Imperial Brands (IMB.L) — Company Research

Last Updated: 25 October 2026

Imperial Brands PLC is an international tobacco company. It makes and sells cigarettes and cigars under brands such as Winston, KOOL, Crowns and Backwoods, focuses on five priority markets (the US, Germany, the UK, Spain and Australia), and is building a business in next generation products (NGP): blu vapes, Pulze heated tobacco and Zone, Skruf and Knox nicotine pouches. It also owns 50.01% of Logista, a Spanish-listed distributor. Imperial is listed in London and reports in sterling for years to 30 September. Since the last version of this report (9 June 2026) Imperial has bought the Black Buffalo and Helwit oral-nicotine brands, confirmed in its 8 October pre-close update that it is on track for FY2026 guidance, and launched a £1.5bn buyback for FY2027. FY2026 results are due on 17 November 2026. Every figure below comes from Imperial's results announcements, trading updates and RNS notices. There are no analyst opinions, price targets or ratings anywhere in it.

Share prices, and figures worked out from them, are not shown for London-listed companies on ChartsView.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Ticker / exchange	Imperial Brands (IMB) — London Stock Exchange; unsponsored ADRs trade over the counter in the US (IMBBY)
Sector	Consumer staples — tobacco and nicotine products
Revenue (FY2025, year to 30 Sep 2025)	£32,171m reported including duty, down 0.7%; tobacco & NGP net revenue £8,316m, up 4.1% at constant currency
Operating profit (FY2025)	Adjusted £3,988m, up 4.6% at constant currency; reported £3,490m, down 1.8%
Earnings per share (FY2025)	Adjusted EPS 315.0p, up 9.1% at constant currency; reported basic EPS 251.1p
Dividend (FY2025)	160.32p per share, up 4.5%
Employees	About 25,100 at 30 Sep 2025 (Fidelity company data); Imperial describes itself as having more than 26,000 employees
CEO / Leadership	Lukas Paravicini, Chief Executive Officer; Murray McGowan, Chief Financial Officer; Thérèse Esperdy, Chair (John Rishton takes over as Chair on 1 Dec 2026)
Reporting currency	Pound sterling (£)

2. The Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

• Large, steady capital returns: the £1.45bn FY2026 buyback is complete, a £1.5bn FY2027 buyback started on 8 Oct 2026, and Imperial says about £13bn has been returned over FY2021–FY2026, with issued share capital down more than 21% since October 2022.
• Pricing beats volume decline: tobacco net revenue has grown for six years in a row according to the October 2026 pre-close update, and FY2025 tobacco & NGP net revenue rose 4.1% at constant currency.
• Strong cash flow: free cash flow was £2,749m in FY2025, and FY2026 is guided at more than £2.2bn, on net capex of only £338m in FY2025.
• NGP building scale: NGP net revenue rose 13.7% to £368m in FY2025, FY2026 NGP growth is double-digit with share gains in all three categories, and 2026 acquisitions of Black Buffalo and Helwit add oral-nicotine brands.
• Clear 2030 targets: the March 2025 Capital Markets Day set annual targets of 3–5% adjusted operating profit growth, high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth and £2.2–3.0bn of free cash flow, and the pre-close update says FY2026 is on track for each.

Bear Case

• Weak reported profits: H1 FY2026 reported operating profit fell 36.5% to £925m and basic EPS fell 38.1% to 59.9p, after £313m of Delaware settlement costs and £210m of strategy costs.
• Higher German tobacco tax: on 16 Oct 2026 the Bundestag voted for stepped tobacco tax rises from 2027 to 2030 in Germany, one of Imperial's five priority markets.
• Slow growth in the first half: H1 FY2026 tobacco & NGP net revenue grew only 1.8% and adjusted operating profit 0.6% at constant currency, so the year depends on a stronger second half.
• Debt peaked mid-year: adjusted net debt rose to £10,518m at 31 Mar 2026 from £8,406m at 30 Sep 2025, and leverage reached 2.4 times on a 12-month basis.
• Illicit trade and US competition: Australian legal volumes fell about 50% in H1 FY2026 because of illicit trade, and aggressive promotion in US nicotine pouches cut Americas NGP revenue.

