The great battle of tobacco dividends. PM, MO or BTI?
High dividend, reliable business area and good financial situation. These are all qualities that the three big tobacco companies can boast of. But are any of them better than the others?
Philip Morris $PM, Altria $MO and British American Tobacco $BTI are all major players in the tobacco industry. In fact, Philip Morris and Altria used to be one company until they split into two independent companies in 2008.
Altria and Philip Morris first separated in 2008 under pressure from Altria's investors who demanded higher dividends and share buybacks. Altria focused on the US domestic market, while Philip Morris focused on international markets.
Cigarette sales began to decline in the US but grew in international markets. After 2012, however, sales began to decline internationally. Both companies switched to new products such as e-cigarettes and tobacco warming devices to accommodate changing customer tastes.
Philip Morris invested in iQOS, which now has millions of users. Altria can now sell iQOS…
At current prices, it's clearly $BTI for me.
Tobacco companies are a brilliant business even though I don't smoke myself. They use e-cigarettes brilliantly to keep profits up, and their customers don't stop buying their products overnight.
For me $PM. By far the biggest potential for the future through the move away from classic cigarettes