Latest news with #Vuse
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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Altria or British American Tobacco?
Altria and British American Tobacco have nearly identical dividend yields, growth, and valuations today. Smoke-free nicotine is the industry's future. This is where differences begin to show. It's too soon to panic, but one company is currently in a much better spot for the long term. 10 stocks we like better than British American Tobacco › Sin stocks, such as tobacco companies, aren't for everyone, but they make excellent dividend stocks due to their entrenched and resilient business models and huge profit margins, which allow them to send most of their profits to shareholders. Altria Group (NYSE: MO) and British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) are industry leaders with many similarities, including outsized dividends that yield around 7% at their current share prices. But which company would be a better fit in your portfolio? The tobacco industry is evolving, and one company is adapting better. Here is what you need to know. Altria and British American Tobacco sell many of the leading brands of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Altria operates primarily in the U.S., where it sells Marlboro cigarettes. British American Tobacco sells globally, where it competes mainly with Philip Morris International in non-U.S. markets. Investors looking at the financials will quickly notice that these two stocks are strikingly similar. Altria and British American Tobacco have nearly identical dividend yields, anticipated long-term earnings growth, and trade at almost the same valuation. Essentially, both companies are slow-growing, high-yield dividend stocks. You can also count on both companies to continue paying and raising their dividends. Both companies generate enough free cash flow to cover their dividends, and they have multibillion-dollar stakes in other companies that they can liquidate to raise cash. Altria owns a stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev, worth approximately $11 billion at the company's current price. British American Tobacco owns a roughly 25% stake in ITC Limited, an Indian conglomerate worth approximately $16 billion today. Despite the slow demise of traditional cigarettes, tobacco companies have become excellent financial survivalists. Modern society is aware of the health dangers of smoking, which is why cigarette use has been in decline for years. Tobacco companies know this and have spent the past decade rushing to develop and launch smokeless nicotine products that aren't healthy by any means but don't produce the harmful smoke cigarettes do. The big three product categories are electronic cigarettes/vapes, oral nicotine pouches, and heat-not-burn tobacco devices. The tobacco industry is becoming the nicotine industry, and market share is up for grabs as consumers transition from cigarettes to smokeless products. Both companies, directly or through joint ventures, have established offerings in all three smokeless categories. British American Tobacco has thrived with its electronic vape brand, Vuse, with an estimated 40% market share in its core markets. Sales of new product categories represented 13.2% of total revenue in 2024. Altria is much further behind. In 2018, the company invested $12.8 billion in a fast-growing electronic vape company, but the investment was a disaster that set the company back. Altria has worked on alternative plans since then, but sales of new product categories totaled just $300 million in 2024, only 1.2% of total revenue. While both companies should continue to squeeze value out of their cigarette businesses, Altria's long-term growth is currently on shakier ground. Philip Morris International is rolling out its leading heat-not-burn brand, IQOS, in the United States. IQOS offers a similar experience to cigarettes and has successfully converted smokers in other countries. If IQOS thrives and Marlboro's cigarette declines accelerate, it could further pressure Altria. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has begun cracking down on illegal vape products that have flooded the market. It's a win for Altria and British American Tobacco, but the latter should benefit more since Vuse already enjoys a whopping 50% share of the U.S. vaping market. Altria doesn't seem poised to enjoy the same market leadership with these next-generation nicotine products that it has for generations with Marlboro cigarettes. Unless that changes, Altria's business may grow weaker over time as cigarette volumes erode. Change is happening slowly, so Altria can still be an excellent short-term dividend stock. However, British American Tobacco is the superior high-yield stock to buy and hold. Before you buy stock in British American Tobacco, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and British American Tobacco 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 $651,761!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $826,263!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 170% 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 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c. and Philip Morris International and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $40 calls on British American Tobacco and short January 2026 $40 puts on British American Tobacco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Altria or British American Tobacco? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Altria or British American Tobacco?
