Altria revenue slows as cigarette sales slump

Altria beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the first three months of this year, even as its sales have slowed.

The tobacco giant reported earnings per share of $1.23, more than the $1.19 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. It also reported revenue of $5.2 billion, more than the $4.6 billion analysts were penciling in, but down 5.7% year over year as cigarette sales have slumped and its new tobacco products have failed to gain momentum.

The company said domestic cigarette shipment volume decreased 13.7% year over year as consumer preferences move away from combustable nicotine. But revenue from oral tobacco products, which includes its on! nicotine pouches and Njoy vapes, only ticked up 0.5% year over year to $654 million.

In January the International Trade Commission banned imports of Njoy’s ACE products, which were found to infringe on Juul Labs’ intellectual property. Like most vapes, Altria’s products are imported from China, putting them in the crosshairs of a choatic trade war.