Altria’s adjusted earnings per share fall slightly short of estimates

Altria Group Inc.’s stock
MO,
-8.31%
fell 0.7% in premarket trading on Thursday after the tobacco giant’s earnings per share and revenue net of excise taxes missed Wall Street analyst expectations. The company said its third-quarter profit rose sharply to $2.167 billion, or $1.22 a share, from $224 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted profit in the latest quarter totaled $1.28 a share, a penny shy of the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.29 a share. Revenue fell 4.1% to $6.3 billion. Revenue net of excise taxes fell 2.5% to $5.277 billion, below the analyst estimate of $5.427 billion. Looking ahead, Altria expects 2023 adjusted earnings of $4.91 a share to $4.98 a share, compared to the analyst view of $4.98 a share.