SWOT ANALYSIS ON Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) (previously named Philip Morris Companies Inc.) is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., United States Smokeless Tobacco, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Ste Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations. Philip Morris International was spun off in 2008. In addition, Altria Group, Inc. has a 28.7% economic and voting interest in one of the world's largest brewing companies, UK based SABMiller plc. It is a component of the S&P 500 and was a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average until February 19, 2008. The company has its headquarters in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia, less than five miles West the city limit of Richmond and less than ten miles from its downtown Richmond buildings.

On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. changed its name to Altria Group, Inc. On March 30, 2007, a spin out of Kraft Foods subsidiary (publicly traded since 2001) was concluded through distribution of the remaining stake of shares (88.1%) to Altria shareholders. As a result, Altria no longer holds any interest in Kraft Foods. On March 28, 2008 a similar spin out of Philip Morris International was completed with 100% of shares being distributed to Altria shareholders.

On January 6, 2009, Altria Group, Inc. completed the acquisition of UST Inc., a moist smokeless tobacco manufacturer; UST owned Ste Michelle Wine Estates, a wine company.


Strengths

* Diversified business portfolio
* Strong research & development (R&D)
* Order backlog guarantees business flow in the future
* Strong management & culture in terms of people, systems, technology and measures

Weaknesses

* Bets on financial markets have proven unsuccessful with economic turmoil
* Weak revenue growth of industrial segment
* Underperforming in Asian markets
* Leveraged

Opportunities

* Development of infrastructure
* Aviation industry growth
* Increasing global exploration and production
* Servicing and regeneration of commercial airplanes around the world

Threats

* Senior management - weak performance by GE has put doubts on Jeff Immelt's ability to be the next Jack Welch
* Rising commodity prices
* Exposure to financial markets
* World economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone, two of the most important markets for GE