Universal Corp. Valuation Multiples

Created from the international operations of Altria in 2008, Philip Morris International sells cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat sticks, vapes, and oral nicotine offerings, primarily outside of the US. With the 2023 acquisition of Swedish Match, a leading manufacturer of traditional oral tobacco products and nicotine pouches primarily in the US and Scandinavia, PMI is not only dominant in smokable products but also has the Iqos and Zyn brands, which respectively dominate heated tobacco and nicotine pouches in most markets.

The third-largest tobacco company by volume, British American Tobacco sold 518 billion cigarettes in 2024. Its leading brands are Dunhill, Kent, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike, and Rothmans in cigarettes. Its ownership of the Camel, Natural American Spirit, and Newport brands are limited to the US. In next-generation products, the company has the Vuse brand in vaping, Glo in heated tobacco, and Velo in modern oral tobacco. The company also owns a 22.9% stake in ITC limited, the largest Indian cigarette company.

Altria comprises Philip Morris USA, US Smokeless Tobacco, John Middleton, Horizon Innovations, and Helix Innovations. Through its tobacco subsidiaries, Altria maintains the leading position in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in the United States and the number-two spot in machine-made cigars. The company's Marlboro brand is the leading cigarette brand in the US with 42% annual share in 2024. Beyond its core business, it holds an 8% interest in the world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev and a 41% stake in cannabis manufacturer Cronos. It also acquired vaping company Njoy Holdings in 2023 and operates a joint venture with Japan Tobacco in the heated tobacco category for the US.

Japan Tobacco primarily sells cigarettes and reduced-risk products, organized in three clusters consisting of Asia (which includes its home market and countries in Asia Pacific), Western Europe, and EMA (which includes Eastern Europe, the Middle East North Africa, Turkey, Americas, and duty-free). Its leading cigarette brands include Winston (non-US), Camel (non-US), Mevius, and LD. Its reduced-risk brands include Logic in vaping, Ploom in heated tobacco, and Nordic Spirit in nicotine pouches, though these generates less than 5% of tobacco sales.

ITC Ltd is an Indian conglomerate that predominantly operates in the consumer goods space, particularly cigarettes. The company operates in three main business segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Paperboards, Paper, and Packaging; and Agri-Business. The company's total revenue comes from the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Business, which is dominated by cigarettes but also includes branded packaged foods, personal care products, and other categories. The company generates the vast majority of its revenue in India.

Imperial Brands is the world's fourth-largest international tobacco company (excluding China National Tobacco), with total fiscal 2025 volume of 187 billion cigarettes sold in more than 120 countries. Its largest and most important markets are the US (where it sits as the third-largest manufacturer, following its acquisition of the Winston and Blu brands), Germany, the UK, Spain, and Australia. The firm also holds a leading global position in the fine-cut tobacco and hand-rolling paper categories. It has a logistics platform in Western Europe, Altadis.

KT&G Corp manufactures and sells tobacco products in South Korea. Its flagship cigarette brand is Esse. Other brands include This, The One, Bohem, and Raison. The company has four reportable divisions: Tobacco Business, Ginseng Business, Real Estate Business, and Other Business divisions. The Tobacco division handles tobacco manufacturing and sales, the Ginseng division focuses on manufacturing and sales of red ginseng products, the Real Estate division engages in real estate sales and rental activities, and the Other Business division includes manufacturing and sales of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It generates the majority of its revenue from the Tobacco Business.

Smoore International Holdings Ltd offers vaping technology solutions, including manufacturing vaping devices and vaping components for Heat-not-burn products. It operates in three segments namely research, design and manufacturing of closed-system electronic vaping products, heat-not-burn products, and components for atomization products for various tobacco companies, independent vaping and other corporate clients; research, design, manufacturing and sale of branded electronic vaping products and beauty atomization products for retail clients; and providing relevant research and development (R&D) services for customers based on atomization technology reserves. The company generates maximum revenue from Vaping devices and components, besides APV.

Godfrey Phillips India Ltd is a cigarette manufacturer that sells its products globally under brand names including Four Square, Red & White, Cavanders, Jaisalmer, Stellar, and Marlboro which it has a license to sell in India. Cigarette sales account for the vast majority of the total revenue, although the company also sells tea and other retail products. The company operates through three reportable segments: Cigarette, Tobacco, and Related Products and Related Products; and Others. The majority of the Godfrey Phillips sales are generated in India, but the company exports some of its cigarette brands and cuts tobacco.

Philip Morris CR AS is a Czech Republic-based company active in the tobacco industry. The company is engaged in the production, sale, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products. The company also distributes smoke-free tobacco products under the HEETS name; and IQOS tobacco heating systems and related accessories, as well as cigarettes. The company provides its tobacco products under the Marlboro, L&M, Philip Morris, Petra Klasik, Sparta, and Chesterfield brands.

RLX Technology Inc is engaged in the manufacturing of e-vapor products for adult smokers. It has an integrated offline distribution and "Branded store plus" retail model tailored to China's e-vapor market.

China Tobacco International (HK) Co Ltd is engaged in the tobacco business. It operates through various segments namely the Tobacco Leaf Products Export Business, the Tobacco Leaf Product Import Business, the Cigarettes Export Business, the New Tobacco Product Export Business, and the Brazil Operation Business. The company's geographical segments are China (excluding the SARs), Indonesia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Belgium, and others.

