Altria Stock Climbs After Earnings Beat. It Could See Highest Close Since 2018.

Altria beat Wall Street expectations for earnings and revenue. (Casey Templeton/ Altria)

Altria Group stock was rising Wednesday after the tobacco company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations and lifted the floor for its full-year guidance.

The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.44 a share for the second quarter, above analysts’ consensus call for $1.39. Revenue net of excise taxes totaled $5.29 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $5.19 billion and rising 0.2% from the same period last year.

Altria shares were climbing 4.7% to $62.14, putting the stock on pace for its highest close since Nov. 9, 2018. Altria was one of Wednesday’s top performers in the S&P 500.

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes also narrowed its outlook for 2025 adjusted earnings to be in a range of $5.35 to $5.45 a share, compared with a previous range of $5.30 to $5.45.

Altria made up for a decline in revenue from smokable products with 5.9% year-over-year growth in the oral tobacco category. That was headlined by a strong quarter for on! nicotine pouches—a competitor of Philip Morris International’s Zyn. However, the company’s total share of the oral tobacco market share dropped to 33.1% from 37.7% last year.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com