As the author said; Altria is a value trap. They have one very successful product, Marlboro and they're massively over charging for it, which is a big reason their sales are dropping. At some point they'll have to do something else right, a skill this management team has never mastered. I owned MO for years but will not buy it again unless they have a viable new product rollout.
That said, as long as they own the exclusive right to sell Marlboro in the US, they'll continue to make money and MO will be a tax advantaged 8% bond. Anyone buying MO should keep an eye on dividend coverage. If they cut the dividend for any reason this could be a $30 stock overnight. The P/E is currently ~15X which is much too high for a company who's revenue is shrinking. A company whose product kills its customers has to recruit new ones. Marlboro is not the choice for Gen Z.
The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. - WB
