London, June 20, 2026, 14:13 BST
- BAT ended Friday at 4,337 pence, dropping 6.3% from 4,631p last week.
- The FTSE 100 dropped 1.0% for the week. BAT’s Friday turnover was about triple its recent average.
- On July 9, shares trade ex-dividend for the next 61.26p payout. Half-year results will follow on July 30.
British American Tobacco finished a rough week at £43.37, down 1.43% on Friday. The stock fell 6.3% over five days. Shares in the Lucky Strike and Dunhill maker ended close to 19% under the 52-week high of £53.26 from May 19.
BAT shares sold off even though there wasn’t an operating update. On Friday, the company filed a regulatory notice saying COO Johan Vandermeulen moved 11,299 shares between his accounts at no cost, with no change to beneficial ownership. BAT hasn’t put out a new trading update since June 2.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.35% on Friday, down about 1% for the week after the Bank of England kept rates at 3.75% on Thursday. The market move didn’t tell the whole story. Imperial Brands dropped roughly 0.9% on Friday, faring better than BAT’s fall.
BAT’s June 2 update is still the main focus for debate. The company lifted its 2026 revenue growth target for “New Categories”—vapes, heated-tobacco products, oral nicotine pouches—to the mid-teens. But it held overall revenue and underlying operating profit growth at the low ends of the 3%-5% and 4%-6% ranges. BAT also now sees global cigarette industry volumes falling by about 2.5%. BAT
Barclays analyst Pallav Mittal said “some investors had been expecting a guidance upgrade”, at least on revenue. BAT stuck to a cautious tone and held guidance, citing uncertain consumer trends and cost impacts related to the Middle East conflict, Reuters reported. Reuters
Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco is betting on U.S. growth, counting on regulators’ recent move to let makers keep selling some products as licence reviews go on. “The size of the prize is very high,” he told analysts, putting unauthorised U.S. vape sales at roughly £7 billion. BAT plans to roll out flavoured Vuse in the third quarter and update the Velo pouch in August or September. Reuters
Investors this week look for signs that stronger U.S. rules will mean more profit for the whole group, not just bigger sales in one piece of the business. Velo Plus picked up 10.4 points of U.S. modern-oral volume share, and Vuse gained 4.2 points in vape value share. But BAT’s cigarette share fell, and the company is guiding to a low double-digit percentage drop in heated-tobacco revenue for the year.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in a note that performance “will need to pick up in the second half” for the company to meet even its modest guidance. Nathan added that BAT’s valuation has come up alongside investor sentiment, which gives the company less margin for weak results. Hargreaves Lansdown
BAT bought back 617,129 shares for cancellation last week as part of a £1.3 billion buyback set for 2026. The company also wants to bring leverage, measured as net debt over adjusted cash profit, down to a range of 2 to 2.5 times by the end of the year. The cash returns give some support.
Risks are still wide for BAT. Cigarette volumes are falling faster, there’s price pressure, recovery in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa is lagging, and a 2%-3% currency drag on adjusted EPS growth is likely to keep BAT at the low end of its guidance. Any more regulatory setbacks or drawn-out geopolitical issues would pile on.
BAT isn’t set to release any financials next week. Traders are set to focus on fresh U.S. nicotine data, regulatory steps, and FX shifts before the July dividend cut-off and July 30 result. BAT’s transition push remains on track, but the market is now pressing harder on the difference between faster smokeless sales and the group’s steady guidance.
