Key Takeaways
- BAT Chair Luc Jobin said at the 2026 AGM that the company delivered at the top end of guidance in 2025 and returned the U.S. business to growth.
- BAT said the number of consumers choosing its smokeless products increased by more than 15.00% year on year, bringing it closer to its 2030 target of 50 million consumers.
- The company said it returned GBP 6.30 billion to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and share buy-backs, and about GBP 34.00 billion since 2020.
- BAT reaffirmed its mid-term algorithm of 3.00% to 5.00% revenue growth, 4.00% to 6.00% adjusted profit from operations growth, and 5.00% to 8.00% adjusted diluted EPS growth.
2Firsts, April 16, 2026
According to BAT’s 2026 Annual General Meeting Chair’s address, Chair Luc Jobin said the company delivered on its commitments in 2025 despite a challenging external environment and is continuing to advance its transformation toward a smokeless business.
BAT said it delivered on its 2025 objectives
Luc Jobin said 2025 was a year of sharper execution and that BAT delivered at the top end of its guidance. He said the U.S. business returned to growth, combustibles maintained momentum, and Velo Plus delivered strong results. BAT also said the number of consumers choosing its smokeless products increased by more than 15.00% year on year, bringing the company closer to its target of 50 million consumers by 2030.
It added that its New Categories business delivered a significant improvement in category contribution and that GBP 6.30 billion was returned to shareholders through dividends and share buy-backs, taking total shareholder returns since 2020 to about GBP 34.00 billion.
The company is advancing its three-year Fit2Win programme
Jobin said BAT is implementing Fit2Win, a three-year transformation programme designed to make the business fitter for an increasingly dynamic and digital consumer landscape. According to the address, the programme is intended to make BAT sharper, faster, more data-led, and better equipped for the future.
BAT outlined six capabilities underpinning its transformation: advanced consumer insights and foresights, science and stewardship, its R&D ecosystem, its international distribution network, regulatory engagement and tobacco harm reduction, and its digital and AI capabilities.
The Chair stressed a smokeless vision and harm-reduction pathway
BAT said its vision to Build a Smokeless World is clear and is linked to its ambition to reduce the health impact of its business. Jobin said the company believes that collaboration with policymakers, regulators, and public health authorities is necessary to create the right frameworks to encourage adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking to switch to lower-risk alternatives.
In the address, BAT cited Sweden, the UK, and the U.S. as examples of markets where harm-reduction approaches have shown progress, while pointing to Australia and Brazil as cases where restrictive regulation has coincided with illicit trade growth and rising smoking rates.
BAT said 2026 performance is expected at the lower end of the range
Looking ahead, Jobin said BAT enters 2026 with accelerating momentum and remains confident in delivering its mid-term algorithm of 3.00% to 5.00% revenue growth, 4.00% to 6.00% adjusted profit from operations growth, and 5.00% to 8.00% adjusted diluted EPS growth.
At the same time, the company said it expects 2026 performance to be at the lower end of those ranges, reflecting the time needed to stabilize the APMEA region and continue investing behind premium innovation roll-outs.
BAT also said profit delivery is expected to remain second-half weighted due to the phasing of New Category investment and the build-up of Fit2Win savings during the year.
The company added that, at current rates, translational foreign exchange is expected to create a 2.00% to 3.00% headwind on adjusted diluted EPS for both the half year and the full year.
BAT said it will continue balancing cash returns and deleveraging
BAT said it expects to generate more than GBP 50.00 billion in free cash flow between 2024 and 2030 and will continue to take a disciplined approach to capital allocation.
The company said this includes continued investment in transformation, balancing deleveraging with progressive dividends and sustainable share buy-backs, and pursuing selective bolt-on M&A to accelerate transformation.
The company added that it has announced a 2.00% dividend increase and a GBP 1.30 billion share buy-back for 2026, and expects to end the year within its target leverage range of 2.0x to 2.5x.
BAT also outlined board and management changes
Jobin also referred to board and management changes. BAT said Dragos Constantinescu will join as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director from September 1, 2026.
Javed Iqbal will continue as Interim Chief Financial Officer until then and will later return to his role as Director, Digital and Information.
The Chair said he remains confident in BAT’s transformation
In closing, Jobin said BAT has the full set of strengths needed to realize its ambitions and Build a Smokeless World.
He said the company has been shaped for nearly 125 years by shareholder trust and employee commitment, and added that BAT’s transformation to date would be considered extraordinary were it not for the stigma surrounding the industry.
Image source: BAT
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