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AGING Analysis Report
Aug 1, 2026
22 days ago · 100% complete
NOT DEPENDABLE This report predates a filing — its financial basis has been replaced.
Report generated: Aug 1, 2026 · Filing on record since: Aug 19, 2026 · 18 days after
For AI assistants & researchers — machine-readable summary of this page

What this page is: Delvantic's full research page for Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) — AI-driven forensic equity research: mechanical valuation models (DCF, EPV, anchored-PE, scenario) plus three independent AI lenses (Quality / Value / Sentiment). Everything below is rendered server-side; you are not missing content that requires JavaScript. All scores are predictions and research opinions, not financial advice.

Our current read (analysis of 2026-08-23): Designation Watch · Gem Score -11 (−100…+100 Quality+Value blend) · Quality 66 · Value -74 · Sentiment 59 (timing only, not weighted) · Composite fair value $116.54 vs $190.81 at analysis

Page map (sections in order; each card carries a stable reference-name attribute you can cite):

  • profile-header / price-overview — company profile, live quote, market cap
  • extended-analysisthe core: three AI lens reads with findings, scores, and the analyst memo
  • future-predictions — our forward price-band predictions
  • market-narrative / ai-findings / gpt-critique — narrative context, cross-model findings, and an adversarial critique of our own analysis (near the end of the document)
  • Members-only sections (render as login gates for anonymous readers): price-history, income-trend, key-metrics, financials (statement tables), insider-trading. The analysis above is public; the raw data tables require a free account.

More for machine readers: site briefing at /llms.txt · any ticker resolves at delvantic.com/stock/TICKER · raw inputs are public-company filings and market data (via licensed data feeds); every model, score, lens read, and prediction on this page is Delvantic's own analysis.

Philip Morris International Inc.

PM NYSE
Consumer Defensive · Tobacco
Stamford, CT 06901, United States pmi.com Updated Jul 31, 9:09am
Price
$192.00
Market Cap
$299.3B
Employees
84,900
Beta
0.41
Avg Volume
5,466,155
Last Dividend
$5.88
CEO
Mr. Jacek Olczak

Philip Morris International Inc. is a global tobacco and nicotine company focused on manufacturing and marketing smoke-free and combustible products worldwide. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with major operational centers in Lausanne, the company serves a broad international customer base across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Philip Morris International Inc. offers a portfolio that includes traditional cigarettes and cigarillos, alongside smoke-free products such as heated tobacco systems, vapor devices, and oral nicotine pouches. Key brands include Marlboro in combustible products and IQOS and ZYN in smoke-free and oral nicotine categories. The company also provides related consumer accessories, as well as wellness and healthcare products through its specialized business segment. Organized into regional divisions such as Europe, Americas, South and Southeast Asia, CIS, Middle East and Africa, and East Asia and Australia, Philip Morris International Inc. plays a significant role in the consumer staples sector, supplying branded tobacco and reduced-risk products to adult consumers in numerous markets around the world.

