British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BTAFF) stock analysis
Close on Oct 19, 2026Market cap $133.90BP/E 12.4Yield 5.66%
StockData Score
Prices as of Oct 30, 2026How the score works
Weak6 of 30 checks passed
British American Tobacco p.l.c. passes 6 of the 30 checks behind our score; 14 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 0/6
- Growth
- 1/6
- Past performance
- 5/6
- Financial health
- 0/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 3.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 153% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.9% a year.
Return on equity above the industry
British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s return on equity of 16.9% is above the Consumer staples median of 4.4%.
What to watch
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 4.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
High debt
Debt is 75.4% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew -2.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew 6.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Valuation0/6
P/E against its history
Not enough price and earnings history to compare.
P/E against the industry
Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.
EV/EBITDA against its history
Needs positive EBITDA and price history.
P/B against the industry
Needs positive book value.
Price against fair value
We could not estimate a fair value: it needs at least two valuation methods with positive inputs.
Margin of safety
Depends on the fair value estimate.
Growth1/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew -2.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew 6.1% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 153% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.9% a year.
Growing slower than the industry
Revenue grew -1.0% over the last twelve months; the Consumer staples median is 3.7%.
Company guidance
No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.
Gross margin trend
This company does not report gross profit.
Past performance5/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 4.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s return on equity of 16.9% is above the Consumer staples median of 4.4%.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 3.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 30.3% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.0%.
Net margin above the industry
British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s net margin of 30.3% is above the Consumer staples median of 1.2%.
Financial health0/6
High debt
Debt is 75.4% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt rising against equity
Debt to equity rose from 70.2% five years ago to 75.4%.
Debt not well covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 18.1% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 4.9 times; we look for at least 5.
Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts
Current assets are 0.84 times current liabilities.
Bankruptcy risk (Altman Z)
Needs market value, working capital and retained earnings.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
British American Tobacco p.l.c. has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itWe don't publish a fair value for British American Tobacco p.l.c.. It needs a US-dollar share price, at least two valuation methods with positive inputs (earnings, EBITDA, book value or sales) and, for companies with several share classes, classes that trade at the same price.
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $288.89M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $235.40M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 9.5%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 26%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 0.56
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.23
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2008 to 2025
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | -1.0% | -2.5% | -0.1% | +7.4% | |
| Operating income | +265.4% | -1.7% | +0.1% | +8.2% | |
| Net income | +153.1% | +5.2% | +3.9% | +6.1% | |
| EPS, diluted | +156.7% | +6.1% | +4.6% | -34.2% | |
| Free cash flow | -39.9% | -16.3% | -9.0% | +3.2% | |
| Dividend per share | +2.0% | +2.0% | +2.6% | – |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | – | 10.1% | 16.5% | |
| Return on assets | – | 4.6% | 6.8% | |
| Current ratio | 1.04 | 0.88 | 0.87 | |
| Debt to equity | 2.38 | 0.70 | 0.76 | |
| Interest coverage | 6.8× | 5.5× | 4.9× | |
| Capex to revenue | 4.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | |
| Diluted shares | – | 2.29B | 2.20B |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
British American Tobacco p.l.c. generated £47.29B from operations and spent £11.37B on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 22% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 30.3% | 0.22× | 2.43× | 16.5% |
| FY2024 | 11.9% | 0.22× | 2.40× | 6.2% |
| FY2023 | -52.7% | 0.20× | 2.19× | -23.1% |
| FY2022 | 24.1% | 0.19× | 2.09× | 9.6% |
| FY2021 | 26.5% | 0.19× | 2.15× | 10.6% |
| FY2020 | 24.8% | 0.18× | 2.20× | 10.1% |
| FY2019 | 22.0% | 0.18× | 2.22× | 8.8% |
| FY2018 | 24.6% | 0.17× | 2.28× | 9.6% |
| FY2017 | 191.6% | 0.22× | 2.62× | 108.7% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero£7.76B
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero£6.34B
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year2.6% → 6.5%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income£6.34B vs £7.76B
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell27.5% → 29.0%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose0.76 → 0.87
- No dilutionShare count did not rise2.23B → 2.20B
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year– → –
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.22 → 0.22