Shares of Altria dipped Thursday after the tobacco giant reported flat earnings due to declining cigarettes sales and challenging competition for newer products, including flavored nicotine pouches.
The Richmond, Virginia-based company said fourth-quarter revenue slid 2% to $5.8 billion, mainly driven by lower cigarette sales. Tobacco companies have long had to manage shrinking sales of their main product category, but Altria executives said cigarettes have been increasingly squeezed by the introduction of unauthorized disposable electronic cigarettes, which are often cheaper and come in fruit and candy flavors.
