Altria (MO, $51.4) Invests $12.8 Billion in e-cigarette firm Juul
U.S. tobacco company Altria has bought a 35% stake in e-cigarette startup Juul for $12.8 billion.
With declining trend in cigarette smoking among Americans, Altria’s investment in Juul could potentially help the former diversify into the alternative smoking market. Earlier this month, Altria entered the marijuana space by investing $1.8 billion for a 45% ownership in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group. Juul has consumers in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom – thereby potentially allowing Altria to gain a broader global network. Juul, on the other hand, could leverage a big name like Altria to get top-shelf space at stores.
Interestingly, Juul promotes its products as smoke-free sources of nicotine for people wanting to quit smoking. Would that lead to a conflict in the partnership with cigarette giant Altria?
"We understand the controversy and skepticism that comes with an affiliation and partnership with the largest tobacco company in the US. We were skeptical as well," Juul CEO Kevin Burns said. "But over the course of the last several months we were convinced by actions, not words, that in fact this partnership could help accelerate our success switching adult smokers."
Altria said in a statement, "We are taking significant action to prepare for a future where adult smokers overwhelmingly choose non-combustible products over cigarettes”.
However, e-cigarette industry faces regulatory hurdles. With addiction to vaping reportedly on the rise among teenagers, federal lawmakers are trying to curb its consumption among young people. Federal law prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to people under the age of 18. There were also reports of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expected to ban e-cigarettes last month, but the FDA ultimately decided to allow the selling of e-cigarettes only in parts of stores that are closed-off to teenagers.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
MO's MACD Histogram just turned positive
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for MO turned positive on August 21, 2026. Looking at past instances where MO's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 28 of 46 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 61%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The RSI Indicator points to a transition from a downward trend to an upward trend -- in cases where MO's RSI Oscillator exited the oversold zone, 13 of 23 resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 57%.
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. 32 of 55 cases where MO's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 58%.
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on September 11, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on MO as a result. In 46 of 80 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 57%.
Following a +1.61% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where MO advanced for three days, in 216 of 387 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 56%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where MO declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 37%.
The Aroon Indicator for MO entered a downward trend on August 26, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 7 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 67, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 8 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 21 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly undervalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (0.000) is normal, around the industry mean (19.382). P/E Ratio (14.522) is within average values for comparable stocks, (23.474). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (2.643) is also within normal values, averaging (3.758). Dividend Yield (0.062) settles around the average of (0.048) among similar stocks. MO's P/S Ratio (5.653) is slightly higher than the industry average of (2.805).
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 29 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 47 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. MO’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
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General Information
a holding company which produces and markets tobacco products
Industry Tobacco
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