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Altria Group

MO
48
Tobacco · Consumer Defensive
Price
$74.21
+1.18 (+1.62%)
Market Cap
$123.92B
Winston Score
48
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

9.1% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 1.84B (2021) → 1.68B (2025)

Altria Group is one of the largest tobacco companies in the United States. It makes and sells cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and other nicotine products to adult consumers across the country. Its most well-known brand is Marlboro, which has been the best-selling cigarette brand in the U.S. for decades.

Altria makes money by selling its tobacco and nicotine products directly through retailers like gas stations and convenience stores. The company operates almost entirely in the United States and generates very high profit margins, partly because of Marlboro's strong brand loyalty and Altria's dominant market share in domestic cigarettes. The biggest risk the company faces is a long-term decline in the number of people who smoke, which is why Altria has been investing in alternative nicotine products — like oral nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes — to find new sources of revenue as traditional cigarette volumes shrink.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

18 trades / 12mo

12 Congressional buys and 6 sells on MO in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+14.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-63.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$195M/ year

Declining (-6% vs prior year)

1.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

0.2%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$4.5B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Altria Group is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 14%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin
62.1%
Premium pricing power — 62.1% gross margin
Operating Margin
28.2%
Excellent — 28.2% operating margin
ROCE
7.4%
Weak — 7.4% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+2.3%
Nearly flat sales (2.3% YoY)
EPS YoY
-37.3%
Earnings shrinking (-37.3% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
134%
Turns 134% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
43.4%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (43.4%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
N/A
Data not available
Interest Cover
9.17x
Comfortably covers interest (9.2x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
18.1x
Fair value — P/E 18.1

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

P/E vs Forward
+6.0
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (18.1 → 12.0)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
5.75%
Healthy income — 5.75% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend Growth
+3.9%
Dividend growing modestly (3.9% YoY)

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