LONDON, March 24, 2026, 16:14 GMT
British American Tobacco shares rose about 1.2% in Tuesday afternoon trade after the company disclosed another day of repurchases under its buyback programme. The stock changed hands at roughly 4,335.5 pence, trimming a five-day slide of 4.4%. 1
The move matters because BAT is leaning on cash returns to support the shares while growth cools. In December, the maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill said 2026 revenue would land at the low end of its 3%-5% medium-term range and set a 1.3 billion pound buyback for the year. 2
The stock still has a strong one-year record. Trading Economics data show BAT up 38.57% over the past 12 months, versus about 15% for the FTSE 100, keeping the group near the centre of London’s search for defensive dividend stocks. 3
A filing on Tuesday showed BAT bought 101,204 ordinary shares on March 23 from Banco Santander at a volume-weighted average price of 4,258.7007 pence — the average paid across the day’s trades. The company said it would cancel the shares, leaving 2,172,899,092 ordinary shares in issue, excluding treasury stock. 4
Whether that support lasts depends heavily on smoke-free products. Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said in February he was “extremely encouraged” by the U.S. performance of Velo, BAT’s nicotine pouch brand, as it took share from Philip Morris’s Zyn and Altria’s On!; smoke-free products made up 18.2% of BAT’s 2025 sales, Reuters reported. 5
The peer fight is tightening. Philip Morris said in February that investors had grown more uneasy about Zyn as BAT captured a bigger share of pouch growth, though PMI still forecast stronger 2026 profit; Jefferies analyst Andrei Andon-Ionita called Philip Morris’s new targets a “reassuring outlook” but said BAT remained well placed to win U.S. nicotine-pouch share. 6
Some brokers remain wary. After BAT’s December update, Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile said the outlook was “not quite what the share price needed” after a strong run, a reminder that buybacks can steady a stock without solving a softer revenue backdrop. 2
The main risk is still regulation and illicit trade. BAT said in December that about 70% of the U.S. vape market was still unregulated, while in February it flagged Australia and Bangladesh as drags; interim finance chief Javed Iqbal said Australia would continue to weigh on 2026 after revenue in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa fell more than 7% last year. 2
For now, investors are still being paid to wait. Trading Economics shows BAT offering a dividend yield of about 5.7%, and Tuesday’s rise suggests the market is still willing to back that income stream and the buyback while it waits for clearer proof that Velo, Vuse and other smoke-free lines can do more of the growth work. 3
