Over the past few weeks, I have received several emails from Seeking Alpha relating to news updates or new articles on tobacco giant Altria Group (MO). This inspired me to revisit another similar company that I have followed but not written about for several years, Philip Morris International (PM). Historically, Philip Morris International has had better fundamentals than its former corporate parent, largely due its lack of exposure to the US market, in which smoking and tobacco use carries a social stigma not present in much of the rest of the world. Tobacco companies have also traditionally boasted a strong dividend, which I have always found appealing, although Philip Morris International's dividend is somewhat lower than other tobacco companies by virtue of the greater growth premium priced into the stock.
About Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International is a giant tobacco company that was once part of Altria Group. The company was spun off from its former corporate parent in 2008 as it was the only tobacco unit of Altria Group that was delivering sales and earnings growth and management wanted to protect it from the potential litigation and unfriendly legislation that it might be exposed to were it to be part of an American company. The company kept the rights to use Altria's trademarked tobacco brands, most notably Marlboro, outside of the United States and in many ways still serves the role of Altria's international tobacco operations, however the two are entirely separate companies legally.
