Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services.
Overall shipment volumes could continue growing as smokers have more time and opportunity to smoke.
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
Alert: Top Cash Back Card Now Offers 0% Intro APR Until Nearly 2027
Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months—plus up to 5% cash back in popular categories.
Motley Fool Returns
Market-beating stocks from our flagship service.
Calculated by average return of all stock recommendations since inception of the Stock Advisor service in February of 2002. Returns as of 2025-08-28 19:55:10.520408.
Discounted offers are only available to new members. Stock Advisor list price is $199 per year.
Calculated by Time-Weighted Return since 2002. Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.
Hoarding apparently accounted for a 1.1% rise in traditional cigarette volumes for the week ending March 22, a significant reversal for an industry in the midst of a secular decline. But now that smokers have stocked up on supplies, manufacturers are seeing a dramatic fall off in sales.
Convenience store data from Nielsen (NLSN +0.00%) shows sales for the week ending April 4 plunged 8.4% from the week before.
Image source: Getty Images.
According to Nielsen, Altria (MO +0.00%) suffered the biggest decline with volumes at its Philip Morris USA division plummeting 10.4% from the prior week, though British American Tobacco's (BTI 0.01%) R.J. Reynolds unit also suffered a big drop, with volumes falling 8.2% week to week.
ITG Brands, which is a subsidiary of Imperial Brands (IMBBY +0.00%) and owns traditional cigarette brands such as Winston, Salem, Kool, and Maverick, saw volumes fall 7.9%.
The Winston-Salem Journal quotes Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery as saying the incidence of smoking could rise during shelter-in-place orders that keep people out of venues that prohibit smoking, such as restaurants, bars, and workspaces.
"Consumption levels also tend to increase during times of personal stress," Lavery said. "Lower gas prices and consumer wages (and/or unemployment benefits) are also key variables for 2020 volumes."
Altria, though, maintains its market dominance with a near-54% share of the market, followed by British American at almost 34%. ITG Brands is trailing well behind in third place with a 7% share.