Tobacco Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 114 firms in the US produce a range of tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, and pipe tobacco. The tobacco manufacturing industry is engaged in tobacco leaf processing and aging, stemming and redrying, and manufacturing finished cigarettes or other tobacco products. The industry does not include the manufacturing of electronic cigarettes or electronic cigarette vapor liquids.
Regulations and Compliance
Tobacco companies must comply with a multitude of regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding registration, product listings, labeling requirements, nicotine levels, flavored products, sales, and distribution.
Litigation
Companies are involved in litigation related to their tobacco and nicotine products, often holding the companies responsible for adverse health effects associated with smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
Industry size & Structure
A typical tobacco manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 86 workers, and generates about $350 million annually.
- The tobacco manufacturing industry consists of about 114 companies which employ about 11,700 workers and generate about $47.5 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated with the 4 largest firms representing 91% of industry revenue.
- Large companies include Philip Morris (owned by Altria), Swisher International, and ITG Brands (subsidiary of Imperial Brands). Other major players include Reynolds America and Natural American Spirits (both owned by British American Tobacco), General Cigar Company (subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group), and JTI USA (subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Group, JT Group).
- The tobacco manufacturing industry is global; large manufacturers often have international operations.
- Leading states for tobacco manufacturing include North Carolina, California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
Industry Forecast
Tobacco Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 4, 2025 - Layoffs at FDA’s Tobacco Center Expected to Impact Industry
- According to AP News, the director of the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been placed on leave, and dozens of other CTP staffers were laid off from their posts. The moves come amid sweeping cuts made at Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department. Brian King headed the CTP office and was known for his vigorous response to the vaping market. Among the layoffs were two entire offices responsible for setting policy and drafting new tobacco regulations. According to Tobacco Journal International, the staffing reductions have caused health officials to face challenges in meeting congressional deadlines for reviewing tobacco products. Industry experts say the loss of personnel and expertise could result in the agency spending longer on tobacco applications, possibly causing delays in products coming to market, and potentially spending less time on individual applications, missing safety issues.
- Consumer confidence levels, an indicator of discretionary spending, have fallen due to consumer anxiety about tariff effects and economic uncertainty, according to a report in CFO Dive. The consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan dropped 11% in March 2025, marking the third straight month of declines and hitting the lowest level since November 2022. In addition, the Conference Board index of consumer confidence fell in March 2025. According to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at the Conference Board, “Consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed since 2022.”
- The US Food and Drug Administration proposed a new rule in January 2025 minimizing nicotine levels in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products, according to Tobacco Reporter. The goal is to make the products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the nicotine levels to 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco. The US would be the first country globally to set such limits. The proposal would apply to cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, most cigars, and pipe tobacco. The FDA said the new standard could prevent 48 million US youth and young adults from starting smoking by the year 2100, according to its population health models. The FDA originally announced its intention for the rule in 2018 and is now seeking input on the proposal from the public.
- E-cigarette unit sales at US retail outlets have grown by 47% from 2019 to 2023, with flavors accounting for more than three-quarters of sales, according to a recent report released by the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative. According to the report, flavor categories such as fruit, candy, mint, menthol, and desserts made up more than 80% of sales during the period. Sales of disposable e-cigarettes, commonly used by young people, are up more than 500% from 2019 to 2023. The report also noted that 80% of e-cigarettes are on the market illegally and called on retailers to remove all illegal products from store shelves.
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