Philip Morris (PM) Surpasses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

PM XXII

Philip Morris (PM - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.39 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.29 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.35 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 7.75%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands would post earnings of $1.38 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.53, delivering a surprise of 10.87%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Philip Morris, which belongs to the Zacks Tobacco industry, posted revenues of $8.15 billion for the quarter ended December 2022, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.98%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $8.1 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Philip Morris shares have added about 0.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 7.3%.

What's Next for Philip Morris?

While Philip Morris has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Philip Morris: favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.53 on $7.94 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.96 on $32.1 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Tobacco is currently in the top 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

22nd Century Group (XXII - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2022.

This plant biotechnology company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.06 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

22nd Century Group's revenues are expected to be $19.26 million, up 142% from the year-ago quarter.

Free Report Reveals How You Could Profit from the Growing Electric Vehicle Industry

Globally, electric car sales continue their remarkable growth even after breaking records in 2021. High gas prices have fueled his demand, but so has evolving EV comfort, features and technology. So, the fervor for EVs will be around long after gas prices normalize. Not only are manufacturers seeing record-high profits, but producers of EV-related technology are raking in the dough as well. Do you know how to cash in?  If not, we have the perfect report for you – and it’s FREE! Today, don't miss your chance to download Zacks' top 5 stocks for the electric vehicle revolution at no cost and with no obligation.

>>Send me my free report on the top 5 EV stocks<<