Shaers of Altria Group Inc. MO, -6.15% slipped 0.2% in premarket trading Thursday, after the cigarette and heated tobacco seller reported third-quarter profit that missed expectations while revenue fell but beat forecasts. Net losses widened to $2.7 billion, or $1.48 a share, from $952 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as special items related to the ABI investment, adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.22 from $1.19, but missed the FactSet consensus of $1.26. The company recorded a 5-cent charge related to its investment in cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. CRON, -0.19% CRON, Revenue fell 4.7% to $6.79 billion, well above the FactSet consensus of $5.73 billion, as smokeable products revenue fell 5.4% and oral tobacco products revenue declined 2.2%. Total cigarette shipment volume fell 12.9% to 24.05 billion sticks, including a 11.9% decline in Marlboro shipments. For 2021, the company raised its adjusted EPS guidance range to $4.58 to $4.62 from $4.56 to $4.62, which compares with the FactSet consensus of $4.62. Altria’s stock has slipped 0.3% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.98% has gained 3.4%.
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