Philip Morris Misses Expectations, Issues Weak Outlook

Philip Morris shares remained largely unchanged in morning trade Thursday after the company slightly missed earnings expectations. The company reported net income of $1.612 billion, or $1.03 a share, down from $1.987 billion, or $1.24 a share in the year-earlier period. The FactSet consensus was for per share earnings of $1.06. The company reported sales of $7.2 billion, down from $7.78 billion in the year-earlier period but above the FactSet consensus of $7.01 billion. For 2015, the company predicted diluted earnings per share to be in a range of $4.27 to $4.37, below the FactSet consensus of $4.64.