Goldman Sees More Upside in Altria After Strong Quarter

What happened

Goldman Sachs raised its Altria price target to $83 from $77 and kept a Buy rating after Altria's third quarter beat estimates. Altria reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.52 and $6.13 billion in revenue, and raised its full-year 2026 earnings growth outlook.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

A higher price target signals analysts expect more share price gains. Altria's profit growth despite falling cigarette volumes shows it can offset declining sales with cost benefits and other income, which supports dividend-paying investors who own the stock for steady returns.

Analyst inference

Altria shares are up nearly 40% this year and trade near their 52-week high, so the raised target extends an already strong run. Goldman also lifted its 2026 and 2027 earnings estimates, pointing to expectations that the double duty drawback benefit persists.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Watch whether Altria delivers on its raised full-year 2026 earnings growth outlook of 4.5% to 6.0%, since falling short could reverse the stock's strong year-to-date gain. Confirmed
2. Goldman expects Altria to keep benefiting from the double duty drawback and from its contract manufacturing agreement with Philip Morris International starting early next year, so track updates on both. Proposed
3. Cigarette volume declines were better than expected this quarter, so further improvement or worsening in volumes will shape whether profit growth holds and whether the $83 target is met. Analyst inference

Evidence

• gurufocus.com