Altria Group Inc. today reported its 2025 first-quarter business results of $1.08 billion in earnings, down from $2.13 billion a year earlier. Net revenue for the quarter ending March 31 fell 5.7% to $5.26 billion but topped estimates of $4.60 billion.

While the quarterly shipment volume for cigarettes fell 13.7%, compared with a 10% decline a year ago, the shipment volume for on! nicotine pouches rose 18% for the first quarter.

“Falling sales of conventional cigarettes and Black-and-Mild cigars continued to weigh. Cigarette shipment volume fell 14% in what Altria said was an industry-wide trend, exacerbated by competition from what it called illicit e-cigarettes. Black-and-Mild sales fell 2.9% to $405 million,” wrote the Wall Street Journal.

Revenue from oral tobacco products, which include products such as Copenhagen moist tobacco, ticked up 0.5% to $654 million.

Rising demand for its smoking alternatives, such as on! nicotine pouches and NJOY vapes, helped the company counter the impact from lost cigarette sales as smokers shift away from traditional tobacco products, reported Reuters.

The company said its full-year forecast assumes that NJOY will not return to the U.S. market this year.

“Our highly profitable traditional tobacco businesses performed well in a challenging environment in the first quarter,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s chief executive officer. “The smokeable products segment delivered solid adjusted operating companies income growth behind the strength of Marlboro. In the oral tobacco products segment, on! maintained momentum in a competitive marketplace as Helix invested strategically behind the brand. And shareholders continued to benefit from strong cash returns through dividends and share repurchases, while we invested in pursuit of our vision.”

In February, NACS Daily reported that Philip Morris International (PMI) saw quarterly shipments of HTU and oral smoke-free products exceeding 40 billion units for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2024, driving its smoke-free business to a "superior performance, with full-year net revenues increasing by 14.2%. In its most recent earnings call in April, the company said the success of its Zyn nicotine pouches drove revenue.

Shipments of Zyn topped 200 million cans, a 70 million increase year over year, “blasting past the company’s initial expectations as it brought more production capacity online,” said the Associated Press. The smoke-free business accounted for 42% of PMI’s total net revenue and around 44% of gross profit, with 38.6 million estimated adult users of its smoke-free products at year end (up by 5.3 million versus December 2023).