, doubling smoke-free revenue to $5 billion (including $2 billion from smoke-free) and maintaining leadership in U.S. tobacco.”

The company updated financial targets during the event; for example, guidance for full-year adjusted EPS in a range of $4.98 to $5.13 was reiterated.

Looking further ahead, the tobacco company set a goal to deliver mid-single-digits adjusted diluted EPS growth on a compounded annual basis through 2028.