Altria Group (NYSE:MO) reported higher adjusted earnings for the second quarter and first half of 2026, supported by pricing in its smokable-products business, growth in its nicotine pouch portfolio and continued shareholder returns. The company raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings guidance while citing ongoing pressure on nicotine consumers from inflation and elevated gas prices.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 2.8% year over year to $1.48 in the second quarter and increased 4.9% to $2.80 for the first six months of 2026, Chief Financial Officer Heather Newman said during the company’s earnings call.
Smokable Profit Growth Offsets Volume Pressure
Adjusted operating companies income in Altria’s smokable-products segment increased 2.4% to $3 billion in the second quarter and rose 4.2% to $5.7 billion in the first half. Adjusted OCI margins reached 64.8% for the quarter and 64.9% for the first half.
Reported domestic cigarette volumes declined 3.2% in the second quarter and 2.8% in the first half. Adjusting for trade inventory movements, Altria estimated its domestic cigarette volumes fell 4.5% in the quarter and 4% in the first half. The company estimated that industry cigarette volumes, adjusted for the same factor, declined 5% in both periods.
Newman said the industry’s moderated volume declines marked the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement, primarily reflecting reduced movement from cigarettes into illicit flavored disposable e-vapor products.
However, economic pressure continued to drive consumers toward discount cigarette products. Discount retail share increased 2.6 percentage points in both the second quarter and first half, according to the company. Marlboro’s retail share declined 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, though its premium-segment share held at 59.6% and increased one-tenth of a point sequentially.
Basic, Altria’s discount offering, gained 2.3 share points year over year and three-tenths of a point sequentially. CEO Sal Mancuso said the company is using targeted revenue-growth-management tools to participate in the discount segment without seeking to accelerate the segment’s growth.
Smokable price realization was 4.5% in the quarter, reflecting strong Marlboro pricing that was partly offset by the mix effect of higher Basic volumes. Mancuso said Marlboro’s retail price was up about 7% year over year in the second quarter.
on! PLUS Expansion Continues
In oral tobacco, Altria said nicotine pouches continued to drive category growth. The company estimated that oral tobacco-category volume increased 6% over the past six months, while nicotine pouches represented nearly 60% of the total oral category after gaining 8.1 share points during the second quarter.
Helix, Altria’s nicotine pouch business, expanded on! PLUS to 120,000 stores nationwide. on! retail share reached 8.6% in the second quarter, up 0.8 percentage points sequentially and 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The company attributed the gain to the on! PLUS introduction and said early data indicated repeat purchases and interest from both existing on! users and consumers of competing pouch brands.
Reported on! shipment volume was 49.9 million cans in the second quarter, down 4.2% from the prior year because of trade inventory movements. Year-to-date reported shipment volume rose 5.1%.
Altria resumed shipments of on! PLUS 12-milligram products in three flavors in Florida, North Carolina and Texas during the second quarter, with a national expansion planned for the third quarter. It also plans to introduce Blueberry Mint and Mango Pineapple flavor extensions across 6-, 9- and 12-milligram strengths beginning in the fourth quarter.
Oral tobacco segment adjusted OCI declined 8% in the second quarter and 4.2% in the first half, reflecting a difficult comparison with 2025 promotional activity, competitor supply disruptions and investments behind on! PLUS trial offers. Segment adjusted OCI margins were 66.7% in the quarter and 67% in the first half.
Regulatory Developments and E-Vapor
Mancuso said recent Food and Drug Administration enforcement-priority guidance for certain e-vapor and nicotine pouch products provided greater clarity for products in advanced stages of FDA review, though it does not replace formal authorizations.
The company said enforcement actions and supply disruptions affecting illicit e-vapor products may be slowing category growth. Altria estimated there were approximately 20 million adult vapers at the end of June, essentially unchanged from a year earlier, while the estimated number of disposable e-vapor consumers declined modestly.
Altria plans to reenter the e-vapor category with NJOY ACE after modifying products that were removed from the market following patent-related actions. Mancuso said the company has submitted a supplemental premarket tobacco product application and will be disciplined about its market reentry, though he did not provide timing.
Capital Returns and Balance Sheet
During the first half, Altria paid approximately $3.6 billion in dividends and repurchased 5.3 million shares for $335 million. The company had $665 million remaining under its current share-repurchase program at the end of the second quarter; the program expires at year-end.
Altria’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 1.9 times as of June 30, in line with its target of about two times. The company also recorded $158 million in adjusted equity earnings from its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev during the quarter, up 21.5% from the prior year.
About Altria Group (NYSE:MO)
Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.
Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.
