I have $PM and $BATS in my depot and pretty much for exactly the reasons you mentioned:
Philip Morris Int. is strong in the alternative products and especially already profitable now with high sales share of the novel products.
$BATS is still strong in the traditional cigarette business and well positioned for e-vapers.
Heated Tobacco (IQOS) may not be the future alternative for cigarettes globally, but definitely for Western countries. In addition, $PM does not need to achieve the same market share as cigarettes, as IQOS products have even higher margins than cigarettes. In addition, much of the technology is now patented and cannot simply be copied.
@TaxesAreTheft They are also about to launch IQOS in the USA. There it will cost market share from $MO and $BATS, while $PM cannot lose any market share as they have not been active there to date.
@RealMichaelScott funny that all analysts then expect Altria's profits to rise sharply in 2024 and even more strongly in 2025. Doesn't quite add up, does it?
@MrCumEx On! does not have the dominant market share in any region. Everywhere either PM or BAT is the market leader. Altria's profits are expected to rise because they will probably raise the price of cigarettes sharply, whether they will have volume growth is a completely different question. I don't even know what all the comments were about. I would recommend looking at the market shares, growth rates and the share of new products in sales.