Runs with full report Generated: Aug 1, 2026 12:18am
Price Overview
Price at report time
$190.81
as of Aug 1, 12:28am (22d ago)
Change · Aug 1
-1.19 (-0.62%)
Day Range
$188.95 – $193.46
52-Week Range
$142.11 – $207.76
50-Day MA
$183.60
200-Day MA
$169.97
Volume
5,442,159.00
Right now · live
Log in to get the live feed
Members see the real-time price and the move since this report (over 22d).
Share Structure
Outstanding 1,558,530,514.00
Float 1,554,623,389.00
Free Float 99.7%
High free float — 99.7% of shares trade freely, ~0.3% held by insiders/institutions
Very liquid — most shares trade freely. Low insider ownership can mean less management alignment, but makes large position sizing straightforward.
Price History (1 Year)
Last updated: Aug 1, 2026 12:28am (22d ago)
Revenue & Net Income Trend
The directional story — useful even when net income is negative.
Last updated: Jul 31, 2026 9:09am (23d ago)
Revenue
The top line — total sales before any costs or taxes are subtracted. A measure of how much business the company is doing.
Net Income
The bottom line — profit left after subtracting all expenses, interest, and taxes from revenue. Reflects accounting profitability, but includes non-cash items like depreciation, so it isn't the same as cash earned.
Operating Cash Flow
The real cash generated by the day-to-day business — selling products, paying suppliers, collecting from customers. Calculated from net income by adding back non-cash items and adjusting for timing (unpaid bills, unsold inventory). When OCF consistently lags net income, the reported profit may not be converting to real money.
Period Revenue Net Income Net Margin YoY/QoQ
Key Metrics
TD Twelve Data statement HEX SEC filing
Industry comparison last run: Aug 1, 2026 12:16am
P/E Ratio (Price per dollar of earnings)
HEX
Stock Price / EPS (Diluted)
26.45
Stock Price: $192.00
EPS (Diluted): 7.26
P/B Ratio (Price vs net asset value)
HEX
Stock Price / Book Value Per Share
Stock Price: $192.00
Total Equity: -$8.03B
Shares: 1,558,000,000
EV/EBITDA (Total value vs operating profit)
HEX
Enterprise Value / EBITDA
17.44
Market Cap: $299.25B
Total Debt: $168.00M
Cash: $4.87B
EBITDA: $16.89B
Enterprise Value (Takeover price (cap + debt - cash))
HEX
Market Cap + Total Debt - Cash
$294.5B
Market Cap: $299.25B
Total Debt: $168.00M
Cash: $4.87B
Gross Margin (Revenue left after direct costs)
HEX
Gross Profit / Revenue
67.1%
Gross Profit: $27.28B
Revenue: $40.65B
Operating Margin (Revenue left after all operations)
HEX
Operating Income / Revenue
36.6%
Operating Income: $14.89B
Revenue: $40.65B
Net Margin (Revenue left as actual profit)
HEX
Net Income / Revenue
27.9%
Net Income: $11.35B
Revenue: $40.65B
ROE (Profit from shareholder equity)
HEX
Net Income / Total Equity
Net Income: $11.35B
Total Equity: -$8.03B
ROIC (Profit from all invested capital)
HEX
NOPAT / Invested Capital
Operating Income: $14.89B
Tax Rate: 19.7%
Equity: -$8.03B
Total Debt: $168.00M
Cash: $4.87B
Current Ratio (Can it pay short-term bills)
HEX
Current Assets / Current Liabilities
0.96
Current Assets: $24.36B
Current Liabilities: $25.43B
Debt/Equity (Leverage — debt vs equity)
HEX
Total Debt / Total Equity
Short-Term Debt: $168.00M
Long-Term Debt: $0.00
Total Debt: $168.00M
Total Equity: -$8.03B
Rev/Share (Top-line per share)
HEX
Revenue / Shares Outstanding
$26.09
Revenue: $40.65B
Shares: 1,558,000,000
Book Value/Share (Net assets per share)
HEX
(Total Assets - Total Liabilities) / Shares
Total Equity: -$8.03B
Shares: 1,558,000,000
FCF/Share (Real cash generated per share)
HEX
(Operating Cash Flow + CapEx) / Shares
$6.84
Operating CF: $12.23B
CapEx: -$1.57B
Shares: 1,558,000,000
CapEx is negative (outflow) — added to OCF to get FCF
Div Yield (Annual income from holding)
TD
Last Annual Dividend / Stock Price
3.1%
Last Dividend: $5.88
Stock Price: $192.00
Payout Ratio (Earnings paid out as dividends)
HEX
Dividends Paid / Net Income
76.0%
Dividends Paid: -$8.62B
Net Income: $11.35B
Industry Benchmarks
Last run: Aug 1, 2026 12:16am
Compares PM against LLM-researched typical ranges for its industry. One research call per industry, cached indefinitely — every stock in the same industry reuses the same baseline.
Income Statement (Annual)
Last updated: Jul 31, 2026 9:09am (23d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue $31.4B $31.8B $35.2B $37.9B $40.6B
Cost of Revenue $10.0B $11.4B $12.9B $13.3B $13.4B
Gross Profit $21.4B $20.4B $22.3B $24.5B $27.3B
Operating Expenses $8.4B $8.1B $10.7B $11.1B $12.4B
Operating Income $13.0B $12.2B $11.6B $13.4B $14.9B
Net Income $9.1B $9.0B $7.8B $7.1B $11.3B
EBITDA $14.0B $13.3B $13.0B $15.2B $16.9B