Altria and British American Tobacco have nearly identical dividend yields, growth, and valuations today. Smoke-free nicotine is the industry's future. This is where differences begin to show. It's too soon to panic, but one company is currently in a much better spot for the long term. 10 stocks we like better than British American Tobacco › Sin stocks, such as tobacco companies, aren't for everyone, but they make excellent dividend stocks due to their entrenched and resilient business models and huge profit margins, which allow them to send most of their profits to shareholders. Altria Group (NYSE: MO) and British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) are industry leaders with many similarities, including outsized dividends that yield around 7% at their current share prices. But which company would be a better fit in your portfolio? The tobacco industry is evolving, and one company is adapting better. Here is what you need to know. Altria and British American Tobacco sell many of the leading brands of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Altria operates primarily in the U.S., where it sells Marlboro cigarettes. British American Tobacco sells globally, where it competes mainly with Philip Morris International in non-U.S. markets. Investors looking at the financials will quickly notice that these two stocks are strikingly similar. Altria and British American Tobacco have nearly identical dividend yields, anticipated long-term earnings growth, and trade at almost the same valuation. Essentially, both companies are slow-growing, high-yield dividend stocks. You can also count on both companies to continue paying and raising their dividends. Both companies generate enough free cash flow to cover their dividends, and they have multibillion-dollar stakes in other companies that they can liquidate to raise cash. Altria owns a stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev, worth approximately $11 billion at the company's current price. British American Tobacco owns a roughly 25% stake in ITC Limited, an Indian conglomerate worth approximately $16 billion today. Despite the slow demise of traditional cigarettes, tobacco companies have become excellent financial survivalists. Modern society is aware of the health dangers of smoking, which is why cigarette use has been in decline for years. Tobacco companies know this and have spent the past decade rushing to develop and launch smokeless nicotine products that aren't healthy by any means but don't produce the harmful smoke cigarettes do. The big three product categories are electronic cigarettes/vapes, oral nicotine pouches, and heat-not-burn tobacco devices. The tobacco industry is becoming the nicotine industry, and market share is up for grabs as consumers transition from cigarettes to smokeless products. Both companies, directly or through joint ventures, have established offerings in all three smokeless categories. British American Tobacco has thrived with its electronic vape brand, Vuse, with an estimated 40% market share in its core markets. Sales of new product categories represented 13.2% of total revenue in 2024. Altria is much further behind. In 2018, the company invested $12.8 billion in a fast-growing electronic vape company, but the investment was a disaster that set the company back. Altria has worked on alternative plans since then, but sales of new product categories totaled just $300 million in 2024, only 1.2% of total revenue. While both companies should continue to squeeze value out of their cigarette businesses, Altria's long-term growth is currently on shakier ground. Philip Morris International is rolling out its leading heat-not-burn brand, IQOS, in the United States. IQOS offers a similar experience to cigarettes and has successfully converted smokers in other countries. If IQOS thrives and Marlboro's cigarette declines accelerate, it could further pressure Altria. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has begun cracking down on illegal vape products that have flooded the market. It's a win for Altria and British American Tobacco, but the latter should benefit more since Vuse already enjoys a whopping 50% share of the U.S. vaping market. Altria doesn't seem poised to enjoy the same market leadership with these next-generation nicotine products that it has for generations with Marlboro cigarettes. Unless that changes, Altria's business may grow weaker over time as cigarette volumes erode. Change is happening slowly, so Altria can still be an excellent short-term dividend stock. However, British American Tobacco is the superior high-yield stock to buy and hold. Before you buy stock in British American Tobacco, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and British American Tobacco 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 $651,761!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $826,263!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 170% 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 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c. and Philip Morris International and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $40 calls on British American Tobacco and short January 2026 $40 puts on British American Tobacco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Altria or British American Tobacco? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet This Monster Dividend Stock That Continues to Crush the Market in 2025
British American Tobacco has a 7% dividend yield. Price hikes and growth in smokeless nicotine products should drive earnings growth in the years ahead. The financials indicate that British American Tobacco can keep growing its dividend per share in the future. The stock market has switched gears in 2025. Growth stocks that were crushing it in 2023 and 2024 have gone south, while steady value stocks with dividend payments have outperformed the broad market indices. British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) is up 17% year to date in U.S. dollar terms, which shows the resiliency of cheap value stocks in times of market volatility. Even with these gains, British American Tobacco sports a dividend that yields 7%, which is much higher than the market average. And this dividend payout can keep growing in the years to come. Here's why British American Tobacco stock should keep crushing the market in 2025 and beyond. