On August 24, Altria rose 3.06% in regular trading, trading at $67.97/share, with turnover of $139 million. The move was driven by the announcement that Philip Morris International will manufacture cigarettes for Altria under a newly established manufacturing cooperation agreement.

The partnership is expected to optimize Altria's production cost structure and improve profit margins in its smokeable products segment. The market views this collaboration as a substantive step toward delivering on the company's second-half profit improvement expectations. The broader tobacco sector strengthened on the same day, with Philip Morris International up 1.68% and British American Tobacco up 1.07%.

For context, Altria reported strong Q1 results earlier this year with adjusted EPS of $1.32, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25. Its most recent quarterly earnings in late July showed EPS of $1.48, reflecting continued operational resilience. UBS previously raised its price target on Altria to $74 from $67.

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