Latest news with #PhilipMorris
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This Monster Dividend Growth Stock Is Up 50% So Far This Year
Philip Morris International is seeing growing demand for its alternative nicotine products and is getting a boost from a depreciating dollar. The company is still harvesting a ton of cash flow from its legacy cigarette business. The stock is more expensive than previously but can still deliver sold returns for shareholders. 10 stocks we like better than Philip Morris International › The stock market has been choppy in 2025. Dipping and soaring seemingly each month, the S&P 500 index is basically now flat this year. Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) has gone straight up and to the right. Shares of the international nicotine giant have posted a 50% total return so far in 2025, making it one of the best-performing large-cap stocks of the last few months and crushing the index returns. It is a heavy dividend payer and benefiting from multiple tailwinds that should drive earnings much higher in the years to come. But is the stock still a buy today? Philip Morris International's returns are a cumulation of bets made over the past 10 years. The company rightfully saw that cigarette usage was declining around the world and pivoted its business to other nicotine products that are seeing strong consumer adoption. In the heat-not-burn category it has the leading brand called Iqos with 77% volume share in the markets it operates, making it the dominant player in the space. In nicotine pouches it owns the leading brand in Zyn with similar market share characteristics. Combined, Iqos and Zyn have changed the complexion of Philip Morris' business. Last quarter, 42% of the company's revenue came from smoke-free products, and 44% of gross profit. Higher gross profits from alternative nicotine products shows the better unit economics these brands have compared to cigarettes, which is a high bar. This is why Philip Morris' overall revenue has inflected higher in the last few years to $38 billion over the last 12 months. On top of its lead in new nicotine products, Philip Morris International is benefiting from a weaker U.S. dollar. The Dollar Index has fallen from around 110 to under 100 to start 2025, which shows the U.S. dollar depreciating compared to other currencies. Philip Morris International does not operate in the United States except with its Zyn brand (and with Iqos in the future), meaning that a depreciating dollar will help it earn more in revenue in U.S. dollar terms. Wall Street has anticipated this boost to revenue, adding more fuel to the stock price to start the year. Management at Philip Morris International made the brilliant move of investing in alternative nicotine products ahead of the competition. Cigarettes are going the way of the horse and buggy, likely becoming a smaller part of this business every year going forward. This does not mean the segment cannot generate heaps of cash flow for the next few decades. Outside of China and the United States -- where Philip Morris International does not operate for cigarettes -- global cigarette usage is expected to decline by 1% in 2025. Through pricing power, cigarettes can deliver revenue and earnings growth for Philip Morris International for a long while. This isn't the United States where volumes are declining by around 10% a year. Last quarter, combustibles gross profit grew 5.3% year over year for the company. Cigarettes are not dead yet. Especially not in the international markets where Philip Morris International operates. After delivering such strong returns to start 2025, investors may wonder if the stock's best days are behind it. Let's dive into the valuation to analyze whether that is true or not. The stock's forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) has risen to 24 compared to 14 at the start of last year. Its dividend yield is now 3% compared to close to 6% a year ago. Both these metrics make Philip Morris International stock more expensive in a vacuum compared to a year ago. Since price matters in investing, this rising valuation indicates to me that these monster 50% returns in less than a year are not sustainable for Philip Morris International stock. However, this does not mean the stock is a bad buy today. It still has a solid dividend yield of 3%, can keep growing its dividend payout, and trades at a P/E ratio around the market average. With the growth of Iqos and Zyn along with the pricing power of cigarettes, revenue and earnings can grow at a double-digit rate for many years into the future. This should lead to solid long-term returns for Philip Morris International shareholders. Just don't expect the same spectacular returns of the last few months. Before you buy stock in Philip Morris International, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Philip Morris International wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Monster Dividend Growth Stock Is Up 50% So Far This Year was originally published by The Motley Fool
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Tory peer proposed delay on heated tobacco ban after Philip Morris visit