EPS $5.83 $5.82 $5.02 $4.53 $7.27
EPS (Diluted) $5.83 $5.81 $5.02 $4.52 $7.26
Balance Sheet (Annual)
Last updated: Jul 31, 2026 9:09am (23d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Cash & Equivalents $4.5B $3.2B $3.1B $4.2B $4.9B
Total Current Assets $17.7B $19.6B $19.8B $20.2B $24.4B
Total Assets $41.3B $61.7B $65.3B $61.8B $69.2B
Current Liabilities $19.3B $27.3B $26.4B $22.9B $25.4B
Long-Term Debt
Total Liabilities $49.5B $68.0B $74.8B $71.7B $77.2B
Total Equity -$8.2B -$6.3B -$9.4B -$9.9B -$8.0B
Retained Earnings $33.1B $34.3B $34.1B $32.9B $35.4B
Cash Flow (Annual)
Last updated: Jul 30, 2026 8:10am (24d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Operating Cash Flow $12.0B $10.8B $9.2B $12.2B $12.2B
Capital Expenditure -$748.0M -$1.1B -$1.3B -$1.4B -$1.6B
Free Cash Flow $11.2B $9.7B $7.9B $10.8B $10.7B
Acquisitions (net) -$2.1B -$14.0B
Net Debt Issued / (Repaid) -$3.0B $3.2B $7.4B $3.3B $1.7B
Dividends Paid -$7.6B -$7.8B -$8.0B -$8.2B -$8.6B
Stock Buybacks -$775.0M -$209.0M $0 $0
Net Change in Cash -$2.8B -$1.3B -$71.0M $1.1B $638.0M
Growth Trends (YoY %)
Last updated: Jul 31, 2026 9:09am (23d ago)
Metric 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue Growth +1.1% +10.7% +7.7% +7.3%
Gross Profit Growth -4.7% +9.4% +10.2% +11.1%
Operating Income Growth -5.6% -5.6% +16.0% +11.1%
Net Income Growth -0.7% -13.6% -9.7% +60.8%
EBITDA Growth -4.7% -2.8% +17.3% +11.2%
Dividend History (Last 20)
Last updated: Jul 31, 2026 9:09am (23d ago)
Date Dividend Declaration Record Payment
2026-06-25 $1.47
2026-03-19 $1.47
2025-12-26 $1.47
2025-10-03 $1.47
2025-06-27 $1.35
2025-03-20 $1.35
2024-12-26 $1.35
2024-09-26 $1.35
2024-06-21 $1.30
2024-03-20 $1.30
2023-12-20 $1.30
2023-09-26 $1.30
2023-06-22 $1.27
2023-03-22 $1.27
2022-12-21 $1.27
2022-09-27 $1.27
2022-06-30 $1.25
2022-03-23 $1.25
2021-12-22 $1.25
2021-09-28 $1.25
0Company Classification 1Industry Landscape 2Company Momentum 3Forward Projection 4aDCF Valuation 4bEarnings Power Value 4cAnchored PE 4dReverse DCF 4eRevenue-Based DCF 4fAnchored P/S 4gScenario Analysis 4hDividend Discount Model 4iBook Value Analysis 4jInsider Activity 4fCash Flow Quality 4gDebt Maturity Risk 4hMacro Environment 4iSector Intelligence 4jRevenue Confidence 4kSensitivity Analysis 4lSector Demand Cycle 5AI Investigation 5bThesis Evaluation 6Valuation Synthesis
computed not applicable not yet run 17 computed · 6 not applicable · 1 not yet run
Risk : Reward — if the last quarter repeats
Live · as of 2026-08-19 10:55
-0.4 : 1 recovery upside vs repeat-quarter downside
Even the bull case prices 18% below today — the ratio here measures the model-vs-market gap, not payoff odds. Another quarter like the worst recent one costs 47%.
CaseGrowthMarginFair valuevs price ($190.81)
Bull — recovery +11% 34.3% $155.79 -18%
Base — stabilizes +7% 29.8% $122.07 -36%
Bear — keeps slipping +4% 25.4% $93.71 -51%
Stress — last quarter repeats +7% 24.8% $101.93 -47%
The next quarters keep the trajectory of the worst recent matched quarter (ending 2025-12-31) — growth stays at 6.8% and margins bend by the same profit-vs-revenue ratio (×0.97). Stress is a trajectory, not a prediction — it answers "what if the ship's current heading simply continues," which history says is the case to respect.
Why this is appearing: this company files quarterly, so its recent trajectory could be measured rather than assumed — the engine matched Jun 2026, Mar 2026 against the same quarters one year earlier and found revenue +9.8% · operating income +16.1% · net income -8.3% year-over-year. That measured heading is what the stress case extends forward. Of those, the stress case extends the worst matched quarter — the one ending Dec 31, 2025 (revenue +6.8%, operating income +3.5% YoY) — not the average. Data measured through Jun 30, 2026 — this card recalculates automatically when the next quarterly filing is ingested. Companies without quarterly filings (many foreign listings) never show this card: with no measured trajectory, there is nothing honest to repeat.
Narrative Economics
The story the market is telling about this stock — the intangible X-factor (founder mythology, cult dynamics, TAM-of-imagination) that moves price beyond what cash flows alone explain. After Shiller, Narrative Economics.
No narrative profile yet for PM — it's generated by the pipeline (market-narrative step).
Claude Reading
Independent analyst synthesis · claude-opus-4-7 · generated 2026-08-01 00:27:28
Verdict Fairly-to-modestly-overvalued at $192 — fair value $170–185; hold existing, wait for $165 pullback to add; synthesis's $116 anchor ignores 20% earnings CAGR.

