British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI ) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call February 13, 2025 4:30 AM ET Company Participants Tadeu Marroco - CEO Soraya Benchikh - CFO Victoria Buxton - Group Head of IR Conference Call Participants Faham Baig - UBS Rashad Kawan - Morgan Stanley Gaurav Jain - Barclays Rey Wium - Anchor SB Damian McNeela - Deutsche Numis Richard Felton - Goldman Sachs Tadeu Marroco Good morning, everyone.
British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s FY 2024 results showed resilience in revenue growth despite challenges, with a 1.30% increase to £27.20 billion, driven by Total Smokeless. The tobacco market faces headwinds in 2025, notably from increased taxes in Bangladesh and Australia, impacting BTI's adjusted profit from operations by -2%. New Categories, especially Modern Oral, showed strong growth, but Vapour's potential is hindered by illicit trade, affecting BTI's future prospects.
The market's recent volatility highlights the irrationality of short-term movements, making high-yield dividend aristocrats attractive for stable, long-term returns. High-yield aristocrats offer an average yield of 5.3%, significantly higher than the S&P and other high-yield ETFs. They also have solid growth prospects. These top 10 aristocrats are undervalued by 18%, providing a 29% upside potential within 12 months and 11.9% CAGR long-term returns.
The market appears expensive, but focusing on stocks with stable growth and a reasonable valuation, like British American Tobacco, should mitigate risks. BTI's diverse product portfolio, including combustibles, oral products, heated tobacco, and vapes, positions it well despite the decline in traditional smoking. BTI aims to become a fully smokeless company by 2035, leveraging growth in non-combustible nicotine products to sustain financial performance.
British American Tobacco offers an 8% dividend yield with a conservative 60% payout ratio, ensuring stable and growing dividends for investors. Despite a 12% stock price decline over five years, BAT's dividends have provided inflation-beating returns, making it a reliable income investment. BAT's strategic debt reduction and share buybacks enhance shareholder value, contributing to expected EPS growth of 6-7% annually.
High-yield dividend stocks present an intriguing paradox for investors. While historical data shows they can outperform the S&P 500 over multidecade periods when dividends are reinvested, many high-yielding stocks struggle to match market returns over the short term.
If you like high-yield investments you've probably had both British American Tobacco (BTI 1.14%) and Kraft Heinz (KHC 1.04%) pop up on your stock screens. There are things to like about each one, things to dislike, and one major difference that should lead investors to a clear choice between them.
I aim to create a $500,000 portfolio for passive income, focusing on high-yield and growth companies to outpace inflation. My portfolio includes 10 companies: 70% stable high-yielders like Pepsi, BTI, and Realty Income; 30% high-growth stocks like Novo Nordisk and Visa. Consumer staples dominate my picks, leveraging trends in eating habits and vices; risks include regulatory changes and shifts in consumer behavior.
Most dividend investors seek solid passive income streams from quality dividend stocks.
Despite persistent regulatory uncertainty and declining cigarette usage worldwide, the tobacco industry is alive and well in 2025. People are smoking less, but many have shifted their consumption toward emerging products like oral nicotine pouches and electronic devices.
British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s latest dividend declaration shows a slight sequential decline and modest annual growth of around 1.6% only. With this payout, the stock currently yields 8.1% on an FWD basis, a level above its historical average. However, BTI stock's high yield is not as attractive as on the surface due to limited growth and when benchmarked against risk-free rates.
British American Tobacco (BTI -0.33%) is a consumer staples stock, but it is probably one of the riskiest consumer staples stocks you can buy. That's highlighted by its dividend yield, which at around 8.2% is more than three times larger than the yield of the average consumer staples stock.