Highlights of the Top Five Groups' Q3 Financial Reports: Nicotine Pouches Witness Explosive Growth, Emerging as a New Engine for Novel Tobacco Products
In Q3 2025, nearly all global mainstream tobacco companies featured the same keyword in their financial reports: Nicotine Pouches.
Once regarded as a niche alternative in Northern Europe, this category is rapidly moving into the mainstream, becoming the second growth curve bet on by many tobacco and novel tobacco companies.
This article summarizes key financial report insights from Philip Morris International (PMI), Altria, KT&G, U.S.-based novel tobacco firm Turning Point Brands (TPB), and leading global nicotine pouch online retailer Haypp Group, presenting the latest global trends and layouts of the nicotine pouch business.
PMI achieved net revenue of $10.845 billion in Q3 2025, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 9.4%.
- Smoke-Free Business contributed 41% of total revenue and over 42% of gross profit, reaching an all-time high.
- Oral Smoke-Free Products (Oral SFP) shipments rose 16.9% YoY, with the nicotine pouch business more than doubling.
- Core brand ZYN saw a 39% YoY sales surge in the U.S., driving the overall category growth to over 40%.
PMI plans to restructure its financial reporting framework starting 2026, dividing its business into three segments: "International Smoke-Free," "International Cigarettes," and "U.S. Business," highlighting the strategic core status of nicotine pouches and heated tobacco.
South Korea’s KT&G delivered a strong Q3 performance, with net profit soaring 73.4% YoY to a five-year high.
- The company officially announced a strategic partnership with Altria to jointly acquire Northern European nicotine pouch manufacturer ASF, marking KT&G’s formal entry into the nicotine pouch market.
- Starting 2026, KT&G plans to expand ASF’s product line from the five Nordic countries to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America, building a global footprint.
Financial data shows:
- Novel Tobacco Products (NGP) revenue reached 279.1 billion KRW (approximately $199 million), a 44.5% YoY increase.
- Overseas NGP revenue hit 110.8 billion KRW, more than tripling YoY.
- Nicotine pouches are expected to become a key growth driver for KT&G’s NGP business in the next phase.
Altria continued to advance its "Beyond Smoking" strategy in Q3, with nicotine pouches as a core focus.
- Its subsidiary Helix launched new product on!PLUS in the U.S., now available in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. It offers three flavors (Menthol, Wintergreen, Tobacco) and three nicotine strengths (6mg, 9mg, 12mg).
- on! series shipments increased 14.8% YoY, capturing a 16.6% market share in the U.S.
- Driven by the category’s growth, the profit margin of Altria’s oral tobacco business rose to 69.0%, a 1.8-percentage-point YoY increase.
Additionally, Altria signed a global cooperation memorandum with KT&G to jointly develop next-generation oral nicotine products, enhancing R&D and supply capabilities in international markets.
Kentucky-based TPB reported explosive growth in its nicotine pouch business (referred to as "Modern Oral" in its financial report):
- Q3 nicotine pouch sales reached $36.7 million, a 627.6% YoY surge and 22% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase, accounting for 30.8% of the company’s total revenue.
- TPB plans to launch the U.S.’s first "White Pouch" production line in H1 2026 to realize localized production.
- The full-year nicotine pouch sales guidance was raised to $125–130 million.
"Modern Oral’s performance has exceeded expectations and become the company’s new growth engine," said TPB CEO Graham Purdy during the earnings call. The segment’s high growth has driven improvements in the company’s overall gross profit margin structure.
Haypp Group, one of the world’s largest online retailers of nicotine pouches and oral nicotine products, reported steady Q3 performance with sustained strong demand for nicotine pouches:
- Net sales reached 952 million SEK (approximately $95.5 million), a 0.8% YoY increase; same-store sales rose 21%.
- Nicotine pouches now account for 68% of the company’s total oral nicotine product sales.
- CEO Gavin O’Dowd stated that ZYN’s re-launch in the U.S. has received positive consumer feedback, which is expected to significantly boost Q4 results.
- Gross profit margin improved from 17.6% to 18.8%, benefiting from optimized pricing strategies and enhanced logistics efficiency.
Haypp confirmed that the migration of its global e-commerce platform is nearly complete. In the future, it will integrate oral nicotine, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products under a unified system. Its core Nordic markets (Sweden, Norway) maintained stable performance with high consumer loyalty.
