Philip Morris posts earnings beat despite falling short of revenue expectations

Adjusted earnings per share of $1.57 beat consensus estimates for a print of $1.55 but adjusted revenues of $7.59bn fell short of expectations $7.67bn.

Phillip Morris said its cigarette alternative Iqos had 20.1m users at the end of the quarter, while cigarette volume was up 3.2% to 156.1bn units.

The New York-based firm, which also greenlit a new share repurchase program of up to $7.0bn, said it now anticipates full-year earnings to be in the range of $5.97 to $6.07 per share.

As of 1325 BST, Philip Morris shares were down 0.96% in pre-market trading at $96.99 each.