Common-Size Income Statement
Altria Group Inc., common-size consolidated income statement
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-12-31).
- Gross profit and cost structure
- The gross profit margin has shown a consistent upward trend, increasing from 50.62% in 2019 to 58.34% by 2023. This improvement is primarily attributable to a reduction in both cost of sales and excise taxes on products as a percentage of net revenues. The cost of sales decreased from -28.22% in 2019 to -25.4% in 2023, while excise taxes steadily declined from -21.16% to -16.26% over the same period. This indicates better cost management and a more favorable tax environment or tax planning over these years.
- Operating expenses
- Marketing, administration and research costs fluctuated moderately but showed an overall increase, particularly notable in 2023, when it rose to -11.18% of net revenues compared to -8.86% in 2019. Asset impairment and exit costs were minimal and sporadic, with a negligible impact except for a minor cost in 2019 and a slight offset in 2020. The rising operating expenses suggest increased investment or rising costs in certain administrative or research activities.
- Operating income
- Operating income as a percentage of net revenues improved steadily from 41.12% in 2019 to a peak of 47.49% in 2022, before a slight decline to 47.16% in 2023. This reflects stronger operational efficiency mainly driven by improved gross profits, despite the increasing marketing and administrative expenses.
- Interest and financing costs
- Interest expense decreased gradually from -5.26% in 2019 to -4.49% in 2022, but then increased slightly to -4.69% in 2023. Interest income has shown an increasing trend, rising from 0.17% in 2019 to 0.65% in 2023, thereby somewhat offsetting interest costs. Net interest and other debt expense steadily decreased from -5.1% to -4.04%. There was a notable loss on early extinguishment of debt recorded at -2.49% of net revenues in 2021, affecting that year's financing costs.
- Investment income and impairments
- Income from investments in equity securities exhibited significant volatility. After positive returns in 2019 (6.87% of net revenues), there were substantial losses in 2020 and 2021 (-0.42% and -22.98%, respectively), followed by continued losses in 2022 at -14.51%, before rebounding to a small gain of 0.99% in 2023. This period was marked by significant impairments related to JUUL equity securities, with large negative amounts recorded in 2019 and 2020 (-34.25% and -9.94%). Additionally, losses on Cronos-related financial instruments declined substantially, almost disappearing by 2022. These patterns reveal a challenging investment environment with heavy write-downs and fluctuations in investment returns.
- Earnings before and after taxes
- Earnings before income taxes experienced variable but overall strong growth, moving from 3.05% of net revenues in 2019 to 44.64% in 2023, despite some fluctuations notably in 2021 (14.7%). The provision for income taxes increased, particularly in 2023 reaching -11.43%, which is higher than in previous years, reflecting either higher pre-tax earnings or changes in tax costs.
- Net earnings and profitability
- Net earnings attributable to the company improved dramatically from a negative figure of -5.15% of net revenues in 2019 to a positive 33.21% in 2023. This substantial turnaround corresponds with the improvements in operating income, lower financing costs (excluding the 2021 debt extinguishment), and recovery from investment losses. The steady increase in net earnings demonstrates enhanced overall profitability and financial health across the evaluated period.