This story has been updated to reflect the difference between e-cigarettes, which heat a nicotine-containing liquid that turns into vapor, and heated tobacco products, which heat the tobacco.
Philip Morris International Inc stock fell. rose 1.7% on Thursday after the tobacco company missed Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings estimates and said its 2024 earnings would be lower.
Philip Morris International P.M.,
It said iQOS heated tobacco products surpassed Marlboro cigarettes in net revenue, with cigarette shipment volume down 1.9%.
Philip Morris International said fourth-quarter net income fell to $2.19 billion, or $1.41 per share, in the fourth quarter, from $2.38 billion, or $1.54 per share, in the same quarter last year.
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Adjusted earnings of $1.36 per share were below the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.45 per share.
Revenue rose 11% to $9.05 billion, in line with analyst estimates.
Looking ahead, Philip Morris expects 2024 earnings to range from $5.90 per share to $6.02 per share, below analyst estimates of $6.60 per share.
iQOS users totaled 28.6 million at the end of the year, an increase of 3.7 million from the end of 2022. Of the total number, 20.8 million switched to heated tobacco products.
Total cigarette volume fell 0.5%, including a 0.8% decline in Marlboro units to 60.2 million units.
Philip Morris International said its share in the heated tobacco units market rose by 1.2% to 9.1%.
The company said smoke-free products accounted for nearly 40% of its total net revenue and more than 40% of total profits in the fourth quarter.
PMI also celebrated the one-year anniversary of its merger with Swedish Match, which delivered “excellent US performance for ZYN, a nicotine pouch brand.”
The company's iQOS products heat tobacco and turn it into vapor, which the user then inhales. E-cigarettes heat liquid containing nicotine and turn it into vapor. Both are described as smokeless tobacco products.
Prior to Thursday's trading, Philip Morris International stock was down 2.8% so far in 2024, while the S&P 500 was up 4.7%.