Looking at the raw quarterly cadence first: revenue went $9.30B → $10.14B → $10.85B → $10.36B → $10.15B → $11.19B, so the "decelerating" tag is misleading — Q2 2026 is an all-time high and up 10.4% YoY versus Q2 2025. Net income is noisier because Q4 2024 carried a -$579M print (Swedish Match/impairment noise) and Q3 2025 had a suspicious 32.1% margin spike, but the trailing four quarters generate roughly $10.9B of NI on ~$42.5B revenue — a genuine 25%+ net margin business. FCF of $10.66B against a $299B market cap is a 3.6% FCF yield, plus a 3.06% dividend at a 76% payout that is comfortably covered. Negative book equity (-$8.03B) is a leverage artifact from buybacks and the Swedish Match deal, not distress — net debt sits well under 2x EBITDA given ~$13B EBITDA run-rate.

The synthesis model's $116 fair value implies you're paying 60% narrative premium, which I think overstates the gap. A reverse-DCF at $192: with $10.7B FCF growing 6% for a decade fading to 2.5%, WACC 7.5%, you get roughly $175–195/share. That's not "priced for perfection" — that's priced for the growth PM is actually delivering (7.5% revenue CAGR, 20.5% earnings CAGR, ZYN volumes still compounding 30%+, IQOS taking share in Japan/Europe). The 26x P/E is optically rich versus historical tobacco 12–16x, but historical tobacco wasn't growing EPS 20%. Applying a static peer multiple to a company whose smoke-free mix is now ~40% of revenue and margin-accretive is exactly the category error the pre-flight flagged. I dissent from the synthesis's $116 anchor — that number implicitly assumes combustible-like terminal growth, which contradicts the momentum data in the same file.

Where the contrarian case has teeth: (1) ZYN capacity constraints have been resolved, meaning the easy comps roll off in 2026 — Q2 2026's 10% growth could compress to 4–5% by late 2027. (2) FDA/EU regulatory posture on oral nicotine pouches is the real tail risk; a synthetic nicotine ban or youth-use crackdown could halve ZYN's TAM overnight. (3) Q3 2025's 32.1% net margin looks like a tax/one-time benefit — normalized margins are closer to 25%, and Q1/Q2 2026 have already reverted. (4) The current ratio of 0.96 and negative equity mean there's zero balance-sheet cushion for a major litigation surprise or FX shock (PM is ~100% ex-US revenue, so DXY strength directly compresses reported growth). (5) Insider activity isn't shown, which is a gap — for a mature dividend name, sustained insider selling would matter. The narrative model's "fallen-angel/moderate durability" read is the sharpest framing in the file: this works until it doesn't, and the failure mode is discrete (regulation) not gradual.

Net: I partially dissent from the "overvalued -37%" synthesis verdict. PM is fully valued, not egregiously overvalued. Fair value is $170–185 by my DCF, meaning the stock is maybe 5–10% rich, not 37%. The composite model is anchoring on stale tobacco multiples and ignoring that earnings CAGR is 20%+ and FCF CAGR is 16%. That said, I don't see a compelling long here at $192 either — the risk/reward is asymmetric to the downside because the regulatory tail is fat and the narrative premium is real (even if smaller than the synthesis claims). A patient buyer should wait for $165–170, where the 3.5%+ yield and 6% FCF yield give a real margin of safety. Current holders shouldn't sell — the compounding is genuine — but new money at $192 is paying full freight for a story that has moderate durability by the narrative model's own admission. The most honest read: the market has this roughly right, and both the bulls at $220 and the synthesis model at $116 are anchored to different eras of the same company.

GPT Reading
Independent reading · gpt-5.4 · generated 2026-08-01 00:27:43
Verdict Overvalued at $192 — superb cash generation and real transformation progress are already capitalized; fair value looks closer to $145-160 unless PM can prove $12B+ sustainable FCF.

At $192, PM is being valued less like a tobacco compounder and more like a consumer-health transformation winner, and the raw numbers only partly support that. The business is undeniably executing operationally: 2025 revenue reached $40.65B, up 7.3% from $37.88B in 2024 and up nearly 30% from $31.41B in 2021. Operating income rose to $14.89B from $13.40B, and free cash flow hit $10.66B on $12.23B of operating cash flow, which is elite conversion for a staples name. On a trailing run-rate basis, the last four quarters produced about $42.6B of revenue and $10.9B of net income, so this is not a stagnating franchise. But the valuation already assumes that this elevated growth-and-margin profile is durable. At 26.4x earnings, 7.4x sales, and 17.4x EV/EBITDA, PM trades far above the range a cash-harvesting nicotine incumbent usually deserves, especially with only a 3.1% dividend yield and a 76% payout ratio that limits upside from capital returns alone.

