UBS Maintains Buy on Altria Group (MO) Following Earnings Review

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is included among the 10 Best Inflation-Hedge Stocks to Buy for 2026.

UBS Maintains Buy on Altria Group (MO) Following Earnings Review

On May 1, UBS raised its price recommendation on Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) to $76 from $74. It reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst said Altria issued what the firm described as “conservative” guidance for FY26 following strong Q1 results.

During the Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO William Gifford said the company delivered a strong start to the year, highlighting 7.3% growth in adjusted diluted EPS. He also said Altria’s cash-generating businesses continued to support significant shareholder returns through dividends and share repurchases.

Discussing oral nicotine pouches, Gifford said the category kept expanding alongside the rollout of on! PLUS. He stated that shipment volume for the overall on! portfolio rose nearly 18% to more than 46 million cans. According to Gifford, on! and on! PLUS combined held 7.8% of the total oral tobacco category. That was down 0.8 percentage points from the prior year but up 0.2 percentage points sequentially.

He added that on! PLUS began nationwide shipments in March and had reached about 100,000 stores by the end of the quarter, representing 85% of the nicotine pouch category volume.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) operates a portfolio of tobacco products for U.S. tobacco consumers aged 21 and older. Its business segments include smokeable products and oral tobacco products. The smokeable products segment includes combustible cigarettes and machine-made large cigars.

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