Want Income for Life? Philip Morris International Yields 3.2% and Has the Kind of Competitive Moat That Makes the Income Durable.
Key Points
International cigarette volumes are holding up better than in the United States.
That has benefitted Philip Morris, while reduced-risk products continue to thrive.
A comfortable payout ratio and a strong growth outlook signal a bright future for this 3.2% dividend.
Do you want a permanent income stream from the stocks you own? It's easy to find stocks with high dividend yields. Unfortunately, most of them are mature, sometimes stagnant businesses with only enough growth to support slow, steady increases.
Why not dial up the difficulty to find a generous dividend that can still easily outpace inflation for years to come? Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) yields 3.2% and has raised its dividend annually since it began trading in 2008.
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Its most recent increase, a hefty 8.8% bump, is impressive and no fluke. Here's why investors can buy, hold, and look forward to increasingly generous dividends from this tobacco giant for the foreseeable future.
Image source: Getty Images.
The legacy business still shines
At first glance, it's fair to wonder why one might invest in tobacco stocks. Smoking rates have been declining for decades in the United States. However, Philip Morris primarily operates outside the United States, selling Marlboro worldwide.
The smoking decline isn't as straightforward in international markets, where rapid population growth has helped buoy the number of smokers despite the actual smoking rate decreasing.
Whereas sister company Altria Group, which sells Marlboro in America, reported a 3.2% decrease in domestic cigarette volume in the third quarter of 2026, Philip Morris' volumes held flat. Pricing power enabled the company to boost its organic gross profit from combustibles by 7.4%. In other words, cigarettes remain a very viable business internationally.
The future is coming sooner rather than later
That hasn't stopped Philip Morris from pushing to shift its business toward reduced-risk products, such as oral nicotine salt pouches, electronic vapes, and heat-not-burn tobacco devices.
The products have accounted for a whopping 42% of Philip Morris' net revenue through nine months of 2026. That puts Philip Morris squarely in the driver's seat in this industrywide race to a future beyond cigarettes.
With both major business segments thriving, Philip Morris has a strong growth outlook. Analysts see the company growing earnings by an average of nearly 9% annually over the next three to five years, and I wouldn't be shocked to see that pace sustained longer due to the immense pricing power nicotine creates.
A 3.2% yield with tons of room to run
The company's cash payout ratio is only about 67% at the moment, which serves as a useful financial buffer and provides management with some flexibility. Philip Morris has been investing heavily over the past several years, first acquiring Swedish Match and then expanding manufacturing capacity to grow its Zyn brand.
Regardless of those investments, free cash flow has trended upward over the past few years. It's a sign that the business is outgrowing its capital spending, a good sign for investors moving forward.
Not many stocks offer a 3.2% dividend yield and near-double-digit earnings growth. But Philip Morris does, and the dividend will likely continue to stack up for years to come. It could also provide some stellar total returns along the way.
Justin Pope has positions in Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool recommends Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.