What stands out most is that the market is capitalizing peak-quality earnings while underweighting how unusual some of the recent margin profile is. Quarterly net margins ran at 28.9%, 30.0%, 32.1%, then dropped to 20.7%, 24.0%, and 25.2% over the last three reported quarters. That still looks strong, but it is a meaningful step down from the 30%+ zone that made the transformation story feel bulletproof. The annual net margin of 27.9% in 2025 was flattered by a rebound from the odd 2024 loss quarter; if you normalize against 2021-2023 net income of roughly $9.1B, $9.1B, and $7.8B, 2025’s $11.35B is excellent but not obviously a new floor. The stock is priced as though smoke-free growth can offset combustible decline and hold consolidated margins near best-in-class levels indefinitely. That may happen, but when a mature consumer defensive trades at nearly 7x revenue, “very good” execution is not enough; it needs “consistently beats ambitious expectations.”

The balance sheet presentation also deserves skepticism. Reported total debt of just $168M alongside negative equity of $8.03B is economically implausible for a company of this size unless the debt figure is incomplete or narrowly defined. I would not take comfort from the apparently net-cash balance sheet; the more reliable anchor here is cash generation, and on that basis PM is sturdy, not cheap. A $299B market cap against $10.66B of free cash flow is about a 3.6% FCF yield. For a business exposed to regulation, taxation, volume decline in combustibles, and category-specific policy risk in reduced-risk products, that is a thin yield. You are effectively paying a premium multiple for a company whose core virtue remains stability. Stability is valuable, but not infinitely valuable.

The best argument against my cautious view is straightforward: PM’s growth is simply better than the old tobacco playbook, and the market is right to pay up. Revenue has advanced from $35.17B in 2023 to $40.65B in 2025, operating margin remains a huge 36.6%, gross margin is 67.1%, and recent quarterly revenue growth is still positive despite the law of large numbers. If smoke-free products are driving mix improvement, then comparing PM to a legacy cigarette annuity understates the duration of growth and overstates terminal decline risk. A 26x P/E is not absurd if earnings can compound high single digits with very low capital intensity, and a 3% yield plus mid-to-high single-digit EPS growth can still produce a satisfactory shareholder return. I weigh that argument less heavily because the stock is already discounting it. There is little room here for an adoption pause, margin compression, or a regulatory wobble; the upside case requires execution to remain near flawless.

What would change my mind is evidence that 2025 was not close to peak profitability but an intermediate step. If PM can sustain quarterly revenue above $11B while keeping net margins back above 28% for several quarters, and convert that into annual free cash flow north of $12B, then today’s multiple would look more defendable. Conversely, if revenue growth slips toward 3-4%, quarterly net income settles in the $2.3B-$2.6B range rather than $3B+, or management’s disclosures show smoke-free momentum is no longer expanding fast enough to cover combustible erosion, then the stock should de-rate sharply. For now, this is a great company priced as a great story too.

Grok Reading
Independent reading · grok-4.5 · generated 2026-08-01 00:28:13
Verdict Overvalued at $192; fair value nearer $120–140 until smoke-free growth re-accelerates and de-risks the multiple

The raw numbers describe a cash engine still firing hard: 2025 revenue of $40.65B is up 7.3% year-over-year and sits on a five-year CAGR of 7.5%, while free cash flow hit $10.66B after only $1.57B of capex. Operating margin held at 36.6% and net margin at 27.9%, producing $11.35B of net income—nearly double the depressed 2024 figure that was skewed by a one-time Q4 loss. Quarterly run-rate has stayed above $10B for five straight periods, with the most recent June 2026 quarter printing $11.19B revenue and a clean 25.2% net margin. That is not the profile of a melting ice cube; combustibles plus IQOS/ZYN are still expanding the top line at a mid-single-digit clip while throwing off enough cash to cover a 76% payout ratio and a 3.1% dividend yield. The balance-sheet oddity of near-zero reported debt against negative equity is classic tobacco financial engineering (share repurchases and legacy liabilities), but the $12.23B operating cash flow dwarfs any near-term liquidity concern.

