Altria has been treading water for the past six months, recording a small return of 1.8% while holding steady at $66.58.
Is now the time to buy MO? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Why Does Altria Spark Debate?
Best known for its Marlboro brand of cigarettes, Altria (NYSE: MO) offers tobacco and nicotine products.
Two Things to Like:
1. Elite Gross Margin Powers Best-In-Class Business Model
At StockStory, we prefer high gross margin businesses because they indicate pricing power or differentiated products, giving the company a chance to generate higher operating profits.
Altria has best-in-class unit economics for a consumer staples company, enabling it to invest in areas such as marketing and talent to grow its brand. As you can see below, it averaged an elite 87.1% gross margin over the last two years. That means for every $100 in revenue, only $12.89 went towards paying for raw materials, production of goods, transportation, and distribution. 
2. Excellent Free Cash Flow Margin Boosts Reinvestment Potential
If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.
Altria has shown terrific cash profitability, driven by its lucrative business model that enables it to reinvest, return capital to investors, and stay ahead of the competition. The company’s free cash flow margin was among the best in the consumer staples sector, averaging an eye-popping 43.6% over the last two years.
One Reason to be Careful:
Long-Term Revenue Growth Flatter Than a Pancake
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Unfortunately, Altria struggled to consistently increase demand as its $20.14 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue three years ago. This wasn’t a great result, but there are still things to like about Altria.
Final Judgment
Altria’s positive characteristics outweigh the negatives, but at $66.58 per share (or 11.8× forward P/E), is now the right time to buy the stock? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.
Find out which 5 stocks it's flagging for this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