Eastern Co SAE is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of Tobacco leaf, its products and modern smoking alternatives and accessories/ practicing any investment, financial, commercial, industrial, agricultural or service activities. The company's business activities also include real estate Ownership and Construction, purchasing and dividing lands for the purposes of utilization, rental or sale, import, export, and commercial agencies. Its local cigarette brands include Cleopatra, Mondial, and Lite. Its export cigarette brands include Belmont, Delta, President, and Golden West. Its key products include Cigars & Pipe tobacco, Cigarettes and Moassel.

PT Gudang Garam Tbk manufactures kretek cigarettes, which are clove cigarettes common in Indonesia. The firm's operations are almost entirely domestic, with its tobacco and clove farmers. Nearly majority of the company's sales are generated in Indonesia. The company's brand families include Gudang Garam, Merah, and others. Other brands include Sriwedari, which is a hand-rolled brand, and Klobot. The company's segment includes Cigarettes, Paperboard, Infrastructure, and Others. The company generates the majority of its revenue from sale of Cigarettes.

Turning Point Brands Inc operates as manufacturer, marketer, provider of consumer products that include Other Tobacco Products (OTP) in the U.S. The company offers a wide variety across the OTP spectrum including moist snuff tobacco (MST), loose-leaf chewing tobacco, premium cigarette papers, make- your-own (MYO) cigar wraps, cigars, liquid vapor products, and tobacco vaporizer products. It operates in two segments namely Zig-Zag products and Stoker's products segment. The company generates maximum revenue from the Zig-Zag products segment.

Karelia Tobacco Co Inc SA is in the business of manufacture, export, and wholesale of tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolling cigarettes, and other duty-free tobacco products. The firm's flagship brands include George Karelias and Sons, Slims, Ome, Karelia Blue, and American Legend. Its geographical segment includes Greece and International. The company derives a majority of its revenue from the Greece segment.

Pakistan Tobacco Co Ltd is engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of cigarettes, tobacco, VELO, and VUSE. Its products are marketed through brands like Dunhill, Gold Flake, John Player, Embassy, Capstan, and others. Geographically, the company generates a majority of its revenue from its domestic market and also exports its products to other countries.

Ceylon Tobacco Co PLC is engaged in manufacturing, marketing and selling cigarettes. Its brand portfolio includes Dunhill, Benson & Hedges, John Players, Bristol, and Capstan. The company derives maximum revenue from the domestic market.

British American Tobacco Bangladesh Co Ltd is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of cigarettes in Bangladesh. It manufactures and markets brands including Benson & Hedges, John Player Gold Leaf, John Player Series, Capstan, Lucky Strike, Star, Royals, Derby, Pilot, and Hollywood.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group AS offers cigars, pipe tobacco, and accessories in North America, Europe, and Australia. It operates in three segments: North America online and retail, which includes direct to consumer sales of all product categories sold via the online, catalogue and retail channel in North America. North America branded and the Rest of the World, which provides its products to wholesalers and distributors; Europe Branded comprises sale of all product categories to wholesalers, distributors and direct to retail in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, the UK, and Ireland.

Carreras Ltd is a marketer and distributor of cigarettes and tobacco-related products in Jamaica. The company markets and distributes various brands of cigarettes including Craven A and Matterhorn. The group’s activities are limited to the distribution of cigarettes to Jamaican consumers, operating in a single segment.

Haypp Group AB is engaged in the business of selling nicotine pouches and snus online in eight countries across Europe and in the United states. The company has two operating segments namely, Core and Growth. Core consists of the main markets, Sweden and Norway. Growth consists of the emerging markets which are USA, UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

B AT Kenya is tobacco company. It is engaged in the manufacturing and selling of cigarettes and tobacco in Kenya. The company offers its products under the brands, such as Dunhill, Benson & Hedges and Sportsman.

British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd is principally engaged in the manufacturing, marketing, and importation of cigarettes, pipe tobaccos, cigars, devices, other tobacco products, and nicotine products. Geographically, the company operates in Malaysia. Its key brands are Dunhill, Peter Stuyvesant, Rothmans, KYO, Pall Mall, and Kent.

Bulgartabac Holding AD specializes in tobacco processing, cigarette production, and exports. The company is an exporter of processed Virginia, Burley & Oriental tobaccos. It supplies aromatic and semi-aromatic types of tobaccos. Its products include Victory, Class S, Femina Slim, Prestige & Welcome.

Ispire Technology Inc is engaged in the research and development, design, commercialization, sales, marketing, and distribution of branded e-cigarettes and cannabis vaping products. The company sells its cannabis vaping products in the United States, Europe, Canada, and South Africa. Geographically, the company generates the majority of its revenue from Europe.

Vapor Group Inc is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and marketing of vaporizers and electronic cigarettes and e-liquids. The company also markets consumer products including the Whizboard brand of scooters and Hoverkart accessories sold by Smart Wheels. Its products are marketed under the Vapor Group, Total Vapor, Vapor 123, and The Vapor Products brands. All products are sold nationwide through distributors and directly to consumers through company-owned websites.