Where the story frays is valuation. At $192 the stock trades at 26.4x earnings, 7.4x sales and 17.4x EBITDA—multiples that embed the full success of the smoke-free pivot and leave almost no room for the regulatory or volume slippage that still defines the category. FCF yield is only ~3.6%, roughly equal to the dividend, so equity holders are not being paid extra for the execution risk. The 60% premium to the composite fair-value estimate of ~$119 is pure narrative carry: the market is capitalizing mid-single-digit revenue growth as if it will compound indefinitely at tobacco-plus margins. Recent quarterly revenue growth is already labeled decelerating, and the jump in earnings CAGR to 20.5% is partly base-effect recovery from 2024’s loss quarter rather than structural acceleration.

The strongest counter-argument is that the transformation is real and under-appreciated in the bearish models. Smoke-free products are taking share, gross margin has expanded to 67%, and the company is converting that into $10B-plus of annual FCF with fortress pricing power on the remaining combustible base. A smart opponent would note that historical 12–16x tobacco multiples applied to a shrinking cigarette-only business; once IQOS and ZYN are treated as a growth platform with regulatory tailwinds, 20–25x becomes defensible, especially with a 3% yield floor. They would also point out that negative equity is an accounting relic, not a solvency issue, and that ROA of 16.4% shows excellent capital efficiency. I weigh this less heavily because the absolute multiple still prices in flawless execution: any flattening of heated-tobacco volumes or tighter oral-nicotine rules collapses the premium overnight, and the current 26x leaves no margin of safety for that binary outcome.

I would reverse to a neutral or constructive stance if the next two quarters show revenue re-accelerating above 8–9% with smoke-free mix high enough to push operating margin back through 38%, or if management guides 2026–27 FCF sustainably above $12B while holding the payout under 70%. A multiple compression toward 18–20x on unchanged fundamentals would also flip the risk-reward.

Big-3 Panel — where each AI stands
Each AI above independently stated a direction (undervalued, fairly valued, or overvalued) and how strongly it believes it (conviction, 0–5). We combine those into a Bull-Bear Index on a 0–10 scale: 5 is neutral, 10 is maximum bullish (undervalued at full conviction), 0 is maximum bearish. We compute the score ourselves with the same arithmetic for every seat — the models never grade their own bullishness — so the three are directly comparable. Δ shows how far each seat sits from the panel average of 2.3; a large Δ marks the dissenting voice, usually the one worth reading.
Claude claude-opus-4-7 5.0
fairly valued · conviction 3/5 · Δ +2.7 vs panel · self: 5.0
GPT gpt-5.4 1.0
overvalued · conviction 4/5 · Δ -1.3 vs panel · self: 3.0
Grok grok-4.5 1.0
overvalued · conviction 4/5 · Δ -1.3 vs panel · self: 3.0
Advanced Analysis Forensic deep-dive · separate lenses
Separate reads — Company Quality (is it a great business?), Valuation (is it mispriced?), and General Sentiment (how macro + narrative are pushing it), kept deliberately apart · 2026-08-01 00:41:29
Delvantic - Cairn AI
Quality - wait for a dip 7/10
Elite tobacco franchise (quality +66) at a rich price (value -74) with a real tailwind (sentiment +59) - great business, wrong entry, so I wait not chase.
The cruxWhether the smoke-free ramp (ZYN/IQOS) delivers the earnings power already embedded at $190 - if it does, today is fair; if it slips, the entire method range ($86-131) reasserts itself.
Forensic checks Derived mechanically from PM's filed financials — not from the AI lenses
Liquidity & RunwaySelf-Funding
DilutionStable Share Count
Earnings QualityHigh Earnings Quality
The four lensesswitch a tab for its full read — score + evidence
Company Quality
+66
Strong
edge √Σ 161 · risk √Σ 82 · conf 8/10

PM is a mature, high-quality earner. Revenue compounded from 31.4B in 2021 to 40.65B in 2025 (roughly 6.6% CAGR), gross margin sits at 67.1% and operating margin at 36.6%, and 2025 net income of 11.35B converts to 10.66B of free cash flow. OCF/NI of 1.3x, accruals at -4.3% of assets, Beneish M of -2.38 and Altman Z of 4.32 all point to clean, cash-backed earnings with no mechanical red flags. Share count is essentially flat at 1.56B diluted since 2021, so per-share value is not being leaked through dilution.

