And then there were two.  Two of the three remaining American “Big Tobacco” companies announced today that they would be merging: Reynolds American (RAI) will be buying Lorillard (LO) for $27.4 billion, including debt assumed. Reynolds and Lorillard combined have sales of $13.3 billion and a market cap of $55.3 billion as of yesterday’s prices,...Read More

Earlier this year, I asked if e-cigarettes would relight Big Tobacco’s prospects. My answer was an unequivocal “no.” Rather than being a durable growth business for Altria (MO), Reynolds American (RAI) or Lorillard (LO), e-cigarettes seem to be yet another way to help people stop smoking—a trendier version of a nicotine patch or Nicorette gum,...Read More

The US Food and Drug Administration announces it is considering banning or strictly regulating menthol cigarettes…and the share prices of the companies that make and sell those menthol cigarettes take a tumble.  Haven’t we seen this movie before? Midday Tuesday, the share prices of Altria ($MO), Reynolds American ($RAI) and Lorillard ($LO) were down by...Read More

Has Big Tobacco stumbled into a new growth market in electronic cigarettes? Well, sort of.  Use of e-cigarettes—which produced a smokeless water vapor infused with nicotine—is expected to more than double in 2013, which might ordinarily be good news for the major tobacco giants. Altria (NYSE:$MO), Reynolds American (NYSE:$RAI) and Lorillard (NYSE:$LO) are all active...Read More

Earlier this year, I commented that semiconductor titan Intel (Nasdaq:$INTC) was my favorite tobacco stock. I said this tongue-in-cheek, of course.  I am aware that Intel designs and manufactures microprocessors, not cigarettes.  But my point was simply that slow-growth (or even no-growth) investments, such as tobacco stocks, can be wildly profitable under the right conditions:...Read More