Altria Group Inc.’s stock fell 2.2% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the tobacco giant’s adjusted earnings fell short of Wall Street analyst expectations.
Altria said its second-quarter profit rose to $3.8 billion, or $2.21 a share from $2.11 billion, or $1.19 a share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted profit of $1.31 a share missed the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.34 a share.
Revenues net of excise taxes dropped 3% to $5.3 billion, below the analyst estimate of $5.39 billion.
Looking ahead, Altria narrowed its 2024 adjusted earnings estimate to a range of $5.07 a share to $5.15 a share, compared with the analyst estimate of $5.10 a share. Total cigarette revenue in the second quarter fell 13% to $17.9 billion.
The market share for Marlboro cigarettes was 42%, down 0.1%.