London, June 10, 2026, 14:32 BST
- British American Tobacco traded up near 4,500p, outperforming the FTSE 100, which slipped, as UK quotes showed a delay.
- The stock move stays focused on one thing: if quicker growth in vapes and nicotine pouches can make up for soft cigarette sales and the cautious 2026 outlook.
- BAT still has its buyback in progress, but U.S. market access for Vuse and Velo is seen as the bigger driver.
British American Tobacco p.l.c. traded up on Wednesday, with shares nearing 4,500p as investors weighed the group’s U.S. vape outlook. The company is still steering toward the lower end of its 2026 goals. The stock was at 4,498p to sell and 4,500p to buy on Hargreaves Lansdown, gaining 23p, or 0.51%. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.06%.
AJ Bell had BAT quoted at 4,502p to sell and 4,503p to buy, up 28p, or 0.63%. The previous close on the same page was 4,475p. The high for the day hit 4,540p. BAT regained some ground from Tuesday, but didn’t break out to new highs.
Investors are watching more than just Wednesday’s half-point move. BAT shares dropped last week after the company raised its outlook for smoking-alternative revenue but stuck to its group-wide 2026 targets. Reuters said the stock fell 4% on June 2, as some investors had looked for a wider upgrade.
Trading continues to be led by the latest update. BAT said June 2 that its “New Categories”—which covers vapour, heated tobacco and modern oral nicotine—should see revenue up in the mid-teens range for both the first half and full year of 2026. That’s above its old low-double-digit forecast. The group is sticking to its call for 2026 revenue, adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted EPS to end up at the low end of its medium-term guidance. BAT
BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco said the group’s “full-year delivery remains firmly on track,” citing progress in U.S. combustibles, vapour and modern oral categories. The market is weighing if strong Velo and Vuse demand can offset sliding cigarette volumes, with Marroco’s comment giving the stock a push. BAT
Velo delivered the clearest operating growth for BAT, with the company saying it picked up 7.4 percentage points of volume share in modern oral products across its biggest markets. Vuse stayed on top in global value share and picked up 4.2 points in the U.S., BAT said. But heated tobacco was softer. BAT expects glo to show a low-double-digit revenue drop in both the first half and the full year.
U.S. regulators are in focus. The Food and Drug Administration, in May guidance, said it doesn’t plan to crack down on some unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery systems and nicotine pouch goods as long as those products hit certain application and risk marks. The FDA also said being covered by this policy doesn’t mean a product will end up cleared for sale.
BAT is up against delays and illegal rivals in the U.S. vape market, hitting its Vuse and Velo brands. BAT told Reuters it sees U.S. unlicensed vape sales at roughly £7 billion. The company is planning to launch flavoured Vuse products in the third quarter and roll out a new Velo pouch in August or September.
Cash returns are another pillar for the stock. BAT said it sees operating cash conversion topping 95% in 2026. The company expects leverage to land inside its 2.0 to 2.5 times target range by the end of the year. BAT is also planning £1.3 billion in share buybacks in 2026. A share buyback happens when a company buys its own shares, typically cutting the share count and boosting earnings per share if profits are steady.
BAT disclosed it bought back 621,370 ordinary shares from June 1 to June 5 via Merrill Lynch International, according to the latest buyback filing. The company said it plans to cancel the repurchased shares. BAT said that after the cancellation, it will have 2,167,017,793 ordinary shares with voting rights, not counting treasury shares.
BAT’s stock is under pressure. The company said world cigarette market volume likely drops about 2.5% this year, missing its old call for a 2% slide. BAT said its group value share in key combustible markets slipped 20 basis points, and volume share fell 30 basis points. A basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Investors face risk if new nicotine products can’t grow fast enough to make up for falling cigarette sales, currency headwinds and ongoing regulation questions. BAT said ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East may also weigh on consumer sentiment. The FDA, for its part, said unauthorized tobacco products could still face enforcement, and that just applying for approval does not give legal protection.
BAT faces a test now: can it use the U.S. policy opening to actually launch Vuse and Velo, while also meeting second-half profit goals? BAT has said 2026 profit will be back-end loaded. The stock will likely keep moving on any sign that growth from new categories can start making a real difference to group earnings.