3. Business Segments

The table shows FY2025 tobacco & NGP net revenue (£8,316m) by region; shares are worked out from the reported figures. Logista's distribution business is reported separately: FY2025 distribution revenue was £11,448m and adjusted operating profit £316m.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Europe (£3,476m)	41.8%	UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the Nordics, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most NGP sales (£280m in FY2025). H1 FY2026 growth 3.3%.
Americas (£2,892m)	34.8%	The US through ITG Brands: Winston, KOOL and Crowns cigarettes, Backwoods cigars and Zone nicotine pouches. H1 FY2026 growth 0.6%.
AAACE (£1,948m)	23.4%	Africa, Asia, Australasia and Central and Eastern Europe, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Poland and Morocco. H1 FY2026 growth 1.1%.
Distribution (Logista)	Reported separately	50.01%-owned distributor serving more than 200,000 points of sale in southern Europe; more than half its gross profit is from non-tobacco products.

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4. Business Model and Moat

How it makes money. Imperial manufactures tobacco and nicotine products and sells them to wholesalers and retailers. Governments take a large share of the retail price as excise duty: in FY2025 reported revenue was £32,171m but duty and similar items were £13,187m, and after Logista's distribution revenue the tobacco & NGP net revenue was £8,316m. Cigarette volumes fall every year, so growth comes from price increases and from NGP.

Unit economics. Tobacco needs little capital: net capex was £338m in FY2025 against adjusted operating profit of £3,988m and adjusted EBITDA of £4,299m, which is why free cash flow reached £2,749m. Marketing restrictions limit spending, and established brands keep pricing power.

The moat. Strict regulation makes it hard for new companies to enter combustible tobacco, and Imperial has strong positions in its five priority markets (US, Germany, UK, Spain and Australia), which produce about 70% of adjusted tobacco operating profit. The moat is weaker in NGP, which was only about 4% of tobacco & NGP net revenue in FY2025 and where Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have larger smoke-free businesses.

Capital allocation. Imperial targets leverage at the lower end of 2.0–2.5 times net debt to EBITDA, a progressive dividend paid in quarterly instalments, and an annual buyback each year from FY2026 to FY2030. It aims to save about £320m a year by 2030.

5. Financial Health

All figures come from Imperial's full-year and half-year results statements. Imperial is not an SEC registrant, so there is no SEC XBRL data; balance-sheet figures were read from the published statements. Revenue is reported revenue including duty. Long-term debt is non-current borrowings at 30 September each year.

Fiscal Year	Revenue (£m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2021	32,791	+0.7%	299.9p	246.5p	139.08p	£8,715m
FY2022	32,551	−0.7%	165.9p	265.2p	141.17p	£8,996m
FY2023	32,475	−0.2%	252.4p	278.8p	146.82p	£7,882m
FY2024	32,411	−0.2%	300.7p	297.0p	153.42p	£7,506m
FY2025	32,171	−0.7%	251.1p	315.0p	160.32p	£8,524m

GAAP EPS is reported basic EPS; Adjusted EPS is Imperial's adjusted EPS. FY2021 YoY is against FY2020 revenue of £32,562m. Tobacco & NGP net revenue was £7,589m (FY2021, restated), £7,793m, £8,012m, £8,157m and £8,316m (FY2025). Current borrowings were £1,107m, £1,011m, £1,499m, £1,191m and £1,070m, and adjusted net debt £8,615m, £8,054m, £8,026m, £7,740m and £8,406m over the same years.

Quarter / Half	Revenue (£m)	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
H1 FY2026 (Oct 2025–Mar 2026)	14,719 (tobacco & NGP net revenue 3,729)	127.7p	59.9p
H2 FY2025 (Apr–Sep 2025)†	17,567 (tobacco & NGP net revenue 4,652)	About 191.1p	About 154.4p
H1 FY2025 (Oct 2024–Mar 2025)	14,604 (tobacco & NGP net revenue 3,664)	123.9p	96.7p
FY2025 total	32,171	315.0p	251.1p

† H2 FY2025 is derived as FY2025 less H1 FY2025; EPS does not add exactly across halves because the share count falls with buybacks. Imperial reports results only at the half and full year. FY2026 results are due on 17 November 2026.

Cash flow and balance sheet. In FY2025 net cash from operating activities was £3,627m, purchases of property, plant and equipment were £198m and of intangible assets £186m (net capex £338m), and depreciation, amortisation and impairment was £781m (£311m on the adjusted basis). Free cash flow on Imperial's definition was £2,749m. At 30 Sep 2025 cash and cash equivalents were £1,439m, borrowings £9,594m (current £1,070m, non-current £8,524m), reported net debt £8,954m and adjusted net debt £8,406m, or 2.0 times adjusted EBITDA of £4,299m. At 31 Mar 2026 cash was £497m, borrowings £10,828m and adjusted net debt £10,518m.

