Altria Group,
the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, posted a strong first-quarter earnings report and maintained its full- year guidance on Thursday.
Altria (ticker: MO) posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.18, matching the $1.18 analysts surveyed by FactSet had penciled in. The company posted net revenue of $5.72 billion, above the $4.9 billion analysts had expected.
“We are off to a strong start and believe our businesses are on track to deliver against full-year plans,” said Altria CEO Billy Gifford in the earnings release. “Our tobacco businesses performed well in a challenging macroeconomic environment.”
“We reaffirm our guidance to deliver 2023 full-year adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $4.98 to $5.13,” Gifford added. “This range represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 3% to 6% from a $4.84 base in 2022.”
The company continued its dedication to dividends in the first quarter, paying $1.7 billion.
In its previous quarter, the company beat on earnings and revenue, announced a $1 billion share buyback plan, and paid dividends of $1.7 billion.
Shares of Altria fell 0.6% to $46.40 in premarket trading Thursday.
Write to Emily Dattilo at [email protected]
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