A Conservative peer proposed delaying the UK's proposed ban on heated tobacco, weeks after a leading cigarette company paid for him to visit its research facility in Switzerland. The tobacco and vapes bill would gradually raise the age at which consumers can buy cigarettes and other tobacco products, making the UK the first major economy to chart a course towards phasing out tobacco altogether. But the timetable for heated tobacco could be disrupted after Lord Vaizey put forward an amendment that would require more research to be done into the 'potential' harms that such products can cause relative to cigarettes. Vaizey's proposal came six weeks after he was a guest of Philip Morris International (PMI), whose IQOS product is the world-leading heated tobacco brand, during a two-day visit to its research facility in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. PMI paid for Vaizey's flights and accommodation, according to his own parliamentary disclosures, analysed by the Guardian and the Examination, a non-profit newsroom that investigates global health threats. The cost of the trip was not revealed and neither Vaizey nor PMI said whether other British parliamentarians were there. Three weeks after the trip, on 23 April, Vaizey took part in a House of Lords debate on the tobacco and vapes bill. During the debate, he disclosed his visit to the Philip Morris facility, known as The Cube, where the tobacco company has also hosted politicians from Finland and Colombia. Vaizey said he had met scientists there who were researching heated tobacco. 'There is an argument which says that people should be able to access nicotine if it can be done in a safe way,' said Vaizey, who said he used IQOS products. 'I want to say something controversial: a lot of the tone of this debate looks backward at the sins of the big tobacco. It does not perhaps acknowledge – though that might be too kind a word – that big tobacco has perhaps moved forward in terms of heated tobacco.' On 14 May, six weeks after his visit to Switzerland, Vaizey tabled his amendment, which would delay the ban on heated tobacco products, including the IQOS. He proposed that the health secretary be required to 'assess the harm to human health associated with the use of tobacco related devices' and compare any harms with those caused by cigarettes. The amendment appears to reheat elements of a legal challenge brought by Philip Morris in 2023 against the tobacco and vapes bill, which was initially proposed by the previous government. PMI's challenge questioned whether the government's consultation was 'meaningful', on the basis that the outcome was pre-determined. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion It also sought to limit the scope of the ban to leave out heated tobacco products, which use devices to heat tobacco at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes. PMI withdrew its challenge after a response from government lawyers, who stated that the relative harms of cigarettes versus heated tobacco were not relevant. This is because the gradual implementation of the ban, which raises the minimum age for tobacco purchase by one year every year, means that nobody affected would ever have been able to choose between the two methods of nicotine ingestion anyway. At the time, Whitehall sources said the legal challenge was a delaying tactic by Philip Morris, whose IQOS heated tobacco product ships around 140m units a year and has replaced Marlboro as its most successful product by net revenue. Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said Vaizey was repeating the tobacco industry's playbook by suggesting that heated tobacco should be compared with cigarettes 'rather than with the more appropriate comparator of not smoking'. PMI did not respond to questions from the Guardian about Vaizey's trip to Switzerland and its relationship with the Tory peer. Lord Vaizey declined to comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Since Floyd riots culled monuments 5 years ago, leaders in ex-Confederate capital lament ‘s—t didn't change'
Fragments of toppled Civil War monuments still lie in a lot beside Interstate 95, near the Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant—just a stone's throw from the iconic "Marlboro Cigarette" in South Richmond, the onetime capital of the Confederacy. While Richmond's tobacco-trading past remains symbolized by that roadside oddity at the Philip Morris plant, it and other cities across the south took swift action to erase reminders of the Civil War and slavery. A report Thursday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch looked back at what has, or moreso hasn't, transpired as those who had sought the culling of the monuments had hoped in the heat of the George Floyd riots of five years ago this week. Virginia State Del. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, a reported opponent of the monuments, told the paper that "s—t didn't change when they came down," and that "real progress" was what was sought in erasing the South's pro-slavery and secessionist past. Dc To Begin Reconstructing Blm Plaza "As abhorrent as [they] are, give me life, give me real justice. You can keep your monuments." Jones told the paper. Read On The Fox News App One statue did find a new home, as Davis is now on display at the city's Valentine Museum. It still has paint marks on it from when it was besieged by protesters in 2020. Jones told the paper that gun violence and education-related issues still plague minority communities and also took a swipe at President Donald Trump in regard to the lack of change since the Floyd riots and monumental upheaval. Va Government Grinds To A Halt As Hospitals, Residents Hit By Colossal Water Plant Failure "We didn't really get the monuments because the spirit of [them] is in the White House right now," he told the Times-Dispatch. While monuments have either been toppled by protesters or removed by municipalities across the South, Richmond – as expected due to its past as the C.S.A. capital – had many in prominent places. The city's tree-lined Monument Avenue was reduced to a series of traffic circles around unremarkable granite pedestals after the removal of effigies of Gens. Robert E. Lee, James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, President Jefferson Davis, and local scientist-turned-Confederate Naval officer Matthew Maury. