Company attributes
Other attributes
Until a spin-off in March 2008, Philip Morris International was an operating company of Altria. Altria explained the spin-off, arguing PMI would have more "freedom," i.e. leeway outside the responsibilities and standards of American corporate ownership in terms of potential litigation and legislative restrictions to "pursue sales growth in emerging markets", while Altria focuses on the American domestic market. The shareholders in Altria at the time were given shares in PMI, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and other markets.
The company's legal seat is in Stamford, Connecticut but it does not operate in the United States of America. Philip Morris USA, a subsidiary of PMI's former owner American parent Altria group, owns the Philip Morris brands there. Operational headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
With tobacco being addictive and the single greatest cause of preventable death globally, the company is highly controversial, not least because of its history of obfuscating scientific evidence around the health impacts of smoking. It has been the subject of litigation and restrictive legislation from governments.
In response to awareness of the harm to health of cigarettes, PMI has declared on its homepage the intention to replace cigarettes with smoke-free products, and to "switch ... adult smokers" to these products as the first phase of a business strategy, as a decision for the benefit of "adult smokers" and the company's shareholders and employees.
With the world-wide decrease in smoking prevalence in the 21st century, shares of Philip Morris were no longer considered the "safe haven" they once were. However, it has to be noted that the absolute number of smokers continues to increase. The company ranked No. 101 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations by total revenue.
History
The company states its history is traced to a London tobacconist, Philip Morris, opening a single shop on London's Bond Street in 1847 which sold tobacco and cigarettes. In 1881, Philip Morris' son, Leopold Morris, established "Philip Morris & Company and Grunebaum Ltd" with Joseph Grunebaum. In 1885, the company changed its name to "Philip Morris & Co. Ltd."
In 1954, Philip Morris (Australia) became the first affiliate of Philip Morris & Co., Ltd, Inc. outside the U.S. In 1972, the company's Marlboro became the world's top-selling cigarette brand.
In 1987, Philip Morris International (PMI) was incorporated as an operating company of Philip Morris Companies Inc. In 2001, the operations center of the company was transferred from Rye Brook, New York, to Lausanne, Switzerland. On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. formally changed its name to the Altria Group.[16] In March 2008, Philip Morris International was spun off from Altria.
In April 2014, Philip Morris International announced that it would close its Moorabbin plant in Australia by the end of 2014 after operating for 60 years, due to the gradual decline of sales in the last ten years and difficulties conforming to 2010 Australian government regulation about reducing fire risks. In 2015, the company sold 850 billion cigarettes.
In August 2018 Reuters reported that Philip Morris "has been among foreign companies with exposure to Russia’s tobacco market. The company’s sales exposure to Russia is 7 percent, according to a note from Goldman Sachs."
As of 2019, main institutional investors are The Vanguard Group with an 8% stake, Capital Research & Management with 5% and BlackRock Fund Advisors with 4%.
In July 2021, Philip Morris International agreed to buy Vectura Group for £1 billion.