FY2026 guidance (pre-close update, 8 Oct 2026). Low-single-digit tobacco net revenue growth and double-digit NGP net revenue growth; adjusted operating profit growth within 3–5% at constant currency; high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth; free cash flow above £2.2bn; leverage at the lower end of 2.0–2.5 times. Currency is now expected to add 0–0.5% to net revenue and profit and to reduce EPS by 0–0.5%. The average FY2026 share count was 780.9m.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Free cash flow	£2,749m in FY2025 (Imperial definition); on a simple basis, operating cash flow £3,627m less gross capex £384m gives about £3,243m. FY2026 guided above £2.2bn
Adjusted EBITDA	£4,299m in FY2025
Adjusted net debt	£8,406m at 30 Sep 2025; £10,518m at 31 Mar 2026
Leverage	2.0x adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 30 Sep 2025; 2.4x at 31 Mar 2026; FY2026 expected at the lower end of 2.0–2.5x
Dividend per share	160.32p for FY2025; FY2026 interim dividend 83.36p, up 4.0%, paid in two instalments of 41.68p
Buyback	£1.45bn FY2026 programme completed; £1.5bn FY2027 programme, first tranche of up to £750m from 8 Oct 2026 to 4 May 2027
Short interest (% of float)	London line: 1.22% of issued shares, the FCA aggregated net short position (19 Oct 2026, via Ticker). US ADR (IMBBY): 91,296 ADRs short, about 0.01% of float (MarketBeat, 30 Sep 2026).
Days to cover	About 0.2 days for the US ADR (MarketBeat, 30 Sep 2026); not published for the London line

7. What Are They Building

The 2030 strategy. Set out at the March 2025 Capital Markets Day, it aims to hold combined market share in the five priority combustible markets while building NGP. Targets for FY2026–2030 are low-single-digit tobacco net revenue growth, double-digit NGP net revenue growth, 3–5% annual adjusted operating profit growth and high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth.

Next generation products. Imperial sells Pulze 3.0 heated tobacco with iD and iSenzia sticks, blu vapes, and Zone, Skruf and Knox nicotine pouches. In 2026 it bought Black Buffalo, a US oral-nicotine brand, for an initial US$150m plus a deferred sum (27 May 2026), and Yoik Group, owner of the Swedish pouch brand Helwit, for an initial SEK 515m, about £39.8m (7 Sep 2026). It is withdrawing the older myblu vape from the US.

A leaner cost base. Imperial aims to save about £320m a year by 2030, at a cash cost of about £600m. It plans to stop production at its Langenhagen factory in Germany in July 2027, has agreed to sell its Taiwan factory, and moved 386 roles to Capgemini in H1 FY2026. In August 2026 Bloomberg reported plans for thousands of job cuts in the US and Europe; Imperial has not published a figure.

8. Competitive Landscape

Imperial competes with the other international tobacco groups in cigarettes and increasingly in heated tobacco, vapes and nicotine pouches.

Peer	Market cap (Oct 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Philip Morris International (PM)	About $311bn (companiesmarketcap.com, 25 Oct 2026)	Q3 2026 net revenues $11.4bn, up 5.5% (7.1% organic); smoke-free products over 40% of net revenues (PMI, 21 Oct 2026)
Altria (MO)	About $124bn (companiesmarketcap.com, 25 Oct 2026)	FY2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance $5.61–$5.72, 3.5–5.5% growth (Altria Q2 2026 results, 30 Jul 2026)
Japan Tobacco (2914)	About $85bn (companiesmarketcap.com, 25 Oct 2026)	Q2 2026 revenue ¥1,062.1bn, up 20.0%; FY2026 revenue forecast raised to ¥3,885.0bn
British American Tobacco (BATS)	Not shown for London-listed companies	H1 2026 revenue up 1.4% (2.9% at constant currency); New Categories revenue up 18.0% (BAT half-year results, 30 Jul 2026)

Imperial's H1 FY2026 tobacco & NGP net revenue growth of 1.8% at constant currency compares with BAT's H1 2026 revenue growth of 2.9% at constant currency and PMI's Q3 2026 organic growth of 7.1%. NGP was about 4% of Imperial's FY2025 tobacco & NGP net revenue, against more than 40% of net revenues for PMI's smoke-free products.