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam's efforts to remove the last of the monuments, Lee's, were briefly blocked by a court – as it was originally constructed through private donations and the help of then-Democratic Gov. Fitzhugh Lee; the general's nephew. While efforts to rename Robert E. Lee Bridge on U.S. 301 – the major pre-I-95 crossing of the James River – have appeared to stall, signage that once greeted travelers bound for Petersburg is now muted. Fox News Digital reached out to lieutenant governor candidate Levar Stoney—who, as Richmond's mayor, led the effort to remove the monuments—for comment on reports that the removal has brought little meaningful change. During his mayorship, Stoney said in a video statement that protesters attempted to take down monuments themselves while the coronavirus raged, and that in response to the risk of "serious illness, injury or death." "It is past time, as the capital city of Virginia, we have needed to turn this page for decades," Stoney said, adding the city and "residents of color" had been "burdened" by its historical role as CSA capital. Fox News Digital also reached out to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, as well as Republicans in the greater Richmond area, for their response to the current sentiments, but did not hear back by press time. One Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital the situation shows the focus should have been, and should be, on directly addressing crime and pressing issues like the city's water shortage crisis, which reemerged this week after Richmond and even the State Capitol were stopped in their tracks due to a catastrophic utility failure earlier this article source: Since Floyd riots culled monuments 5 years ago, leaders in ex-Confederate capital lament 's—t didn't change'
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Since Floyd riots culled monuments 5 years ago, leaders in ex-Confederate capital lament ‘s—t didn't change'
Fragments of toppled Civil War monuments still lie in a lot beside Interstate 95, near the Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant—just a stone's throw from the iconic "Marlboro Cigarette" in South Richmond, the onetime capital of the Confederacy. While Richmond's tobacco-trading past remains symbolized by that roadside oddity at the Philip Morris plant, it and other cities across the south took swift action to erase reminders of the Civil War and slavery. A report Thursday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch looked back at what has, or moreso hasn't, transpired as those who had sought the culling of the monuments had hoped in the heat of the George Floyd riots of five years ago this week. Virginia State Del. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, a reported opponent of the monuments, told the paper that "s—t didn't change when they came down," and that "real progress" was what was sought in erasing the South's pro-slavery and secessionist past. "As abhorrent as [they] are, give me life, give me real justice. You can keep your monuments." Jones told the paper. One statue did find a new home, as Davis is now on display at the city's Valentine Museum. It still has paint marks on it from when it was besieged by protesters in 2020. Jones told the paper that gun violence and education-related issues still plague minority communities and also took a swipe at President Donald Trump in regard to the lack of change since the Floyd riots and monumental upheaval. "We didn't really get the monuments because the spirit of [them] is in the White House right now," he told the Times-Dispatch. While monuments have either been toppled by protesters or removed by municipalities across the South, Richmond – as expected due to its past as the C.S.A. capital – had many in prominent places. The city's tree-lined Monument Avenue was reduced to a series of traffic circles around unremarkable granite pedestals after the removal of effigies of Gens. Robert E. Lee, James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, President Jefferson Davis, and local scientist-turned-Confederate Naval officer Matthew Maury. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam's efforts to remove the last of the monuments, Lee's, were briefly blocked by a court – as it was originally constructed through private donations and the help of then-Democratic Gov. Fitzhugh Lee; the general's nephew. While efforts to rename Robert E. Lee Bridge on U.S. 301 – the major pre-I-95 crossing of the James River – have appeared to stall, signage that once greeted travelers bound for Petersburg is now muted. Fox News Digital reached out to lieutenant governor candidate Levar Stoney—who, as Richmond's mayor, led the effort to remove the monuments—for comment on reports that the removal has brought little meaningful change. During his mayorship, Stoney said in a video statement that protesters attempted to take down monuments themselves while the coronavirus raged, and that in response to the risk of "serious illness, injury or death." "It is past time, as the capital city of Virginia, we have needed to turn this page for decades," Stoney said, adding the city and "residents of color" had been "burdened" by its historical role as CSA capital. Fox News Digital also reached out to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, as well as Republicans in the greater Richmond area, for their response to the current sentiments, but did not hear back by press time. One Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital the situation shows the focus should have been, and should be, on directly addressing crime and pressing issues like the city's water shortage crisis, which reemerged this week after Richmond and even the State Capitol were stopped in their tracks due to a catastrophic utility failure earlier this year.
