You saw above how Altria's steady operating profits easily cover the dividend. And Altria is a Dividend King, having raised the payout annually for over 50 consecutive years. As a result, investors get a generous dividend that yields more than 8% today. This steady business pumps out billions in profits, and it doesn't require much investment to stay running. That part of the business has persisted for many decades, and while it probably won't last forever, it's also probably premature to forecast its demise. So its low-maintenance yet steadily growing tobacco profits are about as close as investors can get to house money in a company. The regulations on tobacco mean that Altria can't spend to market its smokeable products. The company's dividend costs $6.6 billion yearly, which gives Altria roughly $5 billion in annual profits left over to fund new projects, repurchase shares, and pursue other goals. MO operating income (TTM) data by YCharts.

Altria has made mistakes, but the smokeable products business is so strong that it didn't change much for the company. Management made a massive mistake and invested $12.8 billion in Juul, yet operating profits are still billions higher today than when the deal was made in late 2018. But smokeable products still generated 86% of the company's operating profits in the first quarter of 2023. It owns 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world's largest beer company, and jumped into oral nicotine pouches. The company made waves with its investment in e-cigarette maker Juul. Sometimes it seems like investors take Altria's legacy cigarette and cigar business for granted. For others, the stock could be a buy today, and here is why. Some might pass on the stock for personal reasons, and that's understandable. Indeed, Altria's best days are probably behind it, but investors can still take advantage of the same basic recipe that has given the stock fame and its shareholders fortune.

Hold still mann