London, May 19, 2026, 15:04 BST
British American Tobacco p.l.c. shares fell in London Tuesday afternoon, trailing a modestly stronger FTSE 100. The stock had logged strong gains, but investors pulled back to weigh the company’s new tech strategy and continued sector headwinds.
The stock lost 0.6% to 4,896 pence at 14:53 BST. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 10,331.64 just before 15:00 BST.
Why now? The pace. British American Tobacco shares have surged into May. Trading Economics shows the stock up 16.8% in four weeks, and it’s up 50.0% over the past year. There’s less appetite for lukewarm news or old drivers after a run like that.
BAT said Tuesday it plans to set up an Information, Digital and Technology hub in Bengaluru, where it will also base its new Future Capabilities Centre. Interim finance chief Javed Iqbal said technology is “an integral role” in BAT’s shift, and the new hub gives BAT access to talent to “scale innovation.” This was not an earnings announcement. BAT
Investors got another buyback update to weigh. A buyback is when a company buys back its own shares. That can shrink the share count and push up earnings per share if profits are flat. BAT said in an 18 May filing it bought 592,630 ordinary shares from 11 May to 15 May and plans to cancel them.
Cash returns have stayed at the core for the stock. In February, BAT said it will pay a 245.04p dividend for 2025, up 2.0%. The £1.3 billion buyback is set for 2026. Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said there is “accelerating momentum through 2025.” But BAT flagged that it expects 2026 at the low end of its medium-term outlook. BAT
New Categories, BAT’s term for products like vapour, heated tobacco and oral nicotine pouches, is still the main argument in its pitch. BAT put its number of smokeless consumers at 34.1 million for 2025, and said these products now bring in 18.2% of group revenue. New Categories revenue rose 7.0% at constant currency, meaning currency moves stripped out.
FTSE climbs on jobs data; BAT lags wider move. UK stocks traded higher Tuesday as fresh labour data eased concerns about a near-term Bank of England hike, Reuters said. At 11:13 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.61% and the FTSE 250 added 0.81%. Wider market strength did little for BAT.
Peer trading showed a mixed picture. Imperial Brands edged up 0.1% to 2,892p in London afternoon trade. U.S.-listed Philip Morris International and Altria each traded a touch lower early in New York.
Anton Kharitonov at Traders Union said BAT’s buyback is helping support shares in the short term, with the lower share count playing a part. But he noted technical indicators are now overbought, which is a sign the stock could have climbed too fast. He expects the stock to keep trading sideways unless GBX 4,750.00 breaks.
But it’s easy to see the risks. If illicit vapes keep hurting Vuse, or if new taxes and rules in places like Bangladesh or Australia drag on sales, investors might lose patience if BAT sticks to the low end of its 2026 targets after recent gains. Reuters said in February that BAT’s profit got a lift from Velo nicotine pouches, but regulators in the U.S. vape market and headwinds in Australia and Bangladesh still posed problems.
BAT’s next earnings report isn’t due until 30 July 2026, according to Investing.com. With the date far off, the stock is set to move on buyback action, defensive flows and how much faith investors put in the shift to smokeless products to balance weakness in cigarettes.