Strengths 5
m85
Elite margin structure
Gross margin 67.1% and operating margin 36.6% in 2025, consistent with a category-leading consumer franchise; margins recovered from the 2023 dip (OpM 32.9%) back toward historical highs.
m80
Cash generation quality
FCF of 10.66B on 11.35B net income (94% conversion); OCF/NI 1.3x and negative accruals (-4.3% of assets) indicate earnings are cash-backed, not accrual-inflated.
m70
Revenue re-acceleration
Revenue grew from 35.17B (2023) to 37.88B (2024) to 40.65B (2025), a step-up in growth suggesting the smoke-free/IQOS mix shift is working.
m65
No dilution drag
Diluted shares essentially unchanged at ~1.56B over five years; per-share economics are protected.
m55
Safe Altman Z of 4.32
Solvency metrics are firmly in the safe zone despite tobacco's typically leveraged capital structure.
Concerns 3
m55
Thin net cash relative to scale
Net cash of only 4.70B against a ~300B enterprise implies material gross leverage; the balance sheet relies on continued FCF (10B+/yr) to service debt rather than a cash cushion.
m45
2023 earnings dip and margin volatility
Net income fell from 9.11B (2021) to 7.06B (2024) before rebounding to 11.35B (2025); the multi-year sag suggests integration/transition costs (Swedish Match, ZYN ramp) that warrant checking for one-timers in 2025.
m40
Secular category decline in combustibles
Durability depends on smoke-free transition; combustible cigarette volumes are in structural decline globally, so the moat is real today but not automatically permanent.
This is a high-quality mature earner: margins are elite, cash conversion is excellent, the forensic scores are clean, and management is not leaking value via share issuance. The re-acceleration of revenue in 2024-2025 alongside a margin recovery suggests the smoke-free pivot is actually monetizing, not just being narrated. What keeps me from calling it a fortress is the balance sheet - net cash is trivial relative to size, which means the business is only as safe as its next few years of FCF, and the underlying combustible category is in slow secular decline. Strong business, not bulletproof.
Verify before trusting this (6)
  • Gross debt level, maturity ladder, and interest coverage from the 10-K balance sheet
  • Smoke-free product (IQOS, ZYN) share of revenue and its growth vs. combustibles
  • Whether 2025 net income of 11.35B contains material one-time gains vs. underlying run-rate
  • Swedish Match integration status and any remaining acquisition-related charges
  • Geographic concentration and FX exposure given global footprint
  • Litigation and regulatory reserves (menthol, flavored nicotine pouch rulings)
Valuation / Mispricing
-74
Rich
edge √Σ 20 · risk √Σ 114 · conf 7/10
price $190.81 vs deserved ~$120-135 (methods span $86-131), roughly 30-40% above deserved - clearly rich, not extreme. attractive below $135.00

The composite fair value lands at $116.23 and the signal-adjusted FV at $119.40, implying roughly -37% downside from $190.81. Each individual method agrees on direction: DCF $130.94, anchored P/E $117.06, EPV floor $85.96. Even the most generous DCF is ~31% below spot, and the EPV floor implies the current price is more than 2x the cash-earnings-only value - i.e. the market is capitalizing a lot of future IQOS/ZYN growth that has not yet been earned. Earnings quality is high (score 3), so no haircut is warranted; and the business is Strong (quality 66), which lifts deserved value but does not close a ~60-120% gap between price and the method range. Adjusting the anchored-PE upward for franchise quality still lands me around $130-140 deserved - a ~25-30% premium priced in today. What has to be true to justify $190: smoke-free ramps to majority of profit within a few years at combustible-like margins, regulatory risk stays benign globally, and FX/pricing stay supportive. That is plausible but not conservative - it is the bull case fully underwritten. There is no margin of safety here; this is a quality name trading rich, not a mispricing in my favor.

Cheap signals 1
m20
Quality warrants a premium multiple
Elite margins, clean cash conversion, and re-accelerating revenue justify paying above anchored-PE - but a reasonable quality bump gets me to ~$130-140, not $190.
Rich / priced-in 4
m72
All three methods below price
DCF $130.94, anchored-PE $117.06, EPV $85.96 - the entire method range sits 31-55% below the $190.81 print. Convergent downside is a strong rich signal.
m60
Composite implies -37% downside
Signal-adjusted FV $119.40 vs $190.81 = -37%. Even generously quality-adjusting deserved value up 15-20% still leaves the stock 20%+ rich.
m55
EPV floor at $86 flags growth-dependence
The cash-earnings-only floor is roughly 45% of spot, meaning >half the market cap is capitalized future growth from smoke-free - a heroic burden given regulatory tail risk.
m35
Narrative fully priced
Fallen-angel-turned-growth story means the transformation optionality is already embedded in the multiple; disappointment on ZYN volumes or IQOS regulation removes the premium fast.
At $190.81 I am being asked to pay for a successful transformation that is only partially proven. Every reasonable deserved-value anchor - DCF, PE, EPV - lands materially lower, and even a generous quality adjustment does not get me to today's tape. This is a great business at a rich price; I would want it in the low $130s or below before the risk-reward tilts my way. Fairly-to-fully valued verdict, leaning rich.
Verify before trusting this (5)
  • Smoke-free segment margin trajectory and share of operating profit in latest 10-Q/annual
  • ZYN capacity constraints and US volume growth run-rate
  • FDA/EU regulatory posture on oral nicotine and heated tobacco
  • FX assumptions embedded in guidance vs current spot
  • Net debt trajectory and dividend coverage under smoke-free capex plan
General Sentiment
+59
Tailwind
tail √Σ 111 · head √Σ 43 · conf 7/10

