• Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO) unveils a lineup of e-cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches, and other smoke-free products in a new plan to shift its business toward less-harmful products after several failures.

• Altria divested e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc, recording a loss of at least $12.5 billion.

• Altria now has a new lineup of e-cigarettes, heated-tobacco devices, and oral nicotine pouches in the works.

• Altria, in a Wall Street Journal report, said it seeks to take reduced-risk products overseas and is considering expanding into non-nicotine offerings such as cannabis products or caffeine pouches.

• Earlier this month, Altria agreed to acquire NJOY Holdings Inc for $2.75 billion in a plan to gain ownership of the e-vapor product portfolio.

• “Previously, we were chasing the market,” Chief Executive Billy Gifford said in an interview, referring to Altria’s past attempts to develop or acquire vaping products.

• “You’re constantly watching what the consumer is telling you in the marketplace, but none of them were satisfying the consumer enough to ultimately meet all of their needs and desires.”

• Altria established two new goals for its U.S. smoke-free portfolio, including smoke-free volume and smoke-free revenue.

• For U.S. smoke-free volume, the goal is to grow volumes by at least 35% from its 2022 base of 800 million units.

• For U.S. smoke-free revenue, the goal is to approximately double its smoke-free net revenues to $5 billion from its 2022 base of $2.6 billion, with $2 billion coming from smoke-free products.

• Price Action: MO shares are up 0.01% at $43.47 on the last check Friday.

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This article Juul Is Divested - Altria Now Focuses On Development Efforts For Smoke-Free Products, Updates 2028 Goals originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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