From 2016 to 2022, PMI’s global market share (excluding the U.S. and China) has held steady at around 28%. While the company’s market share in cigarettes is down from 28% to under 24%, IQOS has made up the difference.
Marlboro’s brand strength is not limited to the U.S. market. PMI’s flagship brand — and the number one cigarette brand in the world — accounts for almost 10% of global volumes outside of the U.S. and China. But while PMI’s U.S. counterpart, Altria, relies almost exclusively on Marlboro to generate operating income for its combustibles segment, PMI has four additional brands that are taking share alongside Marlboro. These five brands — Marlboro, L&M, Chesterfield, Philip Morris, and Parliament — have grown their aggregate marketshare from 16.5% in 2014 to over 19% in 2022. Not one of them has lost market share over that timeframe.
PMI holds a minimum market share of 15% in over 100 countries. Italy, the Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, and Argentina stand out as PMI strongholds. While PMI has seen steep drops in share in the latter two in recent years, the company still holds over 60% share in both markets.
Given PMI’s strong presence (15+% share) in almost every corner of the globe, the growing share of its top five cigarette brands, and management’s ability to make up for losses in cigarette share with gains in IQOS share, the company’s market position looks very strong.
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Other pieces in this series on PMI:
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I purchased some $MO last year, been a pretty good investment and I definitely like the dividends. I do not exactly understand the multiple complexities of the cigarette / tobacco market, I'm much more comfortable with Mining followed by Oil, but it's an area I definitely have an interest in. Thank you for your analysis, Phillip Morris International seems to have great market share in a diverse global footprint. Might be particularly defensive for any possible recession and/or dollar currency devaluation over coming months and years. Just subscribed.
Thank you for the 2 references, I will look into them!