9. Leadership and Insider Activity

Lukas Paravicini is Chief Executive Officer (CEO), having succeeded Stefan Bomhard; he presented the FY2025 results on 18 Nov 2025 as the new CEO. Murray McGowan is Chief Financial Officer. Thérèse Esperdy, Chair since January 2020, retires on 1 Dec 2026, when John Rishton, former Rolls-Royce CEO and Chair of Informa, takes over; he joined the Board as Chair Designate on 13 Jul 2026. Director and PDMR dealings disclosed by RNS in 2026, excluding the company's buyback:

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Plan Type
Abbe Luersman (Non-Executive Director)	25 Sep 2026	Purchase	1,220 ADRs	Open-market purchase, US over-the-counter
Alan Johnson (Non-Executive Director)	10 Apr 2026	Purchase	645	Open-market purchase
Murray McGowan (CFO)	07 Apr 2026	Purchase	873	Dividend reinvestment
Lukas Paravicini (CEO)	16 Feb 2026	Award	149,026	FY2026 Long Term Incentive Plan grant
Murray McGowan (CFO)	16 Feb 2026	Award	58,926	FY2026 Long Term Incentive Plan grant
Lukas Paravicini (CEO)	16 Feb 2026	Vesting and sale	64,731 exercised; 30,561 sold	2023 LTIP nil-cost options; sale to cover tax
Murray McGowan (CFO)	16 Feb 2026	Vesting and sale	33,794 exercised; 15,955 sold	2023 LTIP nil-cost options; sale to cover tax

Non-executive directors Susan Clark and Ngozi Edozien also bought small numbers of shares each quarter through dividend reinvestment (most recently on 5 Oct 2026). Capital Group's holding rose to 12.03% of voting rights on 14 Oct 2026.

10. Key Risks

• Excise and pricing (Regulatory): tax rises such as Germany's planned 2027–2030 increases can cut volumes or limit price rises; the EU Tobacco Excise Directive is also being revised.
• Product regulation (Regulatory): bans or limits on disposable and flavoured vapes in Europe, US state flavour bans and FDA product reviews for Zone pouches, where one set of applications got a refuse-to-file letter that ITG is challenging, could restrict NGP growth.
• Illicit trade (Commercial): high excise in markets such as Australia, where legal volumes fell about 50% in H1 FY2026, pushes smokers to illegal products.
• Volume decline and down-trading (Commercial): US tobacco volumes fell 6.1% in FY2025, and growth of the deep-discount segment puts pressure on prices.
• Litigation (Legal): the Delaware ruling in favour of R J Reynolds cost about £313m, with about £162m still to be paid over about three years.
• Transformation and currency (Operational): factory closures, outsourcing and planned job cuts must deliver about £320m of savings without disrupting supply, and moves in sterling against the US dollar and euro change reported profit.

11. Recent Developments

• 12 May 2026 — H1 FY2026 results. Tobacco & NGP net revenue up 1.8% and adjusted operating profit up 0.6% at constant currency; adjusted EPS 127.7p; reported operating profit down 36.5% after Delaware and strategy costs; interim dividend up 4.0% to 83.36p.
• 27 May 2026 — Black Buffalo acquired. Imperial bought the US oral-nicotine brand for an initial US$150m plus a three-year performance-based deferred payment.
• 18 Aug 2026 — Job cuts reported. Bloomberg reported plans for thousands of job cuts in the US and Europe; Imperial has not disclosed a target.
• 07 Sep 2026 — Helwit owner acquired. Imperial bought Yoik Group AB, owner of Helwit, with a 3.4% share of Swedish modern oral nicotine, for an initial SEK 515m plus a deferred payment.
• 08 Oct 2026 — Pre-close update and new buyback. FY2026 on track for guidance on every measure; £1.45bn FY2026 buyback complete; £1.5bn FY2027 buyback announced, with a first tranche of up to £750m.
• 16 Oct 2026 — German tobacco tax vote. The Bundestag voted for stepped tobacco tax rises from 2027 to 2030; the Bundesrat had not yet voted.
• 16 Oct 2026 — Capital Group stake. Capital Group disclosed a holding of 12.03% of voting rights.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 17 Nov 2026 — FY2026 full-year results
• 01 Dec 2026 — John Rishton succeeds Thérèse Esperdy as Chair
• Expected Dec 2026 — third FY2026 dividend instalment (last year ex-dividend 27 Nov and paid 31 Dec; 2026 dates to be confirmed with the results)
• Expected Jan 2027 — Annual General Meeting (2026 AGM held 28 Jan 2026; date not yet published)
• TBC — Bundesrat vote on the German tobacco tax rises
• 04 May 2027 — end of the first £750m tranche of the FY2027 buyback
• Expected May 2027 — H1 FY2027 interim results (date not yet published)

Inflation and consumer-spending releases that move consumer-staples shares are on the ChartsView Economic Calendar. Discuss Imperial Brands with other investors in the ChartsView Forum.

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