Mail & Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Big Tobacco's profit addiction needs a quit plan
New legislation seeks to stop tobacco companies from luring non-smoking teens into becoming addicted to their deadly products. Every year on 31 May, the World Health Organisation hosts Because tobacco Leveraging loopholes to lure youth Until the early 2000s, South African media was saturated with tobacco ads in magazines, on billboards and radio, and in cinemas. Many will recall Peter Stuyvesant's iconic Today, the industry The tobacco industry claims these set-ups only serve to allow them to vie for market share among existing adult smokers but evidence shows these displays also lure young people. A The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which is being debated in parliament, aims to ban point-of-sale advertising, closing this loophole in the regulatory framework. Global evidence shows that point-of-sale display bans reduce youth smoking Predictably, Big Tobacco is Vaping's surge among youth: Big tobacco's unregulated playbook As a global wave of tobacco-control legislation and excise-tax increases has stifled the industry's ability to expand tobacco sales, companies have pivoted to novel products like e-cigarettes to secure their future revenues. Since 2010, giants like British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands have . In South Africa, Vuse — made by British American Tobacco, producer of the nation's top-selling Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes — stands out with pop-up stalls and concept stores in shopping malls across the country, signalling Big Tobacco's bold entry into vaping. E-cigarettes commonly deliver nicotine, a highly addictive and harmful In South Africa, e-cigarettes are currently unregulated, enabling Big Tobacco and independent vape companies to populate shopping malls with attractive kiosks and flood youth-heavy platforms like TikTok and Instagram with influencer-driven ads and sponsored content. In the current regulatory vacuum, vape marketing has thrived unchecked, The regulatory free-for-all in South Africa has fuelled alarming vaping trends among South African teens. A Among those who use e-cigarettes, 88% puff on vapes that contain nicotine and 47% vape within an hour of waking — a clear marker of addiction. The study estimates 60% of teen vapers are addicted to their vapes, reflecting an extent of use and dependence on nicotine that researchers have never encountered with traditional cigarettes in the past. The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill aims to regulate e-cigarettes and other novel products like traditional tobacco by, among other things, banning direct advertising, including at the point of sale. Big Tobacco and their front groups claim these products aid smoking cessation among adults wishing to quit tobacco and that advertising bans harm public health by limiting awareness of 'safer' alternatives. Yet the World Health Organisation indicates that On World No Tobacco Day 2025, the urgent need to protect South Africa's young people from exploitative marketing tactics takes centre stage. The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill rises to this challenge, aiming to regulate vaping, and close loopholes that enable youth-targeted marketing of more traditional tobacco products. The Bill is more than regulation: it demands that Big Tobacco and its affiliates end their predatory marketing aimed at young people and protects South Africa's youth from deceptive tactics which drive lifelong addiction and Sam Filby is a research officer at the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) at the University of Cape Town and Corné van Walbeek is a professor in economics at UCT and the director of REEP.
