Why Philip Morris Earnings Fell Short

Companies and Brands

Published: July 19, 2018 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 8:47 pm

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) reported its most recent quarterly results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said that it had $1.41 in earnings per share (EPS) and $7.73 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates had called for $1.23 in EPS on revenue of $7.53 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.14 and revenue of $6.92 billion.

During the quarter, the company noted cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipment volume of 201.7 billion, an increase of 0.9%, or 0.6% excluding the net impact of total estimated inventory movements. Overall this includes cigarette shipment volume of 190.7 billion units, down by 2.8 billion units or 1.5%, and heated tobacco unit shipment volume of 11.0 billion units, up by 4.6 billion units, or 73.0%.

Looking ahead to the full year, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $5.02 to $5.12. The consensus estimates are $5.15 in EPS and $30.8 billion in revenue.

Philip Morris increased its regular quarterly dividend by 6.5%, from $1.07 to $1.14, representing an annualized rate of $4.56 per common share.

CEO Andre Calantzopoulos commented:

Our second-quarter earnings highlight the fundamental strength of our business, with positive total volume growth, currency-neutral net revenue growth of more than 8%, driven by higher pricing from our combustible product portfolio, and close to double-digit growth in ex-currency operating income.

Shares of Philip Morris closed Wednesday at $82.15, with a consensus analyst price target of $99.00 and a 52-week trading range of $76.21 to $121.16. Following the announcement, the stock was down about 5% at $77.98 in early trading indications Thursday.