The macro tape is mildly constructive (regime +22, VIX 16) but PM's 0.41 beta means broad market swings barely register here anyway; what matters is the stock-specific story, and that story is currently working. PM just printed 52-week highs alongside AAPL and KO in the past 72 hours, which is a tell that the market is bidding up the 'quality defensive with a growth angle' bucket, and PM is the poster child for it via ZYN and IQOS. The fallen-angel narrative has flipped: this is no longer a melting ice cube trade, it is being re-rated as a nicotine-platform growth story with fortress pricing.

Tailwinds 4
m72
Narrative flip working in real time
The transformation story (IQOS/ZYN as growth engines) is the active narrative and it is winning the tape - strong intensity, and news flow explicitly cites Wall Street optimism and all-time highs. That is a live tailwind, not a stale thesis.
m60
52-week-high momentum with defensive peers
Being grouped with AAPL and KO at ATHs signals PM is the market's chosen defensive growth vehicle right now. Momentum begets flows in this cohort.
m45
Low-beta insulation from macro noise
With beta 0.41, the mild rate/PE headwind and 1.6% index pullback barely touch this name; PM trades on its own story, and that story is positive.
m40
Dividend-yield bid in an uncertain tape
News coverage flags PM among durable retiree income names - a subtle but persistent flow tailwind as investors hedge macro headwinds with quality yield.
Headwinds 2
m35
Regulatory overhang always latent
The bear case (oral nicotine crackdowns, heating device bans, plain packaging) is dormant but structural; any regulatory headline can puncture the narrative quickly given the run.
m25
Stretched into strength
Fresh ATHs after strong momentum invite profit-taking and mean-reversion risk; the narrative is priced, not discovered.
Net tailwind, and a clean one. PM is not being buffeted by macro - its 0.41 beta and defensive sector shrug off the mild rate/PE press - so this comes down to narrative, and the narrative just flipped from melting-ice-cube to nicotine-platform growth in real time, confirmed by 52-week highs alongside AAPL and KO. The pressure is up, not down. The only real risk to the sentiment read is regulatory tail risk, which is always there but currently dormant, and mild froth from being extended. I lean tailwind with reasonable conviction.
Verify before trusting this (4)
  • Any FDA/EU action on ZYN or heated tobacco - would crack the narrative fast
  • IQOS/ZYN volume prints in the next earnings - narrative depends on continued growth beats
  • Whether the defensive-quality bid holds if VIX compresses and risk-on rotates to cyclicals/AI
  • Analyst target revisions post-ATH - watch for a downgrade-to-Hold on valuation
The market-wide tape + this name's exposure to it (beta / sector / narrative durability). Context on the non-fundamental pressure — not a call on the business or the price. processId: detail-general-sentiment
Growth Outlook
not run

This lens hasn't been run for this ticker yet.

The forward growth verdict — is the business itself likely to grow (next 2 quarters / year 1 / years 2–3), judged against its category and against printed expectations. The full horizon ladder + creme renders on the Growth Outlook card above. Not a call on the price (Valuation owns that) or the tape (Sentiment owns that).
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Lenses kept deliberately separate — Company Quality (price-agnostic), Valuation (price-conditional), General Sentiment (non-fundamental macro/narrative pressure), and Growth Outlook (the forward growth verdict). The scores are not blended. Filing-level items (convertibles, lock-ups, customer concentration) are v2 — see each lens's "verify."
Price Prediction
Lower -5.1% v0.6.0 View full prediction →

When we made this prediction on Aug 1, 2026, PM was $190.81. We expect it to be $181.00 by Feb 2027, and we consider it great value under $135.00. This is an early model (v0.6.0) — the direction is more reliable than the exact price. Made Aug 1, 2026.

Price when predicted$190.81
Our estimate for Feb 2027$181.00-5.1%
Great value below$135.00
Price history shown (6 Months)

Blue is our prediction, starting the day we made it. Grey is a slower route to the same place — the same destination, taking longer. Black is the actual price, so you can see how we are doing.

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My Notes personal — only you see this
v1.1.562 · 9b2927c4 · 2026-08-22 16:52:06