Goods

Philip Morris shares sink after earnings miss, revised guidance

Key Points
  • The tobacco company reported earnings of $1.27 per share versus an estimate of $1.38 by Thomson Reuters.
  • The company has focused on expanding iQOS, a heat-not-burn tobacco product it says is potentially less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
Altria's Marlboro cigarettes sold at a store.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of Philip Morris sank Thursday after the international tobacco company's earnings missed analysts' expectations.

The company reported earnings of $1.27 per share versus an estimate of $1.38 by Thomson Reuters. Revenue of $7.47 billion also missed expectations of $7.72 billion.

The company cut its full-year reported diluted EPS forecast to a range of $4.75 to $4.80, down from its previous range of $4.78 to $4.93 that it had issued in July.

Philip Morris makes cigarette brands including Marlboro, L&M and Parliament, but it has adopted the manifesto "designing a smoke-free future."

Shares of Philip Morris were down more than 4 percent in Thursday trade, the stock's largest fall since November.

Quarterly cigarette shipment volume fell 4.1 percent.

"For the full year, we continue to anticipate a cigarette industry decline of around 3 percent due mainly to the soft economic environment and related pressure on consumer spending," said CFO Jacek Olczak. "Our cigarette market share declined by 60 basis points in the quarter."

The company has focused on expanding iQOS, a heat-not-burn tobacco product it says is potentially less harmful than combustible cigarettes.

"The strong momentum for iQOS continues. To date, we have launched iQOS in key cities in 31 markets and more than 3.7 million adult consumers have already stopped smoking and switched to iQOS," Olczak added.

Philip Morris recently announced a slate of personnel and structural changes in a move the company said will help it transition to a smoke-free future.

Among the moves, the company appointed Olczak to its new chief operating officer position, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Olczak has been CFO since 2012.