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Imperial Brands PLC (IMB.L)

Consumer Defensive Out of favour

Imperial Brands is a long-standing British company that manufactures and sells tobacco products, including cigarettes and modern nicotine alternatives.

£28.25
≈ 2,825p · London-listed shares are usually quoted in pence (GBX) elsewhere; the Almanac shows pounds (£1 = 100p).

Is Imperial Brands PLC a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Imperial Brands is a long-standing British company that manufactures and sells tobacco products, including cigarettes and modern nicotine alternatives.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+31.8%
52-week range-3% past year
£28.25
Low £26.26High £36.32
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Imperial Brands PLC
£1,318+32%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£21.69B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
2.90M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£27.81 – £28.57
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£26.26 – £36.32
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
13.3
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
5.9%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.14
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.14
Calm
Wild
Steadier than most

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▼ -1% past week · ▼ -3% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Becoming a leader in the global nicotine alternative market.

The bear case

Strict global bans or severe health-related litigation.

What does Imperial Brands PLC do?

Imperial Brands makes its money by selling traditional tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars, while increasingly investing in newer options like vapes and nicotine pouches. Because people tend to keep buying these products regardless of how the wider economy is doing, the business is often seen as a steady, defensive player. The real question is how successfully they steer customers toward these newer, smoke-free products as traditional smoking habits keep declining worldwide.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on momentum.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 60Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 49Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 28Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 22Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 59
Quick checks
What's strong
  • High return on equity shows efficient use of capital
  • Generous dividend yield attracts income-focused interest
  • Low beta suggests the stock is less sensitive to general market swings
What to watch
  • Growth screens low (28/100)
  • Momentum screens low (22/100)
  • Increasingly strict government regulations on tobacco and vaping
  • Potential for future health-related lawsuits
  • Difficulty in successfully pivoting to new, non-tobacco products

What do Imperial Brands PLC's numbers mean?

P/E
12.5
This shows how much you are paying for every pound of the company's annual profit; a lower number can sometimes suggest the market is cautious about future growth.
Dividend yield
6.2%
This is the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, which is often a key reason investors look at established tobacco firms.
Beta
0.1
This measures how much the share price jumps around compared to the rest of the stock market; a low number suggests it tends to be much steadier than the average company.
Return on equity
37.2%
This shows how efficiently the company uses the money invested by shareholders to generate profit, with a high percentage indicating strong operational performance.

Does Imperial Brands PLC pay a dividend?

Yes - Imperial Brands PLC currently pays a dividend of about 5.9% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

More in Consumer Defensive

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Appears in
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What are the scenarios for Imperial Brands PLC?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

£34£28£25today · £28▲ Bull · £30• Base · £28▼ Bear · £26in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Stronger than expected sales of new nicotine products.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance in line with historical trends.
Bear
-5% to -10%Increased regulatory pressure on tobacco sales.

What are the pros and cons of Imperial Brands PLC?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • High return on equity shows efficient use of capital
  • Generous dividend yield attracts income-focused interest
  • Low beta suggests the stock is less sensitive to general market swings
The catch3
  • Earnings growth has been negative recently
  • The core business faces a long-term decline in traditional smoking
  • High price-to-book ratio compared to some other defensive sectors
Key risks3
  • Increasingly strict government regulations on tobacco and vaping
  • Potential for future health-related lawsuits
  • Difficulty in successfully pivoting to new, non-tobacco products
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: GBP · flags: none · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.