XML 30 R11.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.25.0.1
Background and Basis of Presentation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Background and Basis of Presentation Background and Basis of Presentation
When used in these notes, the terms “Altria,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to either (i) Altria Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries or (ii) Altria Group, Inc. only and not its consolidated subsidiaries, as appropriate in the context.
Background: At December 31, 2024, our wholly owned subsidiaries included Philip Morris USA Inc. (“PM USA”), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co. (“Middleton”), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made large cigars and is a wholly owned subsidiary of PM USA; UST LLC (“UST”), which, through its wholly owned subsidiary U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (“USSTC”), is engaged in the manufacture and sale of moist smokeless tobacco (“MST”) products; Helix Innovations LLC (“Helix”), which operates in the United States, and its foreign affiliates (“Helix International”), which operate in certain other countries, are engaged in the manufacture and sale of oral nicotine pouches; and NJOY, LLC (“NJOY”), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of e-vapor products. Other wholly owned subsidiaries included Altria Group Distribution Company (“AGDC”), which provides sales and distribution services to our domestic operating companies, and Altria Client Services LLC (“ALCS”), which provides various support services to our companies in areas such as legal, regulatory, research and product development, consumer engagement, finance, human resources and external affairs. Our access to the operating cash flows of our subsidiaries consists of cash received from the payment of dividends and distributions, and the payment of interest on intercompany loans. At December 31, 2024, our significant subsidiaries were not limited by contractual obligations in their ability to pay cash dividends or make other distributions with respect to their equity interests.
As discussed in Note 3. Acquisition of NJOY, on June 1, 2023, we completed our acquisition of NJOY Holdings, Inc. (“NJOY Holdings”), the parent of NJOY. As a result of the acquisition, NJOY became a wholly owned subsidiary of Altria.
In October 2022, we entered into a joint venture with JTI (US) Holding, Inc. (“JTIUH”), a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc., for the U.S. marketing and commercialization of heated tobacco stick (“HTS”) products. The joint venture entity, Horizon Innovations LLC (“Horizon”), is structured to exist in perpetuity and is responsible for the U.S. marketing and commercialization of HTS products owned by either party. At December 31, 2024, we owned a 75% economic interest in Horizon; JTIUH owned the remaining 25% economic interest. As of January 30, 2025, there are no products in the U.S. marketplace from the joint venture.
At December 31, 2024, we had investments in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (“ABI”) and Cronos Group Inc. (“Cronos”). In March 2024, we sold a portion of our investment in ABI (“ABI Transaction”). In March 2023, we entered into a stock transfer agreement with JUUL Labs, Inc. (“Stock Transfer Agreement”) pursuant to which we transferred to JUUL Labs, Inc. (“JUUL”) all of our beneficially owned JUUL equity securities. In exchange, we received a non-exclusive, irrevocable global license to certain of JUUL’s heated tobacco intellectual property (“JUUL Heated Tobacco IP”). For further discussion of our current and former investments and the ABI Transaction, see Note 8. Investments in Equity Securities.
Basis of Presentation: Our consolidated financial statements include Altria, as well as our wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. We account for our investments in equity securities in which we have the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee, including ABI and Cronos, under the equity method of accounting using a one-quarter lag. We accounted for our former investment in the equity securities of JUUL at fair value. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the dates of our financial statements and the reported amounts of net revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions include, among other things, pension and benefit plan assumptions, lives and valuation assumptions for goodwill and other intangible assets, investments in equity securities, marketing programs and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Certain immaterial prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year’s presentation.
On January 1, 2024, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2022-03, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions (“ASU No. 2022-03”). This guidance clarifies that a contractual restriction on the sale of an equity security is not considered part of the unit of account of the equity security and, therefore, is not considered in measuring fair value. This guidance also specifies required disclosures for equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions. We applied ASU No. 2022-03 for the fair value disclosure of our investment in ABI. For further discussion, see Note 8. Investments in Equity Securities.
Additionally, in connection with the preparation of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, we adopted ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU No. 2023-07”). This guidance
requires disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis. We included expanded footnote disclosures as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2023-07 in Note 17. Segment Reporting. We will include interim disclosure requirements in our interim condensed consolidated financial statements beginning in the first quarter of 2025.