Why Altria Stock Dropped Today
Shares of Altria Group (NYSE: MO) were down 6% as of 2:15 p.m. EST Thursday, after the tobacco giant issued disappointing quarterly results.
More specifically, Altria's fourth-quarter 2019 revenue increased 0.3% to $4.802 billion (after accounting for excise taxes), translating to a 7.4% increase in adjusted earnings to $1.02 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting roughly the same per-share earnings, but on higher revenue of $4.88 billion.
Altria also recorded a staggering $4.1 billion noncash pre-tax impairment charge related to its investment in JUUL during the quarter -- a consequence of the growing number of legal cases against the e-cigarette maker.
Source Fool.com