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Tobacco and nicotine have varying investor views. Some investors see the industry as on the way out the door, with volume declines in wealthier countries like the United States especially hurting sales. This has not affected the earnings of nicotine conglomerates like British American Tobacco due to the consistent price hikes the company has implemented on its cigarette products. In 2024, British American Tobacco's cigarette volumes declined by 5% globally on an organic basis, which excludes its Belarus and Russian operations that were sold. However, even with this declining usage, the company's combustibles segment sported flat organic revenue when adjusted for foreign currency movements. This is why the company has maintained healthy free-cash-flow generation surpassing $10 billion since 2020. The company generated $11.9 billion in free cash flow last year and expects $67 billion in cumulative free cash flow from 2024-2030. That is a lot of cash versus a market cap of $93 billion and can help maintain the company's dividend payout year after year. Even though pricing power helps grow cigarette revenue, British American Tobacco management knows this game cannot last forever. In order to evolve the business, it has invested heavily into alternative nicotine products like pouches and vaping. Last year, these products generated around $6 billion in revenue for the company when taking its reporting currency of British Pounds and converting to U.S. dollars. Growth was only 3.6% in constant currency, driven by 50%-plus revenue growth in nicotine pouches. Pouches should continue to be a highlight for the segment through the rest of the decade, but what is happening with nicotine vaping? British American Tobacco's Vuse brand is seeing competitive pressure from disposable vaping devices sourced from Asia. These products are actually not legal to sell in the United States but make up a huge percentage of convenience store sales. The United States government is beginning to crack down on these illicit device sales, which could help Vuse return to growth. Overall, the smokeless segment for British American Tobacco has gone from close to zero revenue to billions of dollars a year in a decade. As the category keeps growing, it should make up for the volume declines in cigarettes and help contribute to free cash flow over the rest of this decade. Free cash flow is the lifeblood of dividend income. Without free cash flow accumulating on the balance sheet, a company will eventually have to cut its dividend. Luckily for British American Tobacco shareholders, it is generating plenty of free cash flow right now. So much so that it has paid down a ton of its debt and is now returning cash through share repurchases. Repurchases will reduce shares outstanding -- down 3.4% already in the last four years -- which will make it easier for the company to grow its dividend per share. With plenty of free cash flow piling up on the balance sheet every year, British American Tobacco should be able to sustainably grow its dividend per share for the foreseeable future. At a dividend yield of 7%, British American Tobacco is still priced like a stock with a struggling business, but it just keeps generating cash flow. Buy today and get an ultra-high dividend yield and sustainable dividend growth by holding the stock for the long haul. Before you buy stock in British American Tobacco, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and British American Tobacco 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 $610,327!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $667,581!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 882% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 161% 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 April 28, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c. and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $40 calls on British American Tobacco and short January 2026 $40 puts on British American Tobacco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Meet This Monster Dividend Stock That Continues to Crush the Market in 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 proven strategies to help build generational wealth in the stock market
The stock market has long been a powerful tool for building wealth over time. Indeed, by starting early and following smart investment principles, an individual could create a lasting financial legacy for future generations. Here are three market strategies that could help secure financial freedom. Passive investing is where someone invests in index funds that track the overall market rather than picking individual stocks. This is a simple, hands-off way to steadily grow wealth. John Bogle was the pioneer of index fund investing. He argued that 'the winning formula for success in investing is owning the entire stock market through an index fund, and then doing nothing. Just stay the course'. While this approach might sound boring, it's proven its worth. Someone who invested £25,000 in the S&P 500 index 30 years ago would now have over £300,000, adjusted for exchange rate changes. Admittedly, we don't know what returns this index will produce in future. But if it returns just 7.5% with dividends (rather than 9-10%), then £300,000 would become £1m inside another 17 years. If this person invested £400 a month on top of the initial £25k across these 47 years, they'd end up with almost £3.2m! This calculation assumes an average 8% return. Investors could also diversify beyond US stocks and consider ETFs that track the UK's FTSE 100 and Europe's STOXX 600. Next, there's dividend investing. This involves actively picking stocks that pay out dividends. Now, this approach is more risky because things can go wrong at individual companies and dividends are never guranteed. However, it also has the possibility of turbocharging the compounding process when high-yield dividends are reinvested. Let's use British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) as an example. This dividend stock offers a 7.5% yield, which is well above the FTSE 100 average (currently around 3.4%). Operating in over 180 countries, the firm owns cigarette brands such as Dunhill and Lucky Strike. While smoking is in overall decline, the firm's also seeing growth in next-generation products, with brands like Vuse (vaping), Glo (heated tobacco), and Velo (oral nicotine). Of course, falling cigarette sales presents risk. Projections suggest the number of smokers worldwide could fall to 1bn by 2040, down from 1.3bn in 2021. However, that's still a massive market, and the firm continues to make enough profit to pay high-yield dividends. Putting £5k into the stock should make £375 in dividends after one year. After 20 years, assuming the same yield, share price and reinvested dividends, the investment would grow to £21,240. At that point, the yearly passive income would be around £1,600. This approach requires the building of a diverse portfolio of income stocks. But it has serious wealth-building potential. Finally, there's growth investing, which has the potential for blockbuster returns. Just consider the 15-year returns of the five well-known stocks below. Admittedly I've cherry-picked them, but owning just one across this time would have lit up an investor's portfolio. 15-year share price return* Nvidia 26,800% Tesla 18,700% Netflix 8,750% Amazon 2,840% Apple 2,490% This approach is high-risk, high-reward though because growth companies that suddenly stop growing can quickly unravel. However, investing £800 a month in growth stocks that collectively average 12% would build a £1m portfolio in just under 23 years starting from scratch. It would take a lot longer with lower percentage returns, but it does show what could be achieved. The post 3 proven strategies to help build generational wealth in the stock market appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Ben McPoland has positions in British American Tobacco P.l.c. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Amazon, Apple, British American Tobacco P.l.c., Nvidia, and Tesla. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
