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Japan's dominant cigarette maker domestically and a top-3 global tobacco company internationally via brands like Winston and Camel (outside the US).
Japan's dominant cigarette maker domestically and a top-3 global tobacco company internationally via brands like Winston and Camel (outside the US).
Earns from cigarettes in two ways: Japan, where price rises have offset falling volume, and an international business run from Geneva, built through the purchases of RJR's non-US tobacco brands in 1999 and Gallaher in 2007. The Japanese government must by law hold about a third of the shares.
In one line: Japan's Altria, with a bigger international footprint.
Moat: narrow (brand, distribution, regulatory licence). Entrenched domestic near-monopoly plus globally recognized international cigarette brands.
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan · Founded: 1985 · Employees: 52,867
Size Japan Tobacco (2914.T) is a Japan Consumer Staples company (Tobacco) with a market value of $70.6B, the 21st largest of 1,379 Japan companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at ¥6,269 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 9.1%, against -7.9% for the median peer and +1.8% for the Japan market (cap-weighted) — 4th highest of 14 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 12.8% over the last twelve months (peer median +1.2%); the operating margin is 25.1% (peer median 21.3%).
Valuation It trades at 16.8× forward earnings against a peer median of 15.6× (6th most expensive of 13).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about -5% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +11%, so the hurdle is -16 pp: the price already allows for a slowdown.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 8.4 points above its cost of capital (5.0% WACC).
Credit Japan Tobacco has 6 bonds outstanding ($5.00B), rated A by the agencies and trading like AA+ at a weighted spread of 65 bp.
Next results Next results expected around 10 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥3.83T | ¥3.47T | ¥3.06T | ¥2.84T | ¥2.66T |
| Revenue growth | — | +13% | +8% | +7% | — |
| Gross profit | ¥2.20T | ¥1.83T | ¥1.57T | ¥1.51T | ¥1.45T |
| EBITDA | ¥1.14T | ¥978B | ¥470B | ¥835B | ¥861B |
| Net income | ¥617B | ¥510B | ¥179B | ¥482B | ¥443B |
| Free cash flow | ¥821B | ¥371B | ¥502B | ¥472B | ¥402B |
| Capital expenditure | ¥156B | ¥162B | ¥150B | ¥121B | ¥99.4B |
| Total debt | ¥1.67T | ¥1.75T | ¥1.79T | ¥1.20T | ¥1.02T |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Tobacco 2914.T | $70.6B | +9% | +13% | 25% | 16.8× | -5.3% |
| Philip Morris International PM | $308B | +17% | +8% | 38% | 22.6× | -0.8% |
| British American Tobacco p.l.c BATS.L | $132B | -1% | +1% | 38% | 12.6× | 3.8% |
| Altria MO | $127B | +13% | +2% | 75% | 12.9× | -10.9% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | 2914.T | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | -9.6% | +5.7% | 2nd lowest of 14 |
| 6-month return | +9.1% | -7.9% | 4th highest of 14 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -19.3% | -31.8% | 6th highest of 14 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +12.8% | +1.2% | 3rd highest of 14 |
| Operating margin | 25.1% | 21.3% | 5th highest of 14 |
| Forward P/E | 16.8× | 15.6× | 6th most expensive of 13 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | -5.3% | 3.8% | 5th least demanding of 14 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +10.6% | +5.4% | 3rd highest of 14 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | -15.9 pp | -7.9 pp | 2nd least demanding of 14 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | +8.4 pp | +5.4 pp | 7th highest of 14 |
| EV / EBITDA | 10.4× | 11.2× | 6th cheapest of 14 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.7× | 0.4× | 6th most indebted of 14 |
| Bond spread | 65 bp | 113 bp | tightest of 5 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Tobacco 2914.T | Japan | $70.6B | +9% | +13% | 25% | 16.8× | -5.3% | +10.6% |
| Altria MO | United States | $127B | +13% | +2% | 75% | 12.9× | -10.9% | -0.7% |
| British American Tobacco p.l.c BATS.L | United Kingdom | $132B | -1% | +1% | 38% | 12.6× | 3.8% | -0.1% |
| ITC ITC.NS | India | $37.5B | -8% | -2% | 30% | 20.2× | 13.2% | +9.8% |
| Imperial Brands IMB.L | United Kingdom | $29.9B | +5% | +5% | 19% | 8.9× | -9.3% | +2.7% |
| Philip Morris International PM | United States | $308B | +17% | +8% | 38% | 22.6× | -0.8% | +7.2% |
| KT&G 033780.KS | South Korea | $14.5B | +7% | +11% | 21% | 15.2× | -4.2% | +5.4% |
| Smoore International 6969.HK | Hong Kong | $6.61B | -19% | +25% | 7% | 32.3× | 28.7% | +6.6% |
| Godfrey Phillips India GODFRYPHLP.NS | India | $2.96B | -24% | +1% | 21% | 16.0× | 27.1% | +20.6% |
| China Tobacco International (HK) 6055.HK | Hong Kong | $2.31B | -12% | -20% | 10% | 19.8× | 4.1% | +33.1% |
| Turning Point Brands TPB | United States | $1.32B | -29% | +20% | 17% | 71.8× | 11.0% | +2.7% |
| Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S STG.CO | Denmark | $890M | +10% | -4% | 14% | 7.6× | -9.1% | +2.4% |
| Miquel y Costas & Miquel MCM.MC | Spain | $434M | -29% | -4% | 15% | n/a | -7.7% | +2.7% |
| VST Industries VSTIND.NS | India | $349M | -25% | -2% | 22% | 8.7× | 9.5% | +5.7% |
Japan Tobacco has 6 bonds outstanding with $5.00B face value. The agencies rate it A; its bonds trade like AA+. Weighted yield 5.26%, a spread of 65 bp over government bonds.