The tobacco industry generally has come under intense review, because of the health concerns caused by tobacco products. However, the health concerns of the products produced are no indication on the actual success of the companies that produce tobacco products. One example of that is British American Tobacco. British American Tobacco continues to succeed in the marketplace and has many of the pivotal financial markers of a successful company.
One overarching benefit that a major tobacco company has is that the barriers to entry into the industry are high. Producing tobacco products is expensive and requires a large amount of equipment and capital. To reach the same quality and pricing that a company like British American Tobacco is able to maintain, new companies will need to expend millions of dollars and years of effort. Because of its solid footing in an industry, British American Tobacco is able to benefit from the exclusivity of a highly expensive business.
Besides from this, British American Tobacco has the numbers proving its success. British American Tobacco has a dividend yield of around 7.3% (Yahoo Finance), a solid amount of cash that is annually flowing to shareholders. British American Tobacco has a moderate PE ratio of 14.48 (Yahoo Finance), showing that the company is on solid footing, but still has potential for growth. British American Tobacco has also consecutively posted positive earnings per share. In 2021, British American Tobacco posted positive annual earnings of 2.96 per share. (Yahoo Finance). Before that, British American Tobacco posted annual EPS of 2.79 in 2020, 2.49 in 2019 and 2.63 in 2018. (Yahoo Finance). These impressive earnings show that British American Tobacco can continue to remain profitable, despite regulations and concerns regarding the industry as a whole.
Overall, Toussie accentuated the fact that British American Tobacco has various financial indicators of a successful company.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial or other advice.