Bull of the Day: Philip Morris Intl (PM)

Philip Morris Company OverviewZacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock Philip Morris International (PM) is an international manufacturer and seller of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and oral nicotine products in more than 180 countries. In early 2008, Philip Morris International was spun off from the Altria Group. The company built the foundation of its business on its premium cigarette brand category with its well-known Marlboro, Parliament, and Virginia Slim Brands. While the cigarette category continues to make up the lion’s share of Philip Morris’s business, it is rapidly expanding its non-cigarette businesses and becoming a more diverse brand.Zyn Smoke-Free Business ExplodesInstead of sitting back and relying on its legacy core business of cigarettes, Philip Morris has realized that as consumers learn more about the dangers of lung cancer and become more health conscious, they are looking for smoke-free options. Philip Morris most successful foray into the smoke-free business is Zyn, an oral nicotine pouch that benefits from the move of traditional tobacco. Zyn has benefitted from its virality on social media platform TikTok and has grow to own roughly three quarters of the tobacco pouch market.  Not only are the pouches seen as “cool,” but many younger consumers are flocking to them because it eliminates the most harmful way of nicotine delivery – smoking. In addition, while it can be addictive, nicotine has also been shown to have positive traits, such as the fact that it can increase focus. Shipments of Zyn have more than quintupled over the past five years with growth expected to continue.Philip Morris: Steady Growth & Price ActionThough Philip Morris does not produce the high-double-digit earnings growth seen in many growth stocks, the company makes up for its with its steadiness and consistency. Over the past three quarters, EPS grew +14%, +14%, and +13% year-over-year. In addition, annual earnings have grown consistently over the past three years.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPM’s steadiness goes beyond its fundamentals and translates to its price action. Shares have a beta of 0.14, meaning that they are far less volatile than the S&P 500 Index. Nevertheless, PM has performed better than more than 95% of S&P 500 stocks.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPM Defies Wall Street ExpectationsPM has beaten Zacks Consensus Analyst Estimates in nineteen of the past twenty quarters.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchAssuming the trend continues, that’s good news for PM shareholders because consensus estimates suggest double-digit EPS growth into 2026. Meanwhile, the company has very low costs and a healthy cash stack on hand.Bottom LinePhilip Morris is strategically evolving beyond its traditional cigarette business, exemplified by the remarkable success of its “Zyn” oral nicotine patch business.     5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Philip Morris International Inc